I am sure it involved way more than 8,000 people in a town like Chicago.
He was/is a lawyer, as much as you like to denigrate the profession, it takes quite a commitment to become one, organizational ability and intelligence and knowledge of the law. Hmmm, what is a better qualification for President????
In fact, over half of our Presidents were lawyers, starting with John Adams and including Abraham Lincoln and Bill Clinton. A number of others took law classes but did not finish including Teddy Roosevelt. http://www.abavideonews.org/ABA296/resouce3.htm