Glenn Beck will keynote tea party convention in Schaumburg

Glenn Beck may go off Fox airwaves on Thursday, but in October he'll join fellow conservative pundits for the second-straight year in the Northwest suburbs.

The inaugural Midwest Tea Party Convention comes to Schaumburg for two days, Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center. Organizers are billing the event as TeaCon 2011. Andrew Breitbart and Steve Crowder will join Beck. Conservative talk radio station WIND 560-AM is organizing the event.

Beck and Breitbart appeared last year at the RightNation 2010 event held at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates. The United Republican Fund hosts that event, and organizers are prepping for the 2011 edition just a month after the tea party convention.

The lineup for RightNation 2011, to held Nov. 3-5, again at the Sears Centre, could be released on Thursday. That event markets itself as catering to all GOP members and Libertarians, not just the tea party.

Beck's last day as host of his Fox News Channel television show is Thursday. TeaCon organizers stressed their event will give Beck's fans a chance to see and hear him, despite his show being off the air. His Oct. 1 speech should focus on the 2012 presidential election, TeaCon organizers said.

The 42-year-old Breitbart is a frequent television commenter and lightning rod for controversy. He's spoken at other tea party events across the country. Recently, on his website Breitbart posted a photo purported to be from former Democratic New York Congressman Anthony Weiner. Weiner resigned from office earlier this month after he admitted to sending risque photos, like the one Breitbart posted, to women using his cellphone.

Dana Loesch and Guy Benson round out the convention's lineup. There will also be a presidential straw poll and a town-hall meeting. Tickets range from $99 to $225, depending on which events people sign up for. Information is at 560wind.com.