TL;DR Chicago’s tech calendar is packed through year-end. June is the hottest month: PG DATA (Jun 4-5, $50), SANS cybersecurity (Jun 8-13), TechCon 365 Microsoft (Jun 15-19), Automate robotics expo (Jun 22-25), and Chicago AI Week (Jun 24-26) all land within weeks. Fall brings DjangoCon US (Aug), ElixirConf (Sep), and the massive IMTS manufacturing tech show (Sep 14-19, 90k attendees). Most summer/fall events still have open registration as of June 3. [1] [2]
Upcoming Events — June 2026
The next three weeks are the densest stretch of the year.
PG DATA 2026 — Jun 4–5
PG DATA 2026 is a brand-new PostgreSQL-focused conference at Loyola University’s Water Tower Campus, organized by Prairie Postgres NFP [3] [20]. It targets database developers and DBAs across the Midwest.
- Tickets: $50 general · $20 students (includes half-day training) [3]
- Audience: PostgreSQL users, DBAs, open-source database devs
- Tone: Community-first, non-commercial
SANS Chicago 2026 — Jun 8–13
SANS Chicago 2026 delivers 16 hands-on cybersecurity courses at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile [4]. Courses span fundamentals (SEC401) through cloud security (SEC540) and a new AI/LLM security course (SEC545).
- Tickets: ~$8,260–$8,780 per course (in-person + virtual options)
- Hotel: $309/night block rate through May 18 (may be gone — check directly)
- Bonus: NetWars tournament + SANS@Night talks on AI security
- Audience: Practitioners, SOC analysts, pen testers, security leaders
TechCon 365 Chicago — Jun 15–19
TechCon 365 Chicago 2026 is a 5-day Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and Copilot/AI conference at McCormick Place South [5] [6]. Mon–Tue are workshops; Wed–Fri are breakout sessions. Microsoft participates directly.
- Tickets: $850–$2,995 (5-day pass was $200 off before May 29)
- Topics: Teams, Fabric, Power BI, Copilot, SharePoint, Azure OpenAI, Purview
- Audience: Microsoft 365 admins, power users, developers, business analysts
Automate 2026 — Jun 22–25
Automate 2026 is the largest automation show in the Americas, at McCormick Place [7]. Over 1,000 exhibitors and 200 speakers cover robotics, AI, machine vision, and motion control.
- Tickets: Free floor registration · Paid conference sessions (140+ sessions, 20+ topic tracks)
- Scale: 50,000+ expected attendees
- Audience: Automation engineers, manufacturing leaders, robotics developers
Accelerate Chicago 2026 — Jun 22–24
Accelerate Chicago 2026 is a software development conference themed “Craft software with confidence in 2026,” covering AI tooling, agile methodologies, and cloud technologies [8].
- Tickets: From $845
- Audience: Software engineers, engineering managers, tech leads
Chicago AI Week 2026 — Jun 24–26
Chicago AI Week 2026 is a three-track summit (Women in AI Day, Responsible AI Day, AI Industry Day) powered by AI 2030, 1871, and the Chicago AI Council [9]. 100+ sessions, 300 speakers, focused on governance, enterprise adoption, and applied AI in healthcare, finance, and public sector.
- Tickets: $499 (gov/non-profit) · $999 (standard) · $1,999 (VIP) [10]
- Audience: AI practitioners, executives, policy leaders, researchers
Summer — July & August 2026
TechChicago Week — Jul 20–26
TechChicago Week 2026 is an umbrella of events under the theme “Solving Grand Challenges,” organized by nonprofit P33 [11]. Anchor events include the Global Quantum Forum (Jul 22-23), Chicago Sports Tech Week (Jul 20-23), and Chicago Climate Week (Jul 18-25). Registration opens individually per event; the full calendar launched in June 2026.
- Tickets: Free to paid, varies by sub-event
- Audience: Broad — founders, researchers, policymakers, civic tech
DjangoCon US 2026 — Aug 24–28
DjangoCon US 2026 is at the voco Chicago Downtown (350 W Wolf Point Plaza, River North) [12]. Talks run Aug 24-26; open-source contribution sprints on Aug 27-28.
- Audience: Django/Python developers, web engineers, open-source contributors
- Vibe: Community-run, affordable, beginner-friendly
Fall 2026
ElixirConf US 2026 — Sep 10–11
ElixirConf US 2026 is Chicago’s premier Elixir and Phoenix conference, hybrid format with two tracks [13]. Early bird tickets open June 25.
- Tickets: $249 virtual · $579 in-person training day
- Audience: Elixir, Erlang, Phoenix developers
IMTS 2026 — Sep 14–19
IMTS 2026 (International Manufacturing Technology Show) is the largest manufacturing technology trade show in the Western Hemisphere, at McCormick Place [14] [15]. Held biennially.
- Scale: 90,000 visitors · 2,000+ exhibitors · 1.2M sq ft of exhibits · 3,000+ conference registrants
- Focus: Additive manufacturing, robotics, CNC, AI in manufacturing, digital twins
- Tickets: Floor access free with conference ticket; conference registration opened Feb 2026
Leaders In AI Summit Chicago — Sep 15–16
A curated executive-format AI summit featuring small-room workshops on enterprise AI strategy and governance [16].
- Audience: C-suite, AI leaders, enterprise decision-makers
ElixirConf / Umbraco US Festival — Sep 30–Oct 1
Umbraco US Festival 2026 brings the .NET CMS community to Chicago for a focused two-day event [1].
Full-Year Reference Table
| Event | Dates | Venue | Focus | Cost (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FutureCon Chicago (past) | Jan 29 | Marriott Oak Brook | Defensive cybersecurity | Paid |
| Cybersecurity Summit (past) | Mar 3 | Hyatt Regency Chicago | Executive security strategy | Paid |
| DrupalCon Chicago (past) | Mar 23–26 | Hilton Chicago | Drupal / open-source CMS | Paid |
| Analytics Unite (past) | Apr 7–9 | The Drake Hotel | Retail/CG analytics exec | Invite-qualified |
| Deep Dish Swift (past) | Apr 12–14 | Loews O’Hare, Rosemont | iOS / Swift / Apple dev | Paid |
| TECHSPO Chicago (past) | May 19–20 | Soldier Field | MarTech, SaaS, internet tech | Free–paid |
| Data Science Conf (past) | May 28–29 | Gleacher Center | Vendor-free data science | Paid |
| PG DATA 2026 | Jun 4–5 | Loyola Water Tower Campus | PostgreSQL | $50 / $20 |
| SANS Chicago | Jun 8–13 | Embassy Suites Magnificent Mile | Cybersecurity training | ~$8,500/course |
| TechCon 365 | Jun 15–19 | McCormick Place South | Microsoft 365 / Copilot / AI | $850–$2,995 |
| Automate 2026 | Jun 22–25 | McCormick Place | Robotics & automation | Free (floor) |
| Accelerate Chicago | Jun 22–24 | Chicago | Software development | From $845 |
| Chicago AI Week | Jun 24–26 | Chicago | Responsible / applied AI | $499–$1,999 |
| TechChicago Week | Jul 20–26 | Various venues | Broad tech ecosystem | Varies |
| DjangoCon US | Aug 24–28 | voco Chicago Downtown | Django / Python | Community |
| ElixirConf US | Sep 10–11 | Chicago | Elixir / Phoenix | $249+ virtual |
| IMTS 2026 | Sep 14–19 | McCormick Place | Manufacturing technology | Free (floor) |
| Leaders In AI Summit | Sep 15–16 | Chicago | Enterprise AI strategy | Paid |
| Umbraco US Festival | Sep 30–Oct 1 | Chicago | .NET / Umbraco CMS | Paid |
| Humanoid Robots Summit NA | Nov 3–4 | Chicago | Humanoid robotics | Paid |
By Interest
Developer / open source: PG DATA (Jun, $50) → DjangoCon US (Aug, community-priced) → ElixirConf (Sep, $249 virtual). All three are practitioner-run with minimal vendor noise.
Cybersecurity: SANS Chicago (Jun 8-13, deep practitioner training) is the most intensive. FutureCon (past) and the Cybersecurity Summit (past) covered the executive/strategic side.
AI & data: Chicago AI Week (Jun 24-26) for governance and applied AI. Leaders In AI Summit (Sep) for executive workshops. Applied AI for Distributors (Jun 23-25) for supply chain/distribution verticals [16].
Enterprise Microsoft: TechCon 365 (Jun 15-19) is the clear pick — independent, practitioner-led, covers the full M365/Copilot stack [5].
Industrial / manufacturing tech: Automate (Jun, free) for robotics/automation. IMTS (Sep, free floor) for the full manufacturing technology spectrum at scale [14].