Money race for mayor tightens

By Shia Kapos

With help from Olivia Olander

Good Wednesday morning, Illinois. We've had 22 days that feel more like March than January. Not complaining.

Willie Wilson, the businessman making a second run for Chicago mayor, still leads the money race with $4.1 million cash on hand, according to the latest figures from the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Then it’s a four-way race in campaign cash, with Mayor Lori Lightfoot in the middle of the pack. She wrapped up 2022 fundraising with $1.4 million and has raised a little over $1 million since Jan. 1, putting her at just over $1.5 million cash on hand ahead of the Feb. 28 election.

Commissioner Brandon Johnson has more than $1.7 million in the bank after receiving a $400,000 donation earlier this week. And Paul Vallas, the former Chicago Public Schools CEO, has racked up $669,000 in A-1 donations since Jan. 1, leaving him $1.8 million. A-1s are donations of $1,000 or more.

Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, who didn’t join the mayor’s race until after he won his congressional seat in November, has $1.3 million in the bank.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, standing, and the eight candidates challenging her were on stage together Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023, at Lane Tech High School. | POLITICO's Shia Kapos

Lightfoot spent the most in the last quarter, about $3 million, on TV advertising in November and December.

Why it all matters: A campaign war chest indicates both support from voters and viability in the race.

Political consultant Frank Calabrese breaks it all down in a graphic.

MORE FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL …

A new poll shows Garcia leading with 28 percent of the vote to Lightfoot’s 21 percent, according to Crain’s Greg Hinz.

The mayor’s race is also drawing national attention. The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Barrett, who’s based in Chicago, calls Lightfoot an “underdog” in his update on the race.

Meanwhile, Garcia rolled out a policy plan on Tuesday. His “Women’s Agenda” includes free City Colleges tuition and student loan forgiveness, writes Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman.

Lightfoot says his report sounds familiar: “After years of tethering himself to Me-Too magnet Michael Madigan, copycat Chuy Garcia decided to release a plan to ease the plight of women in Chicago — much of which was lifted from our woman mayor’s policy accomplishments,” campaign spokesperson Hannah Goss said in a statement.

Election Day is 41 days away.

Gov. JB Pritzker attends a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. | AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

Gov. JB Pritzker talked at length during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, about his take on where Illinois sits in “getting things done.”

He ticked off the clean energy bill passed in 2021 and recent legislation banning assault weapons and expanding abortion safeguards.

They’re subjects of interest to the high-powered crowd of politicians, business leaders, environmentalists and tech gurus gathered at the think fest to analyze the world and where it’s going.

Pritzker also highlighted bipartisanship. “There’s a lot of talk about the desire for bipartisanship,” he said. People will say “yes,” they want bipartisanship, Pritzker said. But what they really want from government is “to get things done.”

The governor credited the Biden administration for doing that, “getting things done, “but the truth is, it’s not enough.” States like Illinois “have had to chart a course,” he said.

Dose of reality: Pritzker added that bipartisanship is difficult when you’re working with people on the other side of the aisle “who deny reality … and have very strange views.”

The two-minute video is here.

WGEM’s Mike Miletich has a story, too.

POLITICO is at Davos.

If you are Gov. JB Pritzker, we’re wondering who the most famous person you’ve run into at Davos. Email skapos@politico.com.

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In the Swiss Alps promoting Illinois.

At City Hall at 10 a.m. presiding over the City Council meeting.

At the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago at 8 a.m. for the Motorola Solutions Foundation Excellence in Public Service Award breakfast.

Have a news tip, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? I’d like to hear from you: skapos@politico.com

— State’s assault weapons ban challenged by two lawsuits — with others on the way: “A suit filed Jan. 13 in southern Illinois marked the beginning of the legal battle to overturn the law Gov. J.B Pritzker has called “one of the strongest assault weapons bans in the nation.” Another complaint was filed Tuesday by former Republican Illinois attorney general candidate Tom DeVore,” by Sun-Times’ Tina Sfondeles.

— POT POURRI: From state regulations to finding financing, Illinois cannabis craft growers face multiple obstacles: “Craft grower marijuana licenses are supposed to help Black and brown communities, yet only one business is open,” by WBEZ’s Alex Degman.

— Lawmakers from blue states want to tax billionaires where they live, reports The Wall Street Journal. Watch for a bill to drop in the Illinois General Assembly this week.

— ComEd seeks 4-year, $1.47B rate increase to bolster the grid for EVs, electrification and climate change, by Tribune’s Robert Channick

— Report predicts billions in motor fuel tax revenue losses if state meets EV goals: “The primary issue is motor fuel taxes, which will see a significant drop as more electric vehicles make their way to the road and fewer people fill their cars with gas,” reports Capitol News’ Nika Schoonover.

— A graduated income tax revival is in the works: "It's the right thing to do,” state Sen. Bob Martwick told Crain’s Greg Hinz

— Arson suspected at Planned Parenthood in Peoria, by Peoria Journal Star’s Andy Kravetz

— And across the border in Wisconsin, An indoor gun range has been approved on a Pritzker site: “The approved facility, to be called Mission 94, is part of the broader Pritzker Military Archives and Memorial Park Center project,” which is headed by Gov. JB Pritzker’s cousin, Col. Jennifer Pritzker, via Kenosha News.

— Chicago mayoral candidates share ideas on city investment, schools and crime, by Tribune’s Alice Yin, A.D. Quig and Greg Pratt

— Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) has been endorsed by the People’s Lobby in his reelection bid.

— Jessica Gutierrez has been endorsed by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart in the 30th Ward aldermanic race.

— Chicagoans are worried about gun violence. How are mayoral candidates responding? Rita Oceguera reports for The Trace

Chicago Fire Department Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt is working to make the department "more welcoming" to minorities and women. | Screen shot via ABC

Chicago Fire Department Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt is being honored this morning by the Civic Federation with its Motorola Solutions Foundation Excellence in Public Service Award.

Nance-Holt is a 31-year veteran of the Chicago Fire Department and the first woman, and Black woman, to lead it.

Since her appointment as commissioner in 2021, Nance-Holt’s goal has been to bring more diversity to the Fire Department. About 15 percent of the city’s firefighters are Black, for example.

It’s working: The Department of Human Resources contracted “for the first time” with a minority recruiter to help increase the number of minorities to sign up for the entrance exam, Nance-Holt told Playbook.

More training: She also worked DHR to increase the number of entrance exams and add “unconscious bias” training and continued sexual harassment training. The department has even hired a diversity equity and inclusion officer.

“Change can’t happen overnight,” she said. “To transform a department of this size takes time and creative ideas and willingness by others to change.”

There’s zero tolerance for discrimination and harassment, she added. “We’re working to make it better, more welcoming. Not just for women but for everyone.”

Along with her work with the Fire Department, Nance-Holt is being recognized for advocating against gun violence. She helped start the nonprofit Purpose Over Pain after losing her son to violence.

— High-minded high finance: City sells bonds to the masses: “Chicago’s ‘social bond’ program lets residents invest in neighborhood improvements for as little as $1,000,” by Sun-Times’ David Roeder.

— CPS teachers say disinfecting wipes were removed with no notice over safety concerns: “CPS never flagged teachers, or parents, to inform them that there were concerns about the wipes,” writes CBS 2’s Dana Kozlov.

— Zoning approvals for Lincoln Park dispensary, Metra station rehab and Nobody’s Darling expansion, by Block Club’s Quinn Myers

— Striking UIC faculty pickets, rallies with local, national leaders, by Sun-Times’ Nader Issa

— State police execute search warrant at Waukegan City Hall: The search was for info on “businesses owned by Ald. Roudell Kirkwood, 4th Ward, and about the potential theft of government funds, wire fraud, official misconduct and forgery related to the city of Waukegan, court records show.” Lake County News-Sun’s Steve Sadin reports.

— Retract or resign: County board members assail DuPage sheriff over weapons ban remarks, by Daily Herald’s Alicia Fabbre

— LGBTQ advocates blast upcoming conservative gathering at city-owned Des Plaines Theatre, by Daily Herald’s Russell Lissau

— Next Bears president wants to find everyone's 'why' for a suburban stadium, by Daily Herald’s Christopher Placek

— SMTD to receive $5.9M federal grant to buy new, cleaner-burning buses, by State Journal-Register’s Zach Roth

— Everybody’s late and everything smells like weed: That’s the overall take of 2,000 CTA riders surveyed by WBEZ, via Rebecca Holland

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We asked what’s wrong about the “good old days”:

James Castro: “The misery of the Great Depression. The slaughter of World War II. The inequality of the 1950s. The turbulence of the 1960s.”

Mike Kohr pointed to early 1900s working conditions: "My paternal grandfather survived the Great Cherry Mine Disaster in which 259 boys and men died on Nov. 13, 1909. He worked 12 hour shifts and developed 'black lung disease.'"

Marilynn Miller: “Old wringer washers and hanging clothes on a rope outdoors, pot belly stoves for heat and vacuum cleaners that took muscles to lug around.”

Andy Shaw: “They were mostly good for the sons and daughters of affluent, successful white parents.”

Do you anticipate a recession? Email skapos@politico.com

— Congresswoman Robin Kelly tweeted congratulations to fellow Congresswoman Nikema Williams upon her election as Georgia Democratic Party chair. Just as Kelly, the former Illinois Democratic Party chair, had to navigate fundraising because she was a federally elected official, so has Williams. The issue created opposition to Kelly continuing as chairman, while Georgia Democrats don’t see it as a problem at all.

— Fellows to watch: This year’s Civic Leadership Academy fellows include press secretary to the Cook County Board Nick Mathiowdis, Chicago Department of Transportation Deputy Commissioner Jamie R. Simone, Chicago Public Schools’ Deputy General Counsel Libby N. Massey and Kiran Joshi, a senior medical officer for Cook County Health Department. Full list of fellows here

— Sen. Tammy Duckworth joins in push for 12 weeks of national paid family, medical leave, via Illinois Business Journal

— Top Michigan Republicans move to draft DeSantis for 2024, by POLITICO’s Alex Isenstadt

— The top Biden lawyer with his sights on Apple and Google, by POLITICO’s Josh Sisco

— THE FIFTY: There’s a sense of looming catastrophe in some state of the state addresses, by POLITICO’s David Siders

— Former Congressman Peter Roskam has joined BakerHostetler in Washington, D.C., as a partner and will lead the firm’s federal policy team. He was a partner with Sidley Austin. Roskam served in the House from 2007 to 2019 and held several leadership roles, including chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax Policy.

— Bethany Krajelis has joined Mac Strategies Group as director of social media programs. She managed social media programming for Foley & Lardner. Earlier, she was statehouse bureau chief for The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.

Noureen Hashim is now the chief of staff at the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago, a nonpartisan organization founded by David Axelrod. Hashim was deputy chief of staff.

— Jon Pyatt is EVP in the health practice at Venn Strategies. He was chief of staff to former Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.).

— Anthony Lloyd starts Friday as chief financial officer YMCA of Metro Chicago. He’s now chief of staff.

— Jan. 24: A discussion on how news outlets build credibility. Speakers: Sun-Times’ Jennifer Kho, City Bureau’s Alejandra Cancino and Block Club’s Jen Sabella. CNN correspondent Omar Jiminez will moderate. At the McCormick Foundation Center Forum in Evanston. Register here

TUESDAY's ANSWER: Congrats to Chicago attorney Warren Silver for correctly answering that Mayor Richard J. Daley designated Chicago’s first on-street bike lanes.

TODAY’s QUESTION: Who was the Chicago City Council member who was abandoned as an infant at Cook County Hospital and went on to become a top public relations executive? Email skapos@politico.com

Wheeling trustee Joe Vito, election attorney Frank Avila Jr., government affairs exec Joe Fawell, former GOP state rep candidate Eddie Corrigan, AIPAC Midwest’s Talia Alter, public affairs consultant Ty Cratic, comms consultant Carolyn Grisko and TV producer Andrea Dres.

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