Lightfoot 'leads the pack' in her own poll

By Shia Kapos

With help from Olivia Olander

Happy Tuesday, Illinois. Bundle up, friends. Freezing temps are here through the week.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday, Jan. 23, 2023, that she's confident she'll make it into the April 4 runoff. | Screen shot via ABC 7

Internal party polling conducted by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s campaign this month shows her “leading the pack” of mayoral candidates for the Feb. 28 municipal election.

The poll also shows Paul Vallas, the former Chicago Public Schools CEO, moving to the second place spot ahead of Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.

About the poll: The survey of 800 likely voters was conducted Jan. 18-22 by GBAO’s Jason McGrath, who most recently polled for Raphael Warnock’s successful Georgia Senate campaign. According to the results, Lightfoot leads with 25 percent to Vallas’ 22 percent and Garcia’s 18 percent. Willie Wilson is at 11 percent, and Johnson is at 9. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Why ads matter: The results show that Lightfoot has been withstanding some of the attacks against her from opponents and that her ads are driving a message. The poll also shows Vallas’ ads are equally effective. Garcia isn’t on the air — yet.

Lightfoot’s dream match: The new poll “is consistent with what we’ve seen with me in the lead,” Lightfoot told reporters Monday, adding, “I would love to have Paul Vallas as my runoff challenge. That’s an ideal matchup.”

Monday’s face-to-face: Lightfoot’s campaign released the poll the same day the Tribune’s Editorial Board sat down with the mayor, Garcia and fellow challenger Brandon Johnson, who is part of the Chicago Teachers Union. With nine candidates running for mayor, the Tribune pared down meetings with smaller groups of candidates.

The meeting was heated with Lightfoot calling Garcia a false reformer tied to indicted former House Speaker Michael Madigan and accusing Johnson of creating “chaos” in Chicago schools, according to the Tribune’s Alice Yin and Gregory Pratt.

Garcia and Johnson pushed back, “ripping the mayor for letting crime in Chicago run rampant” … and for being “belligerent.”

Election Day is 35 days away, though you can vote early starting Thursday.

RELATED

— García has received the endorsement of state Sen. Ram Villivalam, 40th Ward Ald. Andre Vasquez, the 39th Ward Democratic Organization and Vote Assyrian.

— From the New Republic: Who is Brandon Johnson? The Chicago mayoral challenger with a history in organizing

— Johnson unveils tax plan: “Johnson wants to ‘make the suburbs, airlines and ultra-rich pay their fair share’ to generate $800 million in new revenue,” writes Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman.

— Ethics Board wants probe of Lightfoot campaign emails sent to teachers, City College instructors, by WTTW’s Heather Cherone

— Meet Chicago’s Black mayoral candidates: The Triibe sat down with each of them.

HERE WE GO AGAIN: Republicans Darren Bailey and Tom DeVore, who repeatedly challenged Gov. JB Pritzker over Covid restrictions, have found a new cause. They’re taking the state’s recently passed ban on assault weapons to court.

Another lawsuit: DeVore, who ran unsuccessfully in November for Illinois attorney general, filed a suit Monday in White County against the weapons ban.

More than 1,600 plaintiffs are listed in the complaint, including Bailey, the former GOP governor candidate, and state Reps. Adam Niemerg (R-102nd) and Blaine Wilhour (R-110th).

Their lawsuit follows another suit in Effingham County. DeVore filed that one, too. In that case, the judge issued a temporary restraining order on the gun ban for the 866 plaintiffs mentioned in the lawsuit.

State responds: Attorney General Kwame Raoul on Monday filed a petition asking an appellate court to vacate last week’s temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the ban. Capitol News’ Peter Hancock has more on that.

RELATED: Congress members Sean Casten (IL-06), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08) and Bill Foster (IL-11) held a press conference calling on DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick to enforce the gun ban. He said he wouldn’t. KSDK News’ Mark Maxwell has good video

Tribune has a story, too

 If you worked in City Hall during the Daley administrations, we’d like to hear a story about “belligerence.” Email skapos@politico.com.

JOIN POLITICO ON 2/9 TO HEAR FROM AMERICA’S GOVERNORS: In a divided Congress, more legislative and policy enforcement will shift to the states, meaning governors will take a leading role in setting the agenda for the nation. Join POLITICO on Thursday, Feb. 9 at World Wide Technology's D.C. Innovation Center for The Fifty: America's Governors, where we will examine where innovations are taking shape and new regulatory red lines, the future of reproductive health, and how climate change is being addressed across a series of one-on-one interviews. REGISTER HERE.

In Decatur at the Bus Barn to announce a downstate transit grant through Rebuild Illinois.

No official public events.

In the Cook County Building at 10 a.m. to preside over a Forest Preserves meeting.

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

— Proposal seeks to increase protections, equity for temporary workers, by Sun-Times’ Ilana Arougheti

— Bill watch: State Rep. Kelly Cassidy and state Sen. Robert Peters are expected to file a resentencing bill for survivors of gender-based violence who are serving long sentences.

— 5th Ward: South Side aldermanic candidate knocked off ballot after officials say she lives in wrong ward: “Adrienne Irmer filed for the race to replace retiring 5th Ward Ald. Leslie Hairston, but election judges determined she lives in the 8th Ward and disqualified her,” writes Block Club’s Maxwell Evans.

— 16th Ward Ald. Stephanie Coleman faces 2 challengers, by Block Club’s Atavia Reed

— 21st Ward: Aldermanic candidate Ayana Clark has been endorsed by retired Congressman and Illinois Democratic Party Vice Chair Bobby Rush.

— 28th Ward: West Side Ald. Jason Ervin unopposed for 4th term after all 3 challengers kicked off ballot, by Block Club’s Kayleigh Padar

— 29th Ward: Ald. Chris Taliaferro faces 2 community activists in 29th Ward race on West Side, by Block Club’s Mack Liederman

— 30th Ward: With Ald. Ariel Reboyras retiring, 4 candidates are running to be next council member, by Block Club’s Quinn Myers

— 37th Ward: Ald. Emma Mitts faces 3 hopefuls vying to flip West Side city council seat after 23 years, by Block Club’s Kayleigh Padar

— UIC faculty and administration reach deal, ending 4-day strike; classes resume, by Tribune’s Zareen Syed

— Railroads need to kick in more money and build closer ties with residents in freight hubs like Chicago, officials say, by Tribune’s John Lippert

— City Council urged to approve public financing of Chicago elections, by Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman

— Chicago Police face renewed questions about extremist cops as Lightfoot dismisses concerns, by WTTW’s Heather Cherone

— DuPage County sheriff under fire for not backing assault weapons ban, by Daily Herald’s Alicia Fabbre

— Skokie faces $80M cost to replace pipes, keep lead out of drinking water in homes, by Tribune’s Caroline Kubzansky

— History lesson: In 1977, Skokie was a refuge for thousands of Holocaust survivors. Then a group of self-styled Nazis planned a march, by Tribune’s Ron Grossman

— Jan. 6 intruder who sat at Pelosi office desk convicted on all charges: “Richard Barnett, 62, was convicted of obstructing Congress’ Jan. 6 proceedings, a charge that carries a 20-year maximum sentence, as well as disorderly conduct in the Capitol while carrying a dangerous weapon: a “Hike ‘N Strike” walking stick that doubles as a stun weapon. He was also convicted of stealing an envelope from the desk in Pelosi’s suite,” by POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein

— 4 more Oath Keepers found guilty of seditious conspiracy tied to Jan. 6 attack, by POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney

— Trans former bus driver sues CTA, union for discrimination and wrongful termination: He successfully pushed “for the transit agency to add gender affirming care to its health insurance policy. … Since that breakthrough, Russia Brown has been fired from his job as a driver,” by WTTW’s Nick Blumberg.

— Judge rejects effort to make feds pay legal bills for R. Kelly’s ex-manager, by Tribune’s Jason Meisner and Megan Crepeau

DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID.

We asked what single event put you on your career path:

Vince Brandys, an optometrist: “When I was 13, my optometrist told me I wouldn't qualify as a military pilot. Later, he suggested I shadow him for a day and the rest is history.”

Eli Brottman: “I spoke at a forum by Congresswoman Lauren Underwood in 2019 and felt so encouraged that I started volunteering on campaigns before opening a consulting firm in 2021.”

Kaye Grabbe, an educator and library director: "In college, a friend talked me into volunteering at a local Chicago Boys Club. I tutored all four years."

Bryce C. Harris of Universal Gaming Group: “Getting hired to be a cash collector for a video gaming terminal operator.”

Mike Kreloff, an election attorney: "When Eugene McCarthy announced he would run for president in 1968, I went to the first campaign organizing meeting at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, nominated myself for chair and won."

Bennett Lawson, an aldermanic candidate and LGBT activist: “A vigil on Halsted Street after the murder of Matthew Shepherd in 1998 started me on a path to LGBT and HIV activism.”

Marilynn Miller: "In 1961, when I worked at General Mills during the punch-cards era of data processing, my boss invited some of the male workers to take a computer programming class at IBM. I told him I wanted in, too. That led to my first programming job at A.C. Nielsen — and a 55 year career as a programmer and systems analyst."

Raymond Sendejas, a government auditor: “After writing my Missouri congressman in high school, I won a paid internship and have been with the federal government ever since.”

In a sentence, how have your political views changed over time? Email skapos@politico.com

— Hakeem Jeffries hits Chicago Sunday: Joining the new House Democratic leader at a luncheon in River North will be Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) new chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, reports Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet.

— Carol Moseley Braun has been nominated by President Joe Biden as chair of the United States African Development Foundation. Moseley Braun was the first Black woman elected to the Senate, and she served as the U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa as well as Cook County recorder of deeds and Illinois state representative.

— Jerry Mickelson, the CEO and president of Chicago-based JAM Productions, will be among witnesses testifying for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today examining the live-entertainment ticketing industry. The hearing was prompted by a disruption of Taylor Swift ticket sales, report POLITICO’s Josh Sisco and Maggie Miller.

— Jim Durkin’s shining career had its share of comical miscues: “‘Identity politics’ fell flat, as he once was mistaken for a page and asked to fetch coffee,” writes Sun-Times’ Michael Sneed.

— David Kostelancik, an Illinois native, has been nominated by the president for ambassador to the Republic of Albania. Kostelancik, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, currently serves as foreign policy adviser to Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Mark Milley.

— Durbin leads Democrats critical of Biden over documents mess, “President Joe Biden had hoped to put the mishandling of sensitive government files behind him. Instead, the emergence of another batch of classified material now has his own party upset at him. Rather than close ranks, Democratic allies, including Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, responded with exasperation and growing concern,” via Bloomberg.

— Jeff Zients is Mr. Fix It. But he’s never had a slate of challenges like this, by POLITICO’s Jonathan Lemire

— Rebranding rift guts Blue Dog Dem ranks, by POLITICO’s Ally Mutnick and Sarah Ferris

— Police: 2 students dead, teacher hurt in Des Moines shooting, via The Associated Press

— Yuan-Ying Hsu is now managing partner of McGuireWoods’ Chicago office. She's a debt finance attorney for the firm. Hsu succeeds Christina Egan, was in the job since 2016 and remains at the firm as a partner.

— Madelyn Hawkins is now a director of cybersecurity communications and data privacy in FTI Consulting’s global crisis and litigation practice. She was VP at Morreale Communications.

— Mary Catherine Ryan, a banker, philanthropist and Edgewater fixture, dies at 83, by Sun-Times Ilana Arougheti

— Today, 9 a.m. through 3:45 p.m.: U.S. Undersecretary of Education James Kvaal and Chicago Community Colleges Chancellor Juan Salgado talk about education partnerships, including with One Million Degrees. Among moderators: Beth Swanson, CEO of A Better Chicago. Watch here

— Feb. 23: Pedro Martínez, CEO of Chicago Public Schools, will keynote the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s breakfast membership meeting at the Union League Club. Details here

MONDAY’s ANSWER: Howard Colman was known as “The Thomas Edison of Rockford.”

TODAY’s QUESTION: Who was the aide to former Mayor Richard M. Daley known for wearing a yellow jacket? Email skapos@politico.com

Springfield Ald. Joe McMenamin, former Secretary of State official Dave Druker, attorney and Prairie State College trustee Jay Readey and Ford Foundation fellow and former HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.

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