DeSantis pokes at Pritzker in Illinois

By Shia Kapos

With help from Olivia Olander

Good Tuesday morning, Illinois. The short week already feels like a barnburner.

ELMHURST, Ill. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stopped here Monday on a three-state tour to highlight crime in places run by Democrats, and he got in some digs at Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.

Pandemic poke: “During Covid, even though your governor would lock you down, his family was in Florida,” DeSantis said, referring to Pritzker family members who retreated to their second home in Florida during the pandemic.

DeSantis bragged that Florida was “the fastest growing state in all the United States” while Illinois experienced “out migration.”

He knew his audience. “Do we have any Florida residents in the house today? Do we have any future Florida residents?” the Republican governor from Florida asked. The 250 Republicans and members of the Fraternal Order of Police gathered at the Knights of Columbus hall ate it up.

Presidential predilections: DeSantis’s speech was seen as laying the groundwork for a 2024 presidential run. It was organized by a new nonprofit group that’s taking his message national, writes POLITICO’s Alex Isenstadt. His comments in suburban Elmhurst echoed those earlier in the day in areas of New York and Pennsylvania where Donald Trump has a stake, notes NBC’s Natasha Korecki.

DeSantis’s zeroed in on all the hot-button issues that would rev up his party’s conservative base, from “woke” politics and critical race theory to “ludicrous” laws like eliminating cash bail. “You guys just did that,” he told the crowd.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis brought his anti-"woke" message to suburban Elmhurst, Ill., on Monday, Feb. 20, 2023. | Screen shot

“The reason why you have crime that has spiraled out of control in so many of these different areas is because you have politicians putting woke ideology ahead of public safety,” DeSantis said.

Not without pushback: Protesters gathered across the street from the DeSantis event, with signs that read, “Illinois is a place where we say gay. We’re proud of it,” one protester told Sun-Times’ David Struett.

Pritzker excoriated DeSantis’ visit, tweeting, “Every candidate hoping to hold public office in the land of Lincoln should condemn this event.” And Mayor Lori Lightfoot called DeSantis a “racist demagogue,’ via NBC News.

She also criticized mayoral rival Paul Vallas for accepting the FOP’s endorsement. Vallas criticized DeSantis’ visit, too, a move that caused head-scratching among some members at the FOP.

Spotted in Elmhurst: Congressman Darin LaHood, who helped introduce DeSantis to the crowd, GOP National Committeeman Richard Porter, former GOP governor candidate Darren Bailey, state Senate Republican Leader John Curran, House Republican Leader Tony McCombie, state House Deputy Republican Leader Norine Hammond, state Sens. Andrew Chesney, Don DeWitte, Dave Syverson and Sue Rezin, state Reps. Dan Caulkins, Bradley Fritts, Jackie Haas, Jeff Keicher, Adam Niemerg, Travis Weaver, Dan Ugaste and Blaine Wilhour, former lieutenant governor candidate Aaron Del Mar, former Reps. Dave McSweeney and Jeanne Ives, former Sen. Dan Duffy, Appellate Judge Liam Brennan and State GOP deputy executive director Tommy Choi.

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Posted this a.m.: Susana Mendoza says Mayor Lori Lightfoot betrayed Chicago cops disabled by Covid, including Mendoza’s brother, reports Sun-Times’ Frank Main

Mendoza will announce a bill being filed by state Sen. Bill Cunningham and state Rep. Jay Hoffman to protect Chicago police severely injured by Covid. Mendoza’s brother, Det. Sgt. Joaquin Mendoza, “is one of 20 or more officers who could be left without benefits by the city’s policy of refusing full duty disability benefits to the officers severely affected by Covid in the days before the vaccines were available,” according to Mendoza.

If you are Ron DeSantis, Playbook would like to know if there’s anything you like about Illinois. Email skapos@politico.com.

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At the Valeska Hinton Early Childhood Education Center in Peoria at 10 a.m. to discuss his FY24 budget proposal — At the MacArthur Early Childhood Center in Macomb at 1:30 p.m. also to discuss his budget proposal.

No official public events.

At the Cook County Office Building to announce an additional $25 million in funding to address gun violence in Cook County communities.

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

— SON OF A GUN: Federal judge denies bid to block Illinois assault weapons ban, Naperville gun restriction: “The decision appears to be the first from a federal judge considering whether the ban meets the standards set out last summer in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling authored by Justice Clarence Thomas,” by Sun-Times’ Kaitlin Washburn.

— How admittedly corrupt ex-Illinois lawmakers get to keep their pensions: “Illinois has paid out millions in pension payments to ex-lawmakers who have admitted criminal wrongdoing or are awaiting trial,” by WBEZ’s Dave McKinney.

— New law gives additional hope to youngest felons facing life in prison: “Prison sentences that give inmates convicted at a young age no hope of ever getting out will soon be a thing of the past in Illinois,” by Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner.

— State poised to mandate paid leave for nearly all workers, by The Associated Press’ Claire Savage

— ‘That could be one of our balloons’: Illinois hobbyist says downed object may belong to amateur club, by POLITICO’s Matt Berg

— Some details on the governor’s grocery story initiative, by WCIA’s Danny Connolly

— Portions of two townships could be annexed into Springfield, by State Journal-Register’s Patrick Keck

— EXCLUSIVE: Teacher union’s big spending on Brandon Johnson draws criticism over union influence and pushback from some members: “[It’s] drawing criticism from rival candidates and even CTU members who feel the union isn’t being transparent or responsible with teachers’ money,” by Tribune’s Sarah Macaraeg, A.D. Quig, Alice Yin and Gregory Pratt.

— García gets personal in latest campaign ad: ‘I nearly lost my son to the gangs,’ by Tribune’s Gregory Pratt. Here’s the ad.

— Garcia disputes the idea his public safety plan mirrors the mayor’s, by Derrick Blakley for Center for Illinois Politics.

— JUICE: Where the money’s come from in Chicago’s mayoral race, by Sun-Times’ Lauren FitzPatrick and Jesse Howe

— Political funds backed by business leaders challenge progressives’ efforts to expand power, by WTTW’s Heather Cherone

— 21st Ward: Candidate Ronnie Mosley’s Morehouse academic credentials ‘fabricated,’ according to report: “A Crusader investigation of Mosley’s academic credentials revealed that the ambitious 31-year-old community organizer never graduated from Morehouse College,” reports Erick Johnson for The Chicago Crusader.

Mosley’s campaign is pushing back, telling Playbook that he attended Morehouse for six years and therefore counts as an alum. The campaign says Chicago Area Morehouse Alumni Chapter VP Michael Levesque recognizes Mosley as an alum “because of his time there and his studies.”

— City Council members appointed by Mayor Lightfoot find ties to her are a double-edged sword, by Tribune’s Alice Yin

— There’s major turnover on the City Council, but aldermen on West Side look to keep things status quo, by Tribune’s John Byrne

— 19th Ward: Ald. Matt O’Shea declines invitations to debate challengers, by Block Club’s Tim Moran

— 28th Ward: Ald. Jason Ervin no longer running unopposed after challenger added back to ballot — for now, by Block Club’s Kayleigh Padar

— 34th Ward: Bill Conway is the only non-incumbent candidate for Chicago City Council to have won endorsements of both Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth.

— 36th Ward. Ald. Gilbert Villegas is being endorsed by Gov. JB Pritzker, who called him, “a fearless champion for justice.”

— Where suburban GOP megadonors Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein's $36M went last fall: “Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten of Downers Grove — a target of the Uihleins' political muscle — said the enormity of their donations reveals "significant problems" with how campaigns are financed,” by Daily Herald’s Russell Lissau.

— Black mayors of 4 biggest U.S. cities draw strength from one another: “The mayors of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston have banded together as they confront violent crime, homelessness and other similar challenges. Their shared experiences and working-class roots as Black Americans give them a different perspective on leading their cities than most of their predecessors,” via The New York Times.

— New property tax incentive could remake Fulton Market and other neighborhoods into havens for affordable housing: “City officials, housing advocates and some builders say it could also ensure future development doesn’t keep families with modest incomes locked out of downtown’s most vibrant neighborhoods,” by Tribune’s Brian J. Rogal.

— Big talk, slow progress from Mayor Lightfoot on anti-violence programs, according to Illinois Answers Project’s Dan Hinkel and Casey Toner

— More than decade ago, CPD vowed to catch a cop’s killers. “Now those cases, plagued by accusations of misconduct, are falling apart,” reports Tribune’s Madeline Buckley.

— Woodlawn neighbors stepping up to help migrants housed at school-turned-shelter, by Block Club’s Maxwell Evans

— Uptown church welcomes exiled Nicaraguan priest and former political prisoners, by Tribune’s Richard Requena

— 1919 race riots memorial project will honor victims where they died — in streets all over city, by Sun-Times’ Michael Loria

— Forty years ago, Harold Washington shook up Chicago politics, by Claude Walker in the Sun-Times

— Thousands crowd into Waukegan’s new casino on opening weekend; ‘This is going to be good for the community,’ by Lake County News-Sun’s Steve Sadin

— More than 1K people sign petition opposing $800M renovation project of Ryan Field: “Northwestern says it conducted a poll and found majority of people in Evanston support the project,” via ABC 7.

— Paroled in Starved Rock killings after nearly 60 years in prison, Chester Weger seeks a hearing to prove his innocence: “His lawyers want a judge to consider a DNA test they say points to another man and witnesses who say they were told a relative of one of the victims arranged for mobsters to kill the three west suburban women,” by Sun-Times’ Frank Main.

— Illinois man pleads guilty in Planned Parenthood clinic fire, by The Associated Press’s Claire Savage

— United Airlines plans to ease fees on seats for families after Biden’s call-out, by Bloomberg’s Siddharth Vikram Philip

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We asked about your family arriving in the United States.

Matthew Beaudet: “My indigenous side has been here since time immemorial. My other side arrived on ships from France, the Netherlands, England and Ireland.”

Rosemary Caruk: “All four of my grandparents came to the United States from Poland by ship.”

Lissa Druss: “My grandfather came to the U.S. in 1913 on the SS San Giorgio and my grandmother came in 1921 on the SS San Giovanni.”

Steve Hild: “Dad's side arrived from Ireland in the 1840s following the potato famine. Mom's side arrived in the early 1900s from Serbia/Croatia.”

Ashvin Lad: “Dad came over from India in September 1968.”

Mark Peysakhovich: “My mom, dad, brother Igor and I came here as religious refugees from Russia on April 10, 1980.”

Sylvia Puente: “My mother’s family did not cross the border, the border crossed us. My mother’s family always lived in northern Mexico, which became Texas.”

Enza Raineri: “My maternal grandfather petitioned to come to the United States after WWII from Sicily.”

Dale Sachtleben: “My father’s family arrived from Germany in 1820 and traveled up the Mississippi River and then by wagon to Clinton County. My mother’s family also came from Germany before arriving in Mattoon.”

Patricia Ann Watson: “From what is now Sierra Leone, then sold at a slave market in Richmond, Va.”

Where is the most unusual place you've bumped into a politician? Email skapos@politico.com

— Kellyanne Conway, campaign manager of Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign, headlines the Sangamon County Republican Lincoln Day dinner on May 3. Details here

— Longtime activist Mary L. Johnson celebrates 90th birthday, by WBEZ’s Michael Puente

— SPOTTED: Chicago Ald. Matt O’Shea (19th) held his annual Get Behind the Vest Pancake breakfast Sunday to benefit Chicago Police officers. Attending were Chicago Fire and “Sex and the City”/”And Just Like That” star David Eigenberg, mayoral hopefuls Kam Buckner and Paul Vallas, state Sen. Bill Cunningham, state Reps. Kelly Burke and Fran Hurley and Appellate Court Justice Jesse Reyes.

— Republican 2024 rivals go shopping for big donors, by POLITICO’s Alex Isenstadt

— What it looks like when the far right takes control of local government, by POLITICO’s David Siders

— Trump’s White House accomplishments aren’t so easy to sell on the campaign trail, by POLITICO’s Meridith McGraw

— Will lawmakers be able to stall vote on rail merger? “Illinois' U.S. senators and two of its House representatives asked [Surface Transportation Board] Chair Martin Oberman to defer a vote,” reports Daily Herald’s Marni Pyke.

— Philip Cowan, a longtime attorney and the father of state Sen. Laura Fine, has died. Details here

— Rebecca Blank dies at 67; renowned economist led the University of Wisconsin: “Blank was president-elect of Northwestern University last year when a cancer diagnosis led her to step down,” via The Associated Press.

— Today at noon: Ellen Alberding, president of the Joyce Foundation, discusses economic mobility, racial inequities and community-building with Paul Simon Public Policy Institute director John Shaw. Register for free here 

FRIDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to Mark McCombs and Matthew Beaudet for correctly answering that Chicagoan and Vice President Charles G. Dawes, who served with President Calvin Coolidge, wrote “It’s All in the Game,” sung here by Tommy Edwards.

TODAY’s QUESTION: Who are the Appleknockers? Email skapos@politico.com

Today: state Rep. Theresa Mah, state Rep. Lamont Robinson Jr., Chicago Ald. David Moore, Highland Park Councilmember Daniel Kaufman, former Congressman John Shimkus, former Congressman Phil Hare, former state Urbana mayor and former state Rep. Laurel Prussing, former Ald. Bill Beavers, IDFPR legislative liaison Sarah Doerr, Tribune political reporter Ray Long, PR pro Lara Shipp Shiffman and former Cubs player Adam Greenberg.

Monday: Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism Executive Director Erika Harold, University of Chicago math professor Shmuel Weinberger and WGN-TV meteorologist Tom Skilling.

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