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Shia Kapos' must-read rundown of political news in the Land of Lincoln | | | | |  | | By Shia Kapos | TGIF, Illinois. There are no classified documents hidden within this report. BUT SERIOUSLY: Trump has been indicted in a federal classified documents probe, and here's an indictment cheat sheet, via POLITICO
|  | TOP TALKER | | | | 
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias talks to reporters on Thursday, June 8, 2023, along with state lawmakers, Planned Parenthood and other advocates. | Secretary of State's Office photo | Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias criticized Republican lawmakers Thursday for not supporting a bill that prevents automated license plate reader (ALPR) data from being used for anything other than solving crimes. House Bill 3326, which the governor is expected to sign, was heralded Thursday by reproductive health advocates during a presser at the Planned Parenthood offices in the Loop. The bill prevents ALPR from being used to target those seeking abortions in the state or for trying to identify drivers’ immigration status. “We need to regulate these cameras so they aren’t being used for surveillance to track innocent people,” said Giannoulias, whose office oversees license plate distribution. He came up with the idea for legislation during his political campaign last year just after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. On Thursday, Giannoulias said the legislation shouldn’t be viewed as “political or progressive” but about “fairness.” Taking offense: “The fact that we got zero Republican votes breaks my heart,” the secretary of state said. “It’s sad. It’s also offensive and ridiculous.” The irony of it all: “There are folks on the far right who are interested in this legislation” because it addresses concerns about privacy and how data is used in that regard, Giannoulias said. Some conservatives “think it’s outlandish” that it's so accessible to public agencies. NBC 5’s Charlie Wojciechowski has more from the presser.
| | THE BUZZ | | Mayor Brandon Johnson extends 12 weeks of parental leave to Chicago Public Schools: “CPS employees will get same benefit already available to other city workers beginning with 2023-24 school year,” by Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman. This was an ongoing debate between the CTU and former Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The two sides "battled over the district’s parental leave policy at the start of the year, with the union highlighting the discrepancy between the maximum two weeks of paid parental leave that CPS employees previously received and the three months granted to city employees as of Jan. 1,” report Tribune's Sarah Macaraeg and Gregory Pratt. Johnson and schools chief Pedro Martinez noted the details will be ironed out over the summer and approved by the board.
| | | WHERE'S JB | | No official public events.
| | WHERE's BRANDON | | At Moonlight Studios at 9 a.m. for the annual Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) Conference.
| | Where's Toni | | At the Cook County Health Professional Building at 11 a.m. with Sen. Dick Durbin and others to discuss the shortage of life-saving drugs for cancer patients. Thank you for reading Illinois Playbook! Drop me a line sometime: skapos@politico.com
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | THE STATEWIDES | | — INVESTIGATION | Older adults coming out of Illinois prisons face steep roadblocks in their reentry journey: “At least 17,000 adults age 50 and older have been released from Illinois prisons since 2014, and thousands more are in line to come out soon. Older adults are less likely to reoffend than their younger counterparts but face more hurdles to successful reentry,” by Injustice Watch’s Carlos Ballesteros. — Inside Chicago’s catalytic converter theft epidemic: “Thieves have taken more than 17,000 in Chicago since 2019, and that’s surely an undercount. Of those reported thefts, only 34 had an arrest,” reports Sun-Times’ Stephanie Zimmermann. — Legal settlement ensures toxic coal ash will be removed from Middle Fork of the Vermilion River, state’s only national scenic river, by Tribune’s Michael Hawthorne
| | SPOTLIGHT | | The Illinois House Speaker’s Office says it’s been informed that the complaints against state Rep. Jonathan Carroll “have been resolved and closed” by the “ Legislative Inspector General’s office and determined “unsubstantiated.” Capitol Fax's Rich Miller scooped the story. Carroll was accused by former staffer Elly Fawcett-Neal of wrongly firing her because she was pregnant. Carroll had denied the accusations. (See The Buzz.) He did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday. Carroll has already been appointed chair of the House Police and Fire Committee after being sidelined from a leadership position while the IG investigation was going on. Still outstanding: Fawcett-Neal told Playbook her complaint is still being investigated by the EEOC and the Illinois Human Rights Commission. “I stand by everything I reported. I think his appointment is premature,” she told Playbook. Meanwhile, Carroll faces a primary in 2024 from attorney Tracy Katz Muhl. She’s hosting a fundraiser tomorrow featuring high-profile Democrats, including Congressman Brad Schneider (IL-10), Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and state Sen. Laura Fine.
| | CHICAGO | | | | 
Chicago Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th) holds up her phone for a selfie with some of the new City Council members on Thursday, June 6, 2023. | POLITICO's Shia Kapos | — NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: Some members of the freshman City Council took part in a City Club meet-and-greet at Maggiano’s on Thursday. Ald. Pat Dowell, who heads the powerful Finance Committee, welcomed the group before they each took the stage. In her remarks, Dowell offered advice we can all live by: Do the work. Remain humble. Get to know everyone in the various city departments. And go to committee meetings. In attendance were Alds. Desmon Yancy (5th), William Hall (6th), Julia Ramirez (12th), Jeylu Gutierrez (14th), Bill Conway (34th), Bennett Lawson (44th), Angela Clay (46th) and Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th). — Justice Department officials take interest in Chicago anti-violence programs, by Sun-Times’ Andy Grimm — Some Chicago beaches making a comeback after Lake Michigan’s high water levels ate into the shoreline, by Tribune’s Ezra Maille
| | COOK COUNTY AND COLLARS | | — Lake Forest councilman resigns amid police investigation; cites ‘personal reasons,’ by Lake County News-Sun’s Daniel I. Dorfman — LGBTQ debate prompts church’s exit: “An Elmhurst Methodist church is leaving its national conference, part of an exodus of churches opposed to a greater role for the LGBTQ community,” by Patch’s David Giuliani. — Chicago Botanic Garden to receive $21M donation, largest in garden history. The donation is from the Northbrook-based Negaunee Foundation, headed by investor and GOP political donor Richard W. Colburn. h/t Daniel I. Dorfman for Pioneer Press
| | BUSINESS OF POLITICS | | — Cook County Judge Vazquez loses retention vote: “Vazquez, who was set to retire next month, was the only Cook County associate judge who was not reappointed to a new four-year term. The vote follows reporting by Injustice Watch about the judge’s actions inside and outside the courtroom,” by Injustice Watch’s Jonah Newman.
| | SPOTTED | | — Congresswoman Robin Kelly hosted members of the Congressional Black Caucus in Chicago on Thursday at a reception at the Waldorf Astoria. The CBC delegation included its chair, Nevada Congressman Steven Horsford, and Congress members Yvette Clarke (N.Y.), Andre Carson (Ind.), Lucy McBath (Ga.), Troy Carter (La.) and Shontel Brown (Ohio). Also in attendance, Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton, Mayor Brandon Johnson, Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, Cook County Commissioner Bill Lowry, Board of Review Commissioner Larry Rogers Jr., Chicago State University President Z Scott, Urban League President Karen Freeman-Wilson, Matteson Mayor Sheila Chalmers Currin and Park Forest Trustee John V. Moore.
| | | | GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | Reader Digest | | We asked what wild animals you’ve seen in your neighborhood, and apparently Illinois is in the wilderness. Janice Anderson: “A beaver swimming in the pond behind our house.” Matthew W. Beaudet: “Metra tracks are behind our house, so we have coyotes and last year saw a bobcat.” Susan Burritt: “A wild turkey.” Jessica Catlin: “In Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhood near the forest preserve, we see deer weekly.” Rob Christie: “Coyotes in our neighborhood are smart. They roam our streets around dusk on Thursdays when we put our garbage bins out.” Ben Friend: “Walked out to my car one morning to find a coyote standing right by it. It started moving toward me, but luckily just ran right past me and away.” John Fritchey: “I've seen cougars in the Viagra Triangle and moles at the federal building.” (Everyone’s a comedian!) Mark Huddle: “My American Bulldog, Winslow Homer Esq., once treed two raccoons in Lakeview.” Nick Kalm: “Living near a forest preserve, we see deer, hawks, owls, coyotes and even the occasional fox.” Ashvin Lad: “I came home to find a deer asleep in my condo's courtyard. For context, I live a few blocks west of Wrigley Field.” Pat McCann: “Fox, coyote and a neighbor's constantly barking beagle.” Joan Pederson: “An opossum.” James Scalzitti: “In Edgebrook, we see deer, an occasional coyote and foxes a couple times.” Mike Stokle: “A fawn under a bench on our front porch yesterday.” Patricia Ann Watson: “Coyotes, chipmunks, moles, snakes, deer, foxes, raccoons, opossums, skunks, turkey vultures, hawks, cranes and an Eagle pair.” Steven Yoshida: “A peregrine falcon dismantles pigeons in my backyard from time to time. Also Blago jogs by once a week, but I doubt he counts.” What would be a good Chicago location, other than Soldier Field, for the Bears to buy property and build a stadium? Email skapos@politico.com
| | THE NATIONAL TAKE | | — The conservative Supreme Court might have paved the way for Dems to take the House, via POLITICO — Biden world restructures itself around selling Bidenomics, by POLITICO’s Adam Cancryn — Canada’s ‘worst wildfire season’ is just getting started, by POLITICO's Kyle Duggan
| | TAKING NAMES | | — Ald. Matt O’Shea (19th) has launched the Help a Hero campaign for the month of June to raise funds for the Road Home Program at Rush University. — Greg Hart, a former DuPage County commissioner, has been named to the top 40 list of the Maverick PAC, a national center-right political action committee. The list each year features 40 conservatives form the government and business
| | | IN MEMORIAM | | | — Pat Robertson, evangelical and Christian political trailblazer, dies at 93: “The televangelist ran for president in 1988 and founded the Christian Coalition,” by POLITICO’s David Cohen. — Longtime Sangamon County Recorder Mary Ann Lamm dies. “She was a model of public view,” State Journal-Registers’ Steven Spearie reports.
| | TRIVIA | | THURSDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to Appellate Court Justice Mathias Delort for correctly answering that from1946 to 1966, the University of Illinois at Navy Pier was a two-year branch of the Champaign-Urbana University of Illinois. TODAY’s QUESTION: What historic landmark building in Chicago was named after a farm-machinery manufacturer? Email skapos@politico.com
| | HAPPY BIRTHDAY | | Today: Former state Rep. Keith Wheeler, political consultant Liz Brown-Reeves, Mesirow Executive Chair Richard Price, AL Media Strategy’s Sandra Hosseini, blogger Irene Michaels and lobbyist power couple Matt O’Shea and Sarah Kuhn. Saturday: former first kid Sasha Obama, Circuit Court Judge Dominique Ross, former CPS CEO Paul Vallas, former state Sen. Jim Oberweis, Resilience Force COO Sufyan Sohel, Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg and political consultant Eli Brottman. Sunday: Lake County Democratic chair and former state Rep. Lauren Beth Gash, Terminal Getaway Spa CEO Marko Iglendza, Holistic CEO Tom Alexander, governor’s office deputy comms director Jason Rubin, GOP political consultant Nick Klitzing, Young Democrats events director Marissa Gibson, civic leader Maria Smithburg and former state Rep. Cal Skinner Jr. -30- | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |  |
