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Shia Kapos' must-read rundown of political news in the Land of Lincoln | | | | |  | | By Shia Kapos | TGIF, Illinois. And happy “Bloomsday.” It's the day literary nerds commemorate James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” which features the day in the life of Leopold Bloom in London on June 16, 1904. PROGRAMMING NOTE: Illinois Playbook will be off Monday in observance of Juneteenth. We’ll be back in your inbox Tuesday morning.
|  | TOP TALKER | | | Alarm bells were raised at the pre-slating meeting Thursday for the Cook County Democratic Party, where wanna-be candidates for 2024 made a pitch for endorsements. This is a get-to-know-you meeting before official slating in August. Judicial candidates starred in Thursday’s pre-slating. Today, candidates for county offices and the water board will make their case. More on that below. Serious concerns: During Thursday’s presentation, Maggie O'Keefe, the committeewoman for the 40th Ward, called out the Illinois State Bar Association for not recommending more women of color. O’Keefe had expressed similar concerns ahead of the 2022 primary. Hear, hear! Committeewoman Leslie Hairston of the 5th Ward spoke up that she agreed with the concerns. By the numbers: O’Keefe told Playbook she first became concerned last year after her ward interviewed 40 candidates for the 2022 ballot. At that time, the bar association rated 22 qualified, 12 were waiting for review and six weren’t recommended. Of those six, four were Black, one was Latina and one white — and all were women, O’Keefe said. O’Keefe’s recommendation for 2024: Party leaders should look deeper than just bar association ratings when considering which candidates to slate. The bar association defended its process for evaluating candidates, saying it’s “conducted as part of the Alliance of Bar Association for Judicial Screening and involves an extensive investigation and candidate interview. The candidates are evaluated based on several judicial criteria. That process results in a public rating of the candidate. The ISBA plays no role in the slating process,” spokesman Timothy Slating said in an email to Playbook. ALSO THURSDAY: 47th Ward Committeeman Paul Rosenfeld questioned the resume of Corinne Heggie, who wants to run for the circuit court. His beef: Heggie’s background is focused on representing big banks and mortgage companies, and Rosenfeld wants someone who’s thinking about the little guy. WHAT TO WATCH TODAY: Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez is facing challenges from fellow Democrats in her reelection bid — possibly from folks in the party who are miffed that Martinez last year propped up candidates who opposed people endorsed by the party. Stay tuned. Here’s the rundown of candidates.
| | THE BUZZ | | Another guilty plea was handed out for a bribery scheme that took place inside the Illinois Capitol. This time it was James T. Weiss, the son-in-law of former Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios and husband of former state Rep. Toni Berrios. Great lead from Tribune’s Jason Meisner: “In the annals of Chicago public corruption prosecutions, the federal bribery case against businessman James Weiss didn’t have the high profile of a Rod Blagojevich or George Ryan, and certainly not Michael Madigan. But in just over a week, Weiss’ trial … managed to pack in a veritable corruption cornucopia.” Perspective from Sun Times’ Jon Seidel: “The verdict makes Weiss the sixth person convicted by a federal jury in Chicago this year as a result of the feds’ public corruption investigations.” As with the ComEd bribery trial that ended last month, the Weiss case revolved around questionable lobbying practices and important folks wearing wires to help prove the prosecution’s case.
| | | WHERE'S JB | | | No official public events.
| | | WHERE's BRANDON | | | At Daley Plaza at 9:30 a.m. for the Juneteenth flag raising ceremony — At Fosco Park at 11:30 a.m. for a Safe Spaces youth kickoff event.
| | | Where's Toni | | | No official public events. 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. | | | | | | | WHERE'S LORI | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot is headlining a Chicago fundraiser Tuesday to support Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri. Planned Parenthood’s Fairview Heights facility in the St. Louis region has seen a sharp increase in demand from patients traveling from other states seeking reproductive care since Roe v. Wade was overturned a year ago. Namey names on the invitation include state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering, Democratic Committeewoman Lucy Moog, philanthropist Cari Sacks, financial exec Jennifer Steins and numerous others listed here along with the RSVP to attend. Also attending: Colleen McNicholas, the chief medical officer of the Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region. She was just invited to the White House by VP Kamala Harris to talk about abortion care in the U.S.
| | THE STATEWIDES | | — Race riot site in Springfield eligible for National Park Service, by Illinois Times’ Dean Olsen — ‘Severe' drought conditions reported in Cook County as lack of rain hammers Chicago area, by NBC 5 — AmeriCorps grants $2.2M to Chicago, downstate Illinois groups for public health programs, by Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet — Illinois House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel (18th) hosted an end-of-session community forum with fellow Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (17th) and state Sen. Laura Fine (9th) on Wednesday at the Evanston Ecology Center. Interesting take-away, according to attendees: Fine said 95 percent of the bills passed in her Behavioral and Mental Health Committee were on a unanimous vote.
| | | CHICAGO | | | — Long-sought Chicago casino could open by Labor Day as Bally’s plan for temporary site clears state hurdle: “The Illinois Gaming Board’s ‘preliminary suitability’ finding allows Bally’s to lay the groundwork for operations both at the Medinah Temple in River North and the permanent $1.7 billion casino complex at Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street, expected to open by 2026,” by Sun-Times’ Mitchell Armentrout. — Here are four potential city sites for a new Bears Stadium to keep the team in Chicago. The Bears would be all ears if presented the right deal, reports WTTW’s Paris Schutz. (See Reader Digest ideas here.) — New mayor off to ‘very encouraging start,’ says Chamber president: “Jack Lavin still isn’t willing, however, to back $800 million in business taxes Mayor Brandon Johnson wants for social programs that are key to his anti-violence strategy,” by Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman. — Chicago Police Board fires sergeant for actions in Anjanette Young raid: “Sgt. Alex Wolinski, who joined the department in 2002, was accused of violating eight departmental rules, including inattention to duty, disobedience of an order and disrespect to or maltreatment of any person,” by Tribune’s Sam Charles. — As Johnson weighs Board of Education picks, some parents and advocates worry about a lack of engagement, reports WTTW’s Matt Masterson — NASCAR partners with Lou Malnati’s, Garrett, Vienna Beef for street race weekend, by Crain’s Avery Donmoyer — Name fix: It was Charles Smith of CS Insurance who attended the Lincoln Leadership Prize event. We stumbled Thursday in listing his name.
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don’t miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | | | Reader Digest | | We asked what you look forward to at fundraising dinners. Rosemary Caruk: “To see executive leadership raise their paddle for a significant donation.” Nick Kalm: “Short, interesting and relevant speeches, personable tablemates and something other than ‘rubber chicken’ on the menu.” David Ormsby pines for fundraising dinners thrown by state Sen. Omar Aquino, whose events are at “intimate restaurants with exquisite menus and witty guests. Aquino could be a party planner in his next career.” Lucas Hawley: “I like to run into people I haven’t seen in a long time because of Covid.” Litesa Wallace: “A crowd full of people with diversity of thought and at least one impactful conversation.” What's a good way to celebrate Juneteenth? Email skapos@politico.com
| | THE NATIONAL TAKE | | — Biden muscles Ticketmaster, SeatGeek to scrap hidden ticket fees after Taylor Swift debacle: “Our hope is that as you build momentum around voluntary action, more and more (companies) will do it," said Michael Negron, a special assistant to the president on economic policy — and a former Chicago City Hall policy adviser, via USA Today. — Dems eye redistricting redos to regain House majority, by POLITICO’s Nicholas Wu and Ally Mutnick — RNC shuts down Hutchinson’s push to amend loyalty pledge amid Trump indictment drama, by POLITICO’s Natalie Allison and Steven Shepard — DeSantis kicks off feud over College Board’s AP psych class, by POLITICO’s Juan Perez Jr. and Andrew Atterbury
| | Transitions | | — Pasquale Gianni is now director of government affairs for the Teamsters Joint Council 25 — and will continue as staff counsel as well. — Aaron Gavant is now a partner in Barnes & Thornburg’s Chicago office in the Finance, Insolvency and Restructuring Department. He was a partner at Mayer Brown. — Jarquetta Egeston has been named executive director of the South Side YMCA. Egeston most recently was dean of students and director of student services for the University of Chicago Graham School, where she has worked since 2015.
| | | TAKING NAMES | | | Harvard-bound: Eight Chicagoans are headed to the Harvard Business School’s Executive Education course on nonprofit management next month. It’s a competitive application process. The honorees and the nonprofits they lead are Inhe Choi of the HANA Center, an immigrant resource center; Jason Coleman of Project SYNCERE, which focuses on STEM; Christa Hamilton of UCAN, which works with children who have experienced trauma or neglect; Alaina Harkness of Current Innovation, which addresses water challenges; Cara Hendrickson of Impact for Equity, which advocates for racial, economic and social justice; Blake-Anthony Johnson of Chicago Sinfonietta orchestra; Imran Khan of Embarc education program; and Carole Wood of Northwestern University Settlement Association, which addresses poverty.
| | TRIVIA | | THURSDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to Clem Balanoff and Ted McClelland for correctly answering that Hillary Clinton and John Wayne Gacy were both born in what was Edgewater Hospital in Chicago. TODAY’s QUESTION: What was the convention song at the Republican National Convention in Chicago in 1904? Email skapos@politico.com
| | HAPPY BIRTHDAY | | Today: Businessman Willie Wilson, who turns 75 and is celebrating by giving away $75,000 to jail detainees, homeless and senior citizens and churches. Also celebrating: businesswoman and former White House social secretary Desiree Rogers, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund’s Griselda Vega Samuel and designer Yolanda Lorente. Saturday: State Rep. Jeff Keicher, MWRD President Kari Steele, Cook County Forest Preserve’s Eileen Figel, political organizer Max Holmberg, EMR principal consultant David Dolkart, public policy consultant Adam Schuster, MWS-Global senior VP Craig Roberts and PR pro Kiran Advani. Sunday: State Rep. Aaron Ortiz, former Ald. Solomon Gutstein, LITE Strategies CEO Litesa Wallace, TV news producer Lisa Barron, Beyond the Beltway radio host Bruce DuMont, Axion Analytical Laboratories’ Antigone Polite and journalist and former Better Government Association President Andy Shaw. Monday: Entrepreneur Andrew Perlman, Touch Communications owner Nina Mariano and former political candidate William Olson. -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 | | | | |  |
