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Shia Kapos' must-read rundown of political news in the Land of Lincoln | | | | |  | | By Shia Kapos | TGIF, Illinois. We're gearing up for the ultimate parade: Pride.
|  | TOP TALKER | | Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former schoolteacher and union organizer, has yet to introduce any substantive progressive legislation. And there’s a reason: The mayor wants to build good will and rack up some wins that people might not expect before moving to things that he knows will face opposition. His first order of business: It was an ordinance to expand outdoor dining. It’s the kind of legislation that shows support for small businesses. It also allowed Johnson to team up with Ald. Brendan Reilly, who backed Johnson’s rival in the mayor’s race earlier this year. “The mayor focuses on the big picture and doesn’t get side-tracked on petty disagreements,” explained a person close to the mayor’s office. Other signs of negotiation: Johnson introduced a proposal to give small businesses and building owners the option to preserve iconic “vintage signs.” He sees it as a way to support business. And the mayor didn’t flinch when some of his aldermanic committee chairs voted no on a proposal he supports to pay $1 million to the mother of a man shot by a police officer who had turned off his body-worn camera. President Pro Tem Samantha Nugent (39th), Public Safety Chair Chris Taliaferro (29th) and Special Events Chair Nick Sposato (38th) saw it as a vote against police officers. And the mayor recognizes they have constituencies they must represent. The mayor “wasn’t bothered” because he knew the votes were there, according to the person familiar with the mayor’s office. The big question: Will all that good will he’s trying to build with aldermen be enough to help Johnson move his progressive agenda forward later on? This won’t help his effort: Biz groups excluded from Johnson's pension panel: “In a statement, Johnson said his pension working group will consult with others in months to come before coming up with recommendations that could be considered by the Illinois General Assembly in its fall veto session. But who that might be and how much influence they may have was not specified,” reports Crain’s Greg Hinz.
| | THE BUZZ | | |  Sheila Nix, taking reporters' questions when she was a familiar name in Springfield in 2006, has since become a trusted ally of the Bidens. | Associated Press file photo | Sheila Nix, who was a familiar name in Springfield before working on the national Democratic scene, has been named chief of staff to Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 campaign. “Sheila Nix is a battle-tested leader and dedicated public servant, and I am grateful she has agreed to join our 2024 campaign,” Harris said in a statement announcing the move. Nix currently serves as chief of staff at the Education Department. She landed there after leading Tusk Philanthropies. In 2020, Nix worked on the Biden for President campaign as a senior adviser to then-Sen. Harris. During the second Obama-Biden term, Nix was chief of staff to then-second lady Jill Biden and deputy assistant to President Barack Obama. In that position, she coordinated policy and communications for efforts focused on veterans, teachers, students, and women and girls. And before that: Nix also served as chief of staff to Joe Biden on the 2012 Obama-Biden campaign. Illinois politicos will remember Nix as a deputy governor for the Blagojevich administration. She left before it imploded. If you are Sheila Nix, Playbook would like to know when the VP will be campaigning in Illinois. Email skapos@politico.com.
| | WHERE'S JB | | No official public events.
| | WHERE's BRANDON | | No official public events.
| | 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. | | | | | | | ABOUT ABORTION | | — Xavier Becerra, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will visit a Planned Parenthood center in Fairview Heights and then another center in St. Louis. The visits coincide with the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. Last year, Becerra was visiting the same Planned Parenthood health centers when the ruling was announced. He’s returning to highlight the impact it’s had on the country. — Becerra’s trip spotlights 'tale of two states' on abortion access, writes Crain’s Katherine Davis — These experts knew America would change after Roe. they had no idea how much, via POLITICO magazine — 10 things we’ve learned about abortion in the year since Roe fell, by POLITICO’s Alice Miranda Ollstein and Megan Messerly
| | THE STATEWIDES | | — In the crossfire: State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid and his family were caught up this week in violence in the West Bank. Rashid and his family were visiting relatives when hundreds of Israeli settlers stormed the town of Turmus 'Ayya, where they were staying. The Israeli settlers set fire to cars and homes “to avenge the deaths of four Israelis killed by Palestinian gunmen the previous day,” according to The Associated Press, which documented the attack. Palestinians say one person was killed in the violence. A spokesman for Rashid said the family witnessed the violence and are currently sheltering in place. — Petersburg’s first Pride festival: Residents proud of growth in their small central Illinois town, and many have moved back, by Tribune’s Vivian La
| | CHICAGO | | — After Anjanette Young search warrant reforms, a massive drop in number of Chicago Police Department raids on homes, by Sun-Times’ Frank Main — Obama Presidential Center lands $26M grant from foundation, by Crain’s Brandon Dupré — Residents and birders frustrated that developer proceeded with demolition that damaged gull colony on Goose Island, by Tribune’s Vivian La — All Chicago Park District pools set to open Friday, by Block Club’s Jacqueline Cardenas — Where does your garden grow? An ordinance passed Wednesday by the City Council will allow growers to apply for a license to sell produce grown at community gardens or urban farms from on-site produce stands — not from personal backyards.
| | | BUSINESS OF POLITICS | | | — State elections board seeks accounting of Ald. Burnett’s missing campaign money: “City Council member’s catastrophic flood explanation “doesn’t ultimately resolve the issue,” Illinois State Board of Elections chief says,” by Sun-Times’ Tim Novak.
| | | TAKING NAMES | | | — STATE DINNER: Illinoisans who attended the state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, according to the White House guest list: Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi and Dr. Priya Krishnamoorthi, SPAAN Tech CEO Smita Shah and SVM Business Advisory’s Maarten de Jeu, and businessman Jim Crown and philanthropist Paula Crown. Details: Biden is happy to throw Modi an esteemed dinner. And bite his lip about human rights, by POLITICO’s Jonathan Lemire and Jennifer Haberkorn — Graduated: Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and Secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Mario Treto Jr. graduate today from the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program. — State Rep. La Shawn Ford headlined the international 2023 Psychiatric Science Conference earlier this week. He was invited because he's championing HB1, the medical psilocybin bill. — Marty Green, VP of government relations for the Illinois CPA Society and a familiar face in Springfield, has been promoted to brigadier general in the Air Force, Air National Guard. — Greg Hart, a former DuPage County commissioner, was elected to the Illinois Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. — Art Johnston and Pepe Peña, LGBTQ+ rights leaders and owners of the iconic gay bar Sidetrack in Chicago, are subjects of a documentary on Peacock, by WTTW’s Nick Blumberg and Eunice Alpasan. — Ty Warner and his Illinois-based Beanie Baby empire are the subject of “The Beanie Bubble, a film premiering on Apple TV+ on July 28. The film is “an over-the-top, dramatized portrait” of Warner (Zach Galifianakis), writes Larisha Paul in Rolling Stone.
| | ...SWAMP THINGS... | | — Ex-Proud Boy from Aurora gets more than 3 years in prison for Jan. 6 Capitol assault: “James Robert Elliott claims he was “filled with frustration, at the government, at Trump, at law enforcement and also at myself” in the days after the riot,” by Sun-Times’ Jon Seidel.
| | | | 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 vintage sign should be saved. Brian Bernardoni: “The Marquee at Wrigley Field. Obviously.” Paul Colgan: “The Chicago Theatre sign, which has already been landmarked.” Kevin Fanning: “The Redhead Piano Bar sign.” Elena Maria Gottreich: “Magikist’s lips are everything.” John Howell: “The ‘Stop & Drink’ on Chicago and Clark.” Steve Kinion: “The Lauterbach Tire & Muffler Man in Springfield.” Enza Raineri: “Years ago when my father worked for the city, and this sign was thrown away during construction work on the El. I still have it and wonder if a museum would want it.” Emily Spangler: “The White Star Cleaners sign on Montrose and Long. The laundromat/cleaners burned down a few months ago and the sign is still up.” What’s the parade you try not to miss? Email skapos@politico.com
| | THE NATIONAL TAKE | | — Sen Dick Durbin continues to push for a code of ethics for the U.S. Supreme Court. He argues it is both “urgent” and “long overdue,” via interview on SiriusXM’s The Laura Coates Show. — IRS whistleblowers allege sweeping political interference in Hunter Biden case; Congressman Darin LaHood weighs in. POLITICO’s Benjamin Guggenheim reports — No Labels declines to reveal just who is funding its third party bid, by POLITICO’s Heidi Przybyla and your Playbook host
| | TRANSITIONS | | — FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Ted Slowik is joining the research team at the Cook County Treasurer’s Office headed by Maria Pappas. He has been a columnist at the Daily Southtown. The Treasurer’s Office is focused on addressing issues of inequities of Illinois' property tax system. — Jim Leach is leaving his longtime role at WMAY to take a position as public information officer with the Illinois Department of Public Health, reports Illinois Times’ Don Howard. — Patricia Jjemba is now director of legislative and external affairs for the Cook County Public Defender’s Office. She was an assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Bureau of the state Attorney General’s Office.
| | | TRIVIA | | | THURSDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to Bill Velazquez for correctly answering that Twin Sisters is located in Savannah, Ill. TODAY’s QUESTION: Who was the former Chicago mayor arrested and held in Camp Douglas for allegedly assisting a Confederate soldier’s escape? Email skapos@politico.com
| | HAPPY BIRTHDAY | | Today: Ald. Scott Waguespack, former Secretary of State Jesse White, former Congressman Bob Dold, JMD Public Strategies’ Joe Duffy, III Foundation for Fair Contracting Executive Director Marc Poulos, government relations pro Valery Gallagher, D1 Capital Partners’ Jeremy Katz and journalist Dawn Reiss. Saturday: State Sen. Omar Aquino, Illinois House speaker spokesperson Jaclyn Driscoll, former state Rep. Joe Lyons, Chicago Department of Buildings’ Grant Ullrich, Illinois Department of Insurance’s K.C. Stralka, Doejo branding’s Phil Tadros, comms strategist Michael Tirrell and The New York Times’ Adrienne Hurst, a POLITICO alum. Sunday: former state Sen. Mike Jacobs, The Strategy Group partner Aviva Bowen, businessman James Crown, philanthropy pro Francee Harrington, former Illinois Supreme Court Commission Executive Director Jayne Reardon and columnist John Kass. -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 | | | | |  |
