Dem convention has peace and a host

By Shia Kapos

Good Wednesday morning, Illinois. Dear Summer, we get it. You’re hot.

IN MEMORIAM: Blackhawks chair Rocky Wirtz has died. Details below.

The Democratic National Convention in Chicago won’t see any labor strikes, thanks to a peace agreement signed with union leaders Tuesday — and if businessman Michael Sacks has his way, the biggest party of 2024 won’t face financial troubles either.

It’s official: Sacks is leading the host committee that will raise the $80 million-plus needed to fund the event, Playbook has learned. He represented the host committee in the labor agreement that assures there'll be no union protests during the 2024 convention.

It’s all kumbaya: Democratic National Committee Chair Jamie Harrison and Chicago Federation of Labor President Bob Reiter signed the labor peace agreement at a McCormick Place press event Tuesday with Gov. JB Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson and labor leaders on hand.

Harrison called the labor agreement “historic,” adding “it’s the fastest that we’ve ever done this type of agreement ever, ever.”

It's a union town: Pritzker and Johnson said the agreement is a testament to why Chicago is tailor made for the convention.

The labor deal is a big step, but a convention CEO has yet to be named. DNC officials and Illinois Democratic leaders dismissed the notion that it’s taking a while for President Joe Biden, the Democrats’ nominee, to give a thumbs up on the hire.

“They are ahead of schedule. The labor agreement and other critical contracts have been signed, and they’ve made big steps in setting up operations and preparing to hire staff,” Illinois Democratic Party Executive Director Ben Hardin told Playbook.

Devil in the details: After signing the no-strike agreement, DNC Secretary Jason Rae, DNC Director of Convention Planning Alex Hornbrook and interim executive director of the host committee Kaitlin Fahey met with Illinois DNC members to talk about how the DNC and host committees will operate.

In the room (or online): Illinois Democratic Party Chair Lisa Hernandez, party Vice Chair Bobby Rush, party Treasurer Michael Frerichs, state Sen. Cristina Castro, former Senate President John Cullerton, Cook County Clerk Iris Martinez, State Central Committeeman Bill Houlihan, State Central Committeewoman Carol Ronen, SEIU Healthcare Illinois Indiana Missouri and Kansas President Greg Kelley and Maureen Pikarski. Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Congresswoman Robin Kelly sent representatives as they were in D.C.

Who’s in charge: The Democratic National Convention Committee is part of the DNC and will handle all the political stuff in the convention. The host committee will raise funds to make it all happen. And the Biden-Harris campaign will put in its two cents because it represents the White House incumbents being nominated.

What’s in a name: The host committee entity is called Development Now for Chicago. Along with Sacks, host committee officers are Chicago Ald. Michelle Harris and former Deputy Gov. Jesse Ruiz.

Looking for volunteers: The Illinois Democratic Party will also play an active role in working with the host committee to help line up more than a thousand volunteers to work during the week of the convention, Aug. 19 through 22, 2024.

— HISTORY LESSON: On this day in 2016 at the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia, Hillary Clinton became the first woman to be nominated for president by a major U.S. political party.

— More fundraising: Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock is set to headline the Illinois Democratic Party’s inaugural gala Oct. 27, via Crain’s Greg Hinz. Reserve a seat at the table here.

Chicago Blackhawks Chairman Rocky Wirtz, smiling during a news conference in Chicago last year, has died. | AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

Wirtz remembered as fans’ friend in the stands, fierce fighter in the boardroom, by Sun-Times’ David Roeder, Fran Spielman and Michael Sneed

Wirtz was 70 and had suffered a brief illness. “Our dad was a passionate businessman committed to making Chicago a great place to live, work and visit, but his true love was for his family and close friends,” Wirtz’s son and Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz said in a statement.

Transformational work: Wirtz took over the Chicago Blackhawks after his father’s death in 2007 and revitalized the team “from a laughingstock into a Stanley Cup power,” the Tribune writes.

“Rocky’s focus on connecting with the club’s fans and improving the team’s performance on the ice rekindled Chicago fans’ love affair with their hockey team and built a modern dynasty," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement Tuesday.

Wirtz followed politics, too: He was a frequent political donor, giving tens of thousands of dollars over the years to candidates from city council to statewide office, including to former Mayors Lori Lightfoot and Rahm Emanuel.

If you are Jamie Harrison, Playbook would like to hear what’s next in the convention plans. Email skapos@politico.com.

At Featherfist at 9:30 a.m. to sign a bill codifying Home Illinois anti-homelessness efforts — At the Union League Club at 12:30 p.m. to discuss Innovate Illinois at Lincoln Forum.

At Fifth City Commons at 10:30 a.m. for a groundbreaking event.

No official public events.

Before you put on the sunscreen, send me a line: skapos@politico.com

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Members of Congress, including from Illinois, and family members of the Till family celebrate President Joe Biden signing a proclamation establishing the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Illinois and Mississippi. | Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

— AT THE WHITE HOUSE | Biden signs proclamation to honor Emmett Till with national monument: “The ceremony took place on what would have been the 82nd birthday of the Black teenager whose murder played a key role in the civil rights movement,” notes POLITICO’s Christine Mui.

An Illinois contingent was on hand, including Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch. “It shows that President Biden and Vice President Harris are in touch with reality and with what’s going on in America. And they want to make sure we don’t lose touch with what happened in the past in this country,” Welch told Playbook in an interview about the proclamation.

What it means: The Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, where Emmett Till was memorialized after his murder, will become a national monument controlled by the federal government. Here’s the full readout from the White House.

Also attending: Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, Atty. Gen. Kwame Raoul, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Congress members Robin Kelly (IL-02), Dave Schneider (IL-10), Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Danny Davis (IL-07), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01) and former Congressman Bobby Rush.

— AT THE SKY GAME: Dwyane Wade, the newest investor in the Sky, watch Tuesday night’s game with Mayor Brandon Johnson, via WBEZ contributor Cheryl Raye-Stout

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Toi Hutchinson, the former Illinois state senator who has been leading the national Marijuana Policy Project, is joining Mercury public affairs team as managing director. The firm’s co-chair is former Illinois Congresswoman Cheri Bustos. Hutchinson has played leading roles in reforming cannabis policies on the state and federal levels, starting in Illinois. She helped craft the legislation that legalized cannabis in Illinois before going on to be an adviser to Gov. JB Pritzker. Hutchinson has been with the Marijuana Policy Project since 2021.

— HOT RACE: The Cook County state’s attorney race is heating up. Candidate Clayton Harris III has hired Alaina Hampton, who most recently ran Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s winning 2022 reelection campaign, as campaign manager. Brandon Davis, who did paid media strategy for Mayor Brandon Johnson’s campaign, will make TV ads Harris. Jason McGrath of GBAO Strategies will poll. And Adnaan Muslim of Deliver Strategies will lead the campaign’s direct mail program.

Former appellate court justice Eileen O'Neill Burke is launching her bid for state’s attorney, reports ABC 7’s Craig Wall

Also considering running: Former Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, former Chicago Inspector General Joe Ferguson and former Chicago Ald. Bob Fioretti, reports Wall.

— A BIG DEAL: AFSCME ratifies 4-year contract with state that includes 18 percent pay raise and extended parental leave: “The four-year contract between the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 and Pritzker’s administration is expected to cost taxpayers about $625 million, an increase of about $200 million from the previous contract, according to Pritzker spokesman Alex Gough,” by Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner.

— Chicago closed 50 schools 10 years ago. What’s happened since then? “Roughly a third of the students who attended closed schools transferred out of CPS. Some families and advocates said the loss of an anchor institution, like a school, would lead to more displacement and disinvestment in the segregated Black neighborhoods, not less,” by Chalkbeat’s Becky Vevea.

— Young people of Chicago weigh in on next year’s city budget at Harold Washington Library, by Sun-Times’ Emmanuel Camarillo

— Beyoncé foundation donates $100K to Chicago small businesses, via Fox 32

— Cook County’s estimated budget gap doubles to about $170M: “County officials attribute the increase to pay hikes for its 19,000 employees to help keep and recruit more government workers,” by WBEZ’s Kristen Schorsch.

— Judge says local committee in Evanston has ‘crystal clear’ right to discuss Northwestern football stadium plan, by Tribune’s Robert McCoppin

— Northwestern AD Derrick Gragg, under scrutiny for hazing scandal, offers questionable advice about women — ‘man’s greatest distraction’ — in book, by Tribune’s Angie Leventis Lourgos

— Richton Park mayor makes pitch for Chicago Bears, touting expressway access and available land, by Daily Southtown’s Mike Nolan

— Cook County saw record 2,000 fatal opioid overdoses last year, most linked to fentanyl, by Daily Herald’s Charles Keeshan

— Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller had two policy resolutions she introduced get adopted last week by the National Association of Counties during its conference in Austin, Texas. They are both national takes on her county proposals for CPR/AED training and environmental justice.

— Collectors' delight: 'The National' sports (and other) memorabilia show rolls into Rosemont, by Daily Herald’s Steve Zalusky

JOIN 7/27 FOR A TALK ON WOMEN LEADERS IN THE NEW WORKPLACE: In the wake of the pandemic, U.S. lawmakers saw a unique opportunity to address the current childcare system, which has become increasingly unaffordable for millions of Americans, but the initial proposals went nowhere. With the launch of the Congressional Bipartisan Affordable Childcare Caucus in May, there may be a path to make childcare more affordable. Join Women Rule on July 27 to dive into this timely topic and more with featured speakers Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Reshma Saujani, Founder & CEO of Moms First and Founder of Girls Who Code. REGISTER HERE.

We asked what’s loud where you live.

State Sen. Ann Gillespie: “Growing up we lived in Des Plaines under an O’Hare landing pattern. My dad, a former pilot, embraced it. I sat out in the backyard with him and he taught me how to identify the plane by the number and location of the engines.”

Andrea Hanis, editor of the Law Bulletin: “Lounge Ax.”

Eugene Daly: “Midway Airport.”

Michael Kreloff: “The El at Thorndale.”

Andy Shaw: “The four ‘L’ lines that run on the tracks 16 floors below our Loop condo bedroom.”

Patricia Ann Watson: “The BNS train line, freights, Amtrak and Metra.”

What’s the biggest party you’ve ever attended? Email skapos@politico.com

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— DeSantis lets go of more than a third of campaign staff as reset continues, by POLITICO’s Alex Isenstadt

— FTC readies lawsuit that could break up Amazon, by POLITICO’s Josh Sisco

— Richard Barancik, last surviving member of ‘the Monuments Men’ and architect who left his mark on Chicago’s skyline: “It’s a bittersweet moment that we knew was going to come,” said Robert M. Edsel, an author whose book on the group was the basis for a film starring George Clooney,” by Sun-Times’ Mitch Dudek.

TUESDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to Steve Zullo for correctly answering that the Chicago Indian Agency, aka the Illinois Indian Agency, was established by the federal government in 1805. It was located across from the original Fort Dearborn (1803).

TODAY’s QUESTION: Who’s believed to be the only Chicago City Council member to make a TV commercial for an ice cream company? Email skapos@politico.com

Former Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson, former Ald. Michael R. Zalewski, public affairs consultant Thom Serafin, SEIU Local 1 Political Director Mario Lopez, former University of Illinois administrator Barry Munitz, Earthy founder John Vlahakis and former Bear Tarik Cohen.

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