Johnson taking his ‘soul’ on the road

By Shia Kapos

Good Tuesday morning, Illinois. Another day, another indictment.

OVERNIGHT: Trump, allies charged with racketeering scheme over bid to subvert Georgia election, via POLITICO. And here’s the indictment.

Mayor Brandon Johnson takes questions along with newly named Police Superintendent Larry Snelling, center, and interim Superintendent Fred Waller on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023 | Ashlee Rezin /Chicago Sun-Times via AP

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Mayor Brandon Johnson has been tapped to keynote the Kansas Democratic Party’s Demofest on Saturday in Wichita.

It’s a nod to the Chicago mayor’s ability to tap into the labor movement, the faith community and young voters — all key constituencies ahead of 2024. Kansas Democrats are also interested in meeting the mayor of the city where the 2024 Democratic Convention will be held.

Watch for Johnson to talk about the “soul of Chicago,” which he’s made his mantra in decision-making. He’ll also talk about “investing in people, building bridges across communities and standing up for progress,” according to his team.

It will be friendly territory for Johnson. Wichita, like Kansas City, has a Democratic mayor, and the governor is a Democrat, too.

Kansas has deep roots in the American political system. It’s where “free-staters” fought to oppose the expansion of slavery during the “Bleeding Kansas” period of the mid-1800s.

In Johnson, they’ll meet a union advocate who comes from a faith-based background. He’s also a progressive who connects with young people, as his election in Chicago showed.

Back at Chicago’s City Hall: On Monday, Johnson introduced police counterintelligence chief Larry Snelling who, pending City Council approval, will be the next Chicago Police superintendent.

Johnson called Snelling the ‘son of Englewood’ and a proven leader who has the respect of the police department, via ABC 7’s Michelle Gallardo and Craig Wall

Snelling talks up violence interrupters and officer wellness, via WBEZ’s Chip Mitchell

Johnson’s firing of the city’s top health doctor is still making waves.

Allison Arwady reveals how she was fired in new wide-reaching interview: “It wasn't that she was fired, but how she was fired that felt ‘really disturbing,’” she told NBC 5’s Mary Ann Ahern.

Johnson quoted Tupac when answering questions about the health chief’s firing: “You can’t always go by the things that you hear. Right? `Real eyes realize real lies.’” Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman reports.

Sounds familiar: Gun rights group files federal lawsuit against firearm manufacturer liability measure signed by Gov. JB Pritzker over weekend: “The suit was filed on behalf of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which also is one of the main groups behind a federal lawsuit alleging that Illinois’ ban on certain high-powered guns and high-capacity ammunition magazines violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,” by Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner.

Here’s the lawsuit

If you are Larry Snelling, Playbook would like to hear from you. Email skapos@politico.com.

No official public events.

At Wintrust Arena at noon for the CPS Safe Passage Rally.

No official public events.

Honk if you see me driving to Springfield, or just send a line: skapos@politico.com

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— Supreme move: Cook County Democrats’ Supreme Court Committee voted Monday to slate incumbent Supreme Court Justice Joy Cunningham for the Democratic primary for the court. The full committee will vote today. Latinos have pushed hard for Democrats to back Appellate Court Justice Jesse Reyes, who remains hopeful that the full committee will give him their support, via The Daily Line’s Ben Szalinski.

— Pritzker vetoes bill lifting Illinois nuclear ban: “A ban on constructing new nuclear plants in Illinois will stand after Gov. JB Pritzker vetoed a bill that would have allowed new reactors. Pritzker has twice in the past signed bills to keep existing nuclear plants afloat. But in a veto statement, he said S.B. 76 included vague wording that would have allowed new large-scale reactors. The bill, which passed the General Assembly in May, lacked protections to ‘address the health and safety of Illinois residents who would live and work around these new reactors,’ he added,” via Energy Wire’s Jeffrey Tomich.

Response: Republican Sue Rezin, says she's already filed paperwork to bring the bill up in the legislature's fall veto session scheduled for late October and early November, via Daily Herald’s Jenny Whidden.

— Funeral fund: A state burial fund that was approved by the General Assembly last year didn’t get funding this year. But there’s still hope for the family of a 9-year-old shot dead earlier this month while she was riding her scooter in Chicago.

The Murdered Children Funeral and Burial Assistance Act allows the state Department of Human Services to pay up to $10,000 for the funeral of a murdered child. Despite the lack of appropriation, the Department of Human Services is working to use existing appropriations to cover the new fund and allow reimbursements to be retroactive, according to the Governor’s Office.

“There is nothing you can say to comfort a family grappling with the incredible loss of a child. But the administration believes we can use the levers of government to help alleviate the financial burden on those families,” Jordan Abudayyeh, deputy chief of staff, told Playbook.

— FFA, 4-H students receive expanded excused absences through new law, by State Journal-Register’s Patrick Keck

— OP-ED | State Education Superintendent Tony Sanders invites Florida, Texas feeing hostility to their autonomy to come to Illinois, via open letter on The 74 Million education website

— ‘I do not think we should talk in person or on the phone,’ ex-top aide to Madigan was warned after asking about federal probe: “The email and others appeared to underscore the feds’ contention that Tim Mapes was well aware of a federal investigation and its key points before he wound up in front of the grand jury and drew a blank on some questions,” by Sun-Times’ Jon Seidel.

— Don Madigan? Ex-FBI agent likens former House speaker to mafia boss in perjury trial of former aide, by Tribune’s Jason Meisner and Ray Long

—  City, FOP back to bargaining table to nail down rest of police contract, union president says, by Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman

— Migrant families kicked out of Rogers Park motel for missing curfew are sleeping in tents, by Sun-Times’ Emmanuel Camarillo

— Emails reveal how Lightfoot closed a backroom deal to hand public housing land to Joe Mansueto’s soccer team, reports Block Club’s Mick Dumke

— Lisle Township board calls on supervisor to resign: "She just creates a wave of chaos, and we're spending so many hours undoing and unraveling the messes," said Trustee Autumn Geist, a Democrat who ran with Hewitt in 2021. Hewitt doesn’t intend to step down, saying the lack of confidence is a two-way street with the board, reports Daily Herald’s Alicia Fabbre.

— Union picnic! Unions came together over the weekend in an unusual gathering that had nothing to do with politics. Not exactly, that is. It was a family picnic put on by Brian Shanahan, the national VP at the Transportation Communications Union, and his wife Pam Shanahan. More than 150 people attended, including members and leaders from Chicago Federation of Labor, Amalgamated Transit Union and 10 other unions. And instead of a menu of fundraising, guests were treated to taco-truck tacos and homemade cake.

Politicos still popped up, including Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Congressman Chuy Garcia (IL-04), Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, state Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel, state Reps. Matt Hanson and Norma Hernandez, Cook County Board Commissioner Alma Anaya, Ald. Jeylu Gutierrez, Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant and Wheaton City Councilwoman Erica Bray Parker.

— 3 former Northwestern baseball staffers sue the university: “Former assistant coaches Dusty Napoleon and Jon Strauss and former baseball operations director Chris Beacom say they blew the whistle on former coach Jim Foster’s alleged bullying in November 2022,” by Sun-Times’ David Struett.

— U. of C. agrees to $13.5M settlement in financial aid antitrust case: “School is one of 17 accused of colluding to limit financial aid and drive up tuition prices,” by The Wall Street Journal’s Melissa Korn

— Chicago police officer sidelined in misconduct probe now charged with lying about gun seizure, by Sun-Times’ Tom Schuba and Frank Main

— Chicago police officer, sister convicted of charges stemming from Capitol riot: “Officer Karol Chwiesiuk and his sister, Agnieszka, were convicted of entering and remaining in a restricted building; disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building,” by Sun-Times’ Jon Seidel.

— Chicago man gets year in prison for assaulting officer during Jan. 6 Capitol riot: James McNamara, 61, pled guilty “to one count of assaulting a federal officer,” by Sun-Times’ Mary Norkol.

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We asked if you've ever seen a ghost.

Bill Finucane: "The DeKalb Salvation Army food pantry, where I volunteer, is said to be haunted by a gentleman who died in the house that used to be on the site. The elevator doors open on their own. It's a little spooky when the elevator opens up as you approach."

Josh Mogerman: “Years ago, when we replaced the staircase in our 1880s Bronzeville rowhouse, the contractor complained that his tools were being moved around. No one had been in the house. Then someone in an old suit came in and asked the contractor why the staircase was being replaced. The doors had been locked so we don’t know how he got in to ask. … We don’t live there anymore.”

David Melton pointed to a seiche on Lake Michigan.

Mary Kay Minaghan: “I haven’t experienced ghosts, but some of my friends get a weird feeling in certain parts of my basement.”

Steve Sheffey: “I have not ever seen a ghost — although I have been ghosted.”

What technology could you live without? Email skapos@politico.com

— Chicago-based publicist Trevian Kutti is among those charged in Georgia election scheme, via ABC 7

— California keeps electing progressive DAs — then pushing to recall them, by POLITICO’s Jeremy B. White

— Marjorie Taylor Greene is out but not down, by POLITICO’s Brittany Gibson

— ‘Unprecedented’ and ‘unsafe’: Navy chief retires as Tuberville hold drags on, by POLITICO’s Paul McLeary and Lara Seligman

— Kirabo Jackson is tapped by President Joe Biden as an economics adviser: “Jackson will take a leave of absence as a professor at Northwestern University, where he’s has focused his academic research on a wide range of issues relating to schools,” by Chalkbeat’s Matt Barnum.

— Erika Poethig has joined the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago as executive VP for strategy and planning. She was the special assistant to the president for Housing and Urban Policy at the White House Domestic Policy Council.

— MEDIA: Reporters Rachel Hinton and Manny Ramos have joined Block Club Chicago as reporters for its new investigations team. Hinton and Ramos worked for Illinois Answers Project, connected to Better Government Association. Details via Block Club.

MONDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to Bill Utter and Mathias Delort for correctly answering that When the White Sox won the baseball pennant to get in the 1959 World Series, Mayor Richard J. Daley activated air raid sirens, causing panic among residents.

 TODAY’s QUESTION: How did Chicago's O'Hare airport get its ORD designation? Email skapos@politico.com

Former Congresswoman Judy Biggert, former state Rep. Steven Andersson, CME Group Chair and CEO Terry Duffy, ComEd CEO Gil Quiniones, Chicago Mahogany Tours CEO Shermann ‘Dilla’ Thomas, Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism’s Julia Roundtree Livingston and grassroots activist and loyal Playbooker Bill Hogan.

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