Happy Mother’s Day weekend, Illinois. Get ready for the red carpet. President Joe Biden will travel to Chicago on Wednesday to attend the 40th IBEW International Convention.
It seems ironic that the day Chicago announced its casino deal it also learned Boeing would move its headquarters out of Chicago to Washington, D.C.
It sure seemed like Thursday’s casino announcement was meant to blunt the news of Boeing’s exit. A source close to the mayor’s office says not so. The casino timeline was in place “for a while.” And though the “writing was on the wall” that Boeing was leaving, the mayor’s office didn’t anticipate the announcement.
The Chicago casino, which was 30 years in the making, sure made the Boeing news easier to swallow.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot looked as happy as we’ve seen her as she took the stage Thursday to announce Bally’s will build a flagship gambling, hotel and entertainment center in the city’s River North neighborhood.
“We got this done,” she said with a bit of deserved hyperbole (mayors before her tried and failed). The City Council and Illinois Gaming Board still must approve that $1.74 billion development.
Ald. Walter Burnett said he expects “a majority” of the Council will approve the project, reports CBS 2’s Chris Tye in a good summary of the deal.
After the announcement, the mayor pivoted to Boeing, rolling out statistics showing the airplane-maker’s exit is an anomaly.
“In the last year, 173 corporations relocated or expanded here, and 67 corporations have made that same decision since the start of 2022,” Lightfoot said in a statement, adding that while Boeing is moving its headquarters to D.C., the company will still maintain a presence in Chicago. “What remains to be true is that Chicago is a major hub for global corporations that recognize our diverse workforce, expansive infrastructure, and thriving economy.”
And though tax revenue will be lost with the Boeing HQ’s exit, the dollar signs kept coming with Bally’s announcement.
The casino giant will give the city $40 million up front (up from $25 million announced initially) for the license, and $4 million annually, according to the mayor’s office.
The mega-project, which was announced after a deal was cut with organized labor, will also create some 3,000 permanent jobs. And, oh yes, there will be tourists.
“It was very important to me that we had a financial deal that worked for the city,” Lightfoot said.
Mayor takes casino path of least resistance, but is it a winning hand? Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman reports
What’s in the plan and what happens next? Tribune’s Robert Channick, Dan Petrella and Gregory Pratt report
Boeing to move headquarters to Washington, D.C., via POLITICO
ANNOUNCED THIS MORNING: The Democratic Party of Illinois is officially applying to be among the first five states to vote for the next Democratic presidential nominee.
“Illinois looks like America. No state matches America’s demographics like Illinois,” Democratic Party of Illinois Chair Rep. Robin Kelly said in the application letter to DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison.
Illinois will be competing against many other states that also want the cachet of having an early say in who becomes president. After Iowa’s messy and embarrassing Democratic caucus in 2020, other states are jockeying to dethrone Iowa from its 50-year hold on kicking off the nominating process. New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina are also defending their prime, early positions in the lineup.
The DNC is trying to mix it up for 2024. It’s looking to balance early states based on region. Diversity within the state plays a role, too, which is partly how Nevada and South Carolina moved up the queue for 2008.
“There’s a fight for the Midwest and over which state is going to represent it,” Jane Kleeb, the chairwoman of the Nebraska Democratic Party told POLITICO’s Elena Schneider. “The good news is that all of us, including Iowa, want to make sure the region is well-represented.”
In a statement announcing the Illinois effort, Kelly, Gov. JB Pritzker and top state leaders stressed the state’s diverse population and landscape.
“In more ways than one, Illinois perfectly encapsulates the shared values of the Democratic party,” Pritzker said. “Our state has led the Midwest and the nation in protecting a woman’s right to choose, raising the minimum wage, fighting climate change, expanding access to affordable health care, and protecting voting rights.”
RELATED | 15 states and Puerto Rico: Inside the battle to go first in Dems’ 2024 primary, by POLITICO’s Elena Schneider
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No official public events.
No official public events.
At Covenant House Illinois at 10 .m. along with Sen. Dick Durbin, Congressman Danny Davis, Commissioner Brandon Johnson and others to celebrate the center’s new campus dedicated to serving youth experiencing homelessness… At Connie’s Family Restaurant in Berwyn at noon with Commissioners Frank Aguilar and Kevin Morrison for the $37 million re-launch of Cook County’s Small Business Assistance Program.
Billionaire Griffin drops another $25M into Republican Irvin’s war chest as part of ‘all in’ bid to unseat Pritzker: “Last November — months before Irvin even entered the race — Griffin pledged to go “all in” to support a candidate who can beat the Democratic incumbent,” by Sun-Times’ Tina Sfondeles and Taylor Avery.
From Tribune’s Rick Pearson: “By doubling his financial commitment to Irvin, Griffin appears to be showing confidence in a campaign strategy that has been high in the use of TV ads and mailers while low in public contact and visibility.”
Response from Pritzker’s camp: “Richard Irvin is in trouble and Ken Griffin knows it. Voters can see this exactly for what it is: 25 million reasons for Irvin to keep hiding,” Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Natalie Edelstein said in a statement.
— An urgent response was lacking during the outbreak at LaSalle Veterans home, a state audit finds: “Sluggishness, poor compliance with existing rules and little help from state public health officials crippled the response, according to the audit,” by The Associated Press’ John O’Connor.
… Republicans and the governor respond: “Illinois Republicans were anxiously awaiting the 154-page report, which they said shows ‘when it comes to protecting our state’s most vulnerable’ Gov. J.B. ‘Pritzker is a failure.’ But the governor said, ‘I did hold people accountable, and I did fire people who are in those positions,’” by Sun-Times’ Tina Sfondeles.
— Illinois’ credit gets upgrade from Wall Street agency citing ‘sustained evidence of more normal fiscal decision-making,‘ by Tribune’s Dan Petrella
— Black students in Illinois are far more likely to be ticketed by police for school behavior than white students: “Federal data has shown Illinois schools suspend and expel Black students at disproportionate rates. Now we know it’s happening with tickets and fines, too,” by Tribune’s Jennifer Smith Richards and ProPublica’s Jodi S. Cohen.
— Gil Villegas has been endorsed by the Latino Victory Fund, which works to elect progressive Latinos to Congress. Villegas is running in the newly created 3rd Congressional District.
— Former Congressman Luis Gutiérrez has endorsed Karin Norington-Reaves in her bid for the 1st Congressional District seat.
— Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky has endorsed Abdelnasser Rashid for 21st District state rep seat. Schakowsky cited Rashid as being “100 percent pro-choice.”
— Pat Dowell has been endorsed by SEIU Local 1 in her bid for the 1st District Congressional seat.
— Congressman Chuy Garcia, a former county commissioner, has endorsed Anthony Joel Quezada for commissioner of the 8th District Cook County seat. Quezada is the 35th Ward Democratic Committeeman and neighborhood services director in the office of Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa.
Andy Roth, president of the State Freedom Caucus Network was in Chicago yesterday to promote the new Illinois Freedom Caucus. “If ever there was a state that needed a Freedom Caucus, it’s Illinois,” he told a group of supporters at Trump Tower Chicago, after acknowledging he’s a die-hard Cubs fan.
State Rep. Chris Miller, chairman of the Illinois group, said, “I’m here to promise you that freedom isn’t a lost cause.” He blamed “Democrats and some squishy Republicans” for problems such as “less morals, less family values and less freedom.”
Congresswoman Mary Miller was expected to be on hand for the press conference (Chris Miller is her husband). Your Playbook host saw her arrive and go into a back room instead. Her husband declined to comment on a report about the congresswoman having taken on a campaign volunteer with a sex-abuse conviction.
— After years of not paying property taxes, Chinatown mall’s owners face a new tax problem: “A hoped-for county bailout failed. An appeal to Assessor Fritz Kaegi cut only a portion of the $2.4 million Chinatown Square owed. Now, its taxes have been auctioned off,” by Sun-Times’ Tim Novak and Lauren FitzPatrick.
— Out of thin air: With little fanfare, Chicago released a new Climate Action Plan earlier week. The report lays out the city’s strategy on how to address challenges of the day.
— State Street buildings face wrecking ball due to security concerns: Some federal agencies say the towers’ locations just east of the Dirksen Federal Building “render the country’s largest federal courthouse vulnerable to attack and pose too much of a security risk to keep… preservationists say the buildings can be repurposed,” reports WTTW’s Paris Schutz and Erica Gunderson.
— COLUMN | Time to embrace ‘Our Lori’: “Do Chicagoans have to like their mayor? Not really. Rahm Emanuel was an abrasive jerk. But he created the Riverwalk, a cool addition to downtown. Many folks didn’t particularly like Richie Daley, an entitled princeling brought up behind the high walls of his Bridgeport purdah. He hurt Chicago, giving away the parking meters, the Skyway and bus stops in ludicrously bad deals. But the Bean! And Millennium Park! All is forgiven. That’s what Lightfoot needs,” writes Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg.
— Bike advocates alarmed by number of car-related deaths in the city; at least 3 this year, by Tribune’s María Paula Mijares Torres
Crossing the line: Chicago Ald. Felix Cardona (31st) has switched allegiances and is now endorsing the Chicago United Map backed by the Black Caucus. A source familiar with Cardona crossover says there was pressure from unions for him to turn on the Latino Caucus. But here’s the twist: Cardona’s name will still appear as a sponsor of the Latino Caucus’ Coalition Map should it go to a referendum. That language is already set. Cardona’s move to the other side gives the City Council’s Rules Committee one more supporter for its Chicago United map. It now has 35 votes but needs 41 to come to an agreement on redrawing the city’s wards or else go to referendum. Justin Laurence at Crain’s explains more.
— ‘I’m not here to make friends’: Ex-Aurora chief shares thoughts on policing, leadership in memoir, by Daily Herald’s Charles Keeshan and Susan Sarkauskas
— Outdoor motorcycle track being proposed for store in St. Charles moving forward, by Shaw Local’s Eric Schelkopf
— Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard challenges constitutionality of recall referendum in lawsuit against trustees, by Daily Southtown’s Ted Slowik
A former Chicago Park District lifeguard supervisor has been charged with sex crimes: “The longtime manager at public pools on the Northwest Side becomes the second supervisor charged in the park district scandal,” by WBEZ’ Dan Mihalopoulos
We asked when you had the best seats for a sporting event: Consultant Vince Brandys and his then-12-year-old son Matthew (now a Kirkland and Ellis attorney) sat in the first row for the Notre Dame v. USC game on Oct. 15, 2005. “Our seats were on the goal line so we saw the infamous ‘Bush Push,’ when Reggie Bush pushed quarterback Matt Leinart into the end zone for the winning touchdown.” … John Straus watched a Cubs v. Red Sox game at Fenway Park from the owner’s front-row seats next to the Red Sox dugout. … Union County Democrat Leo Driscoll once sat on the first row behind the dugout at Busch Stadium. “I set my beer on the top of the dugout,” he said.
Attorney Steve Smith: “A vendor gave me front row seats for a Bulls game and we could actually hear Tom Thibodeau tell Derek Rose what to do on an inbounds play.” … retired head of the State Board of Elections Ron Michaelson: “First row behind the Blackhawks bench. Could hear everything! Seats were in the Wirtz family.” …Mark Michaels, chair of state Sen. Ann Gillespie’s campaign committee, remembers front-row box seats at a Phillies game at Veterans’ Stadium. Jim Strickler won’t forget the 2002 game at Fenway sitting in the sixth row directly behind home plate to watch knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. … And The City Club’s Ed Mazur and his wife saw the Bears Super Bowl Game of 1986 from skybox seats. “It does not get any better.”
What unusual fact do you remember from an assignment or project in high school or college? (For example, your Playbook host can still recite from memory “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.) Email [email protected]
Orrin Hatch’s finest hour: “In all his 42 years in the Senate, Orrin Hatch’s greatest achievement was his last-minute rescue of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,” by William Doyle for POLITICO.
— Vulnerable Senate Dems campaign as the last hope against abortion ban, by POLITICO’s Burgess Everett
— Trump set the stage for Roe’s demise. For now, he doesn’t wanna talk about it, by POLITICO’s
— Amid an uproar over Capitol staff mistreatment, meet the House’s ‘worst boss,’ by POLITICO’s Olivia Beavers
— Biden taps 1st Black woman, LGBT White House press secretary, by The Associated Press
Golda ‘Goldie’ Indig, dead at 91, suffered hunger in 3 Nazi prison camps, made sure family, friends never went hungry: “Because she evaded execution at Auschwitz, officially she didn’t exist. So she hid out, sometimes in latrines or the camp kitchen, where she peeled vegetables and smuggled an occasional carrot to her older sister,” by Sun-Times’ Maureen O’Donnell.
THURSDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to labor leader Clem Balanoff for correctly answering that John Palmer, an Illinois governor in the 19th century, also served as a probate judge in Macoupin County.
TODAY’s QUESTION: What Illinois regiment became the first in the nation to be commanded entirely by African American officers and which war did they serve in? Email [email protected]
Today: Political consultant Frank Calabrese, University of Chicago professor of law and ethics Martha Nussbaum, and candymaker Susie Riskind Thompson.
Saturday: Chicago Ald. Jason Ervin, Champaign Mayor Deb Frank Feinen, East Aurora school board member Alex Arroyo, former state Sen. Calvin Schuneman (who turns 96!), Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery, After School Matters CEO Mary Ellen Caron, and Dulana Reese, campaign manager for Litesa Wallace for Congress.
Sunday: Former state Sen. Heather Steans, former state Rep. Roger Eddy, former Cook County State’s Attorney candidate Bill Conway, Brookings Institution senior fellow MarySue Barrett, University of Chicago Assistant VP of comms Jeremy Manier, and restaurateur Ron Onesti.
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