News : POLITICO Illinois Playbook: LIGHTFOOT’s BUDGET MOVE — MADIGAN MAY FACE HEAVY PRICE

Monday, November 9, 2020

POLITICO Illinois Playbook: LIGHTFOOT’s BUDGET MOVE — MADIGAN MAY FACE HEAVY PRICE — FOXX’s WIN and RACIAL POLITICS

Nov 09, 2020

Good Monday morning, Illinois. If it looks like a lame duck session and sounds like a lame duck session, it must be — concession or not.

TOP TALKER

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's antagonistic relationship with the White House is coming to an end, but having President-elect Joe Biden at the helm doesn't mean the mayor will see the burdens of her 2021 budget proposal lifted.

"With the Republicans [potentially] retaining control of the Senate, it's far from clear that any additional monies will be flowing by way of stimulus," Lightfoot told Playbook in an interview before the presidential race was called Saturday. "Mitch McConnell dug his feet into the ground prior to the election. We haven't heard any scuttlebutt about the possibility of lame duck, and I think that's very unlikely. I don't think we will have any clarity if ever until the new year."

A day after he won reelection — and House Democrats suffered several unexpected losses — McConnell announced he was interested in moving a relief measure before the end of the year instead of weighing one 2021. Even if a stimulus package is considered, it's not clear to what extent, if any, it might include money for municipal and state governments as many Senate Republicans are reluctant to support any new package that exceeds $1 trillion.

That means the mayor is working on getting aldermen on board to approve her 2021 budget proposal — a plan that doesn't rely on any federal monies.

Lightfoot said she's meeting with City Council members, individually and in groups, to talk about the budget. She needs 26 aldermen to support the budget plan that must be wrapped up by the end of December — before the Bidens move into the White House.

The mayor's budget proposal includes a property tax hike, furloughs and layoffs (those wouldn't happen until March, giving labor leaders time to find other savings and to allow a new Congress to pass another stimulus package).

Lightfoot's pitch to aldermen: Make tough choices now or address them before pension payments balloon again in 2022 — right before the 2023 municipal elections.

"Given the increasing pension debt and the lack of funding in the four pension funds, there's going to be a reckoning, and that reckoning is now. So make the tough call now," she said. "You can kick the can down the road, but as a practical matter, do you want to be making these decisions in 2022 on the eve of your reelection?"

— Lightfoot celebrates in the street with Chicagoans after Biden's win, via Twitter

THE BUZZ

House Speaker Michael Madigan is facing the biggest open revolt to his leadership in years, and he's making calls to legislators to shore up. While he may secure enough votes for another term, Playbook sources say some lawmakers are weighing a heavy price: that he promise it'll be his last.

The question is whether that will be enough to keep House members from turning their backs on him before the speaker election in January. Rep. Bob Morgan (58th) announced Sunday he "will not support Mike Madigan for speaker under any circumstances." In a statement, he said: "Allegations surrounding Speaker Madigan and Commonwealth Edison are extremely troubling, as are [previous] ones about sexual harassment by top aides. Leadership requires taking responsibility, and the pervasive culture of mistrust and corruption in Illinois rests at Mike Madigan's feet."

Morgan follows seven other representatives who have said they also wouldn't vote for Madigan, who needs 60 votes to hold onto his position.

On Saturday, Rep. Thaddeus Jones (29th) sent out a statement defending Madigan and reminding his critics what he's done for the state.

"If it wasn't for Speaker Madigan standing up to former Gov. [Bruce] Rauner and his failed policies, there would be no Gov. [J.B.] Pritzker or Sen. [Dick] Durbin, or a democratic majority in Illinois. In 2015, when Bruce Rauner threatened to decimate social service programs, and held the State of Illinois in peril to attempt to achieve a racist and trump like agenda, it was House Speaker Michael J. Madigan who stood in front of democrats and proclaimed that 'we are in a fight for the heart and soul of the Democratic Party,'" Jones wrote. "As a strong Democrat who has faced opposition in every election, and at every level, I urge Sen. Durbin, Gov. Pritzker and others to stop the blame game and join together to save Illinois from the last four years of President Trump's awful policies."

Rep. Martin Moylan (55th) expressed similar support for Madigan in a statement: "To criticize Chairman Madigan while Democrats continue to compete and win in districts that Republicans have held for decades is absurd."

The looming questions about Madigan's future as speaker come at a time of intense uncertainty in Springfield.

The legislative veto session that's supposed to start Nov. 17 is up in the air as concerns about the coronavirus increase. Downstate areas are seeing an increase in Covid cases and a decline in hospital beds, not to mention there are lawmakers from those areas whose support of mitigation efforts is in question. There are no actual vetos to consider, so leaders are looking at whether other legislation that is up for discussion is time-sensitive, including the Black Agenda on criminal justice and diversity that's on track to be ready for the session if it does start next week.

The state, like the city of Chicago, also won't likely know if it will see any federal funding from a stimulus package that would allow lawmakers to talk about the budget.

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WHERE'S LORI

In West Humboldt Park at 1 p.m. for a ribbon cutting of The Terminal development.

WHERE'S J.B.

At the Thompson Center at 2:30 p.m. for the daily Covid-19 briefing. Watch live

Where's Toni

No official public events.

THE LATEST NUMBERS

The Illinois Department of Public Health on Sunday reported 42 additional deaths and 10,009 new confirmed and probable cases of the coronavirus disease. That's a total of 10,196 deaths and 487,987 cases in Illinois. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from Nov. 1 through 7 is 10.6 percent. Chicago's positivity rate is at 12.4 percent.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATES

— Pandemic on course to overwhelm U.S. health system before Biden takes office: "The country's health care system is already buckling under the load of the resurgent outbreak that's approaching 10 million cases nationwide…[Joe] Biden, who is naming his own coronavirus task force Monday, has pledged to confront new shortages of protective gear for health workers and oversee distribution of masks, test kits and vaccines while beefing up contact tracing and reengaging with the World Health Organization...But all of those actions — a sharp departure from the Trump administration's patchwork response that put the burden on states — will have to wait until Biden takes office," by POLITICO's Dan Goldberg and Alice Miranda Ollstein

... Biden will announce his coronavirus task force today. Among the public health experts and government leaders on the list: Dr. Zeke Emanuel, a Chicago native and brother of former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and former Chicago Health Commissioner Dr. Julie Morita , who is now an executive vice president at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. is among the public health experts Biden will announce today for his coronavirus task force.

— The first Covid-19 death in Illinois foretold the 10,000 today: "To see where patterns may emerge in the next six months, we looked for clues in data on the road to 10,000 deaths — starting with Cook County, which was hit hard first," Whet Moser writes for WBEZ.

— Stop ignoring contact tracing calls, health officials ask as they pinpoint outbreaks across Illinois: "Just like wearing a mask, answering a contact tracer's call is a way to help keep your family safe and protect your community," Gov. J.B. Pritzker said, by Block Club's Kelly Bauer.

— Pritzker, staff test negative for Covid-19: A day after Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that he would be self-isolating after possibly being exposed to Covid-19, he and his staffers tested negative for the virus, his office announced Saturday. The possible exposure stemmed from a [Nov. 2] meeting that took place in a large conference room in the governor's office, according to a statement from the governor's office, by Sun-Times.

— Preckwinkle staffer tests positive for Covid-19: "Preckwinkle is not experiencing symptoms, but will take a COVID test and isolate until the results come back, her office said," by Sun-Times.

ELECTION RESULTS — RACES TO WATCH:

A supporter of President-elect Joe Biden celebrates while riding his bike outside Trump Tower Saturday in Chicago.

A supporter of President-elect Joe Biden celebrates while riding his bike outside Trump Tower Saturday in Chicago. | AP Photo by Paul Beaty

— Pressure mounts on federal agency to affirm Biden victory: "Until the General Services Administration determines Biden is the president-elect, his transition team cannot access government funds or communicate with federal agencies," by POLITICO's Alex Thompson.

— DISSECTING THE OUTCOME: Who voted against the graduated income tax? Mostly voters outside of Chicago: "In Chicago, most voters were supportive of the measure with more than 71 percent voting 'yes.' The greatest support came from the city's majority-Black wards, where more than 82 percent voted for the graduated income tax, according to the WBEZ analysis of tallies as of Thursday," by Alden Loury.

— Trump v. Biden: Inside Chicago's politically split 41st Ward: "Centered around the Edison Park neighborhood east of O'Hare International Airport, the ward was among the most narrowly divided in the city where 50.87 percent of the vote went to former Vice President Joe Biden compared to 47.5 percent for President Donald Trump, according to unofficial results," by Tribune's Alice Yin and John Byrne.

— Willie Wilson lost all 18 Black wards in U.S. Senate race: "Election data show that Wilson finished second to Durbin in all 18 Black wards but ahead of Republican candidate Mark Curran, Jr. Overall, Durbin received a total of 243,193 votes from the Black wards, or 75.94 percent of the Black vote. Durbin received 70 percent of the vote in 16 Black wards and won over 80 percent of the vote in the 4th and 5th wards, election data show. There were 16 Black wards where Wilson received less than 20 percent of the vote," reports Erick Johnson.

... Statewide, Wilson received 4 percent of the vote, below the 5 percent needed to give his Willie Wilson Party official standing in Illinois.

— Rep. Lauren Underwood is pulling ahead of Republican challenger Jim Oberweis as the count continues in the hotly contested IL-14 race. After a batch of ballots from Lake County were counted over the weekend, Underwood has 192,580 to Oberweis' 191,443. Lake is one of the seven counties that sit in the 14th Congressional District. McHenry County is also counting ballots.

— State Sen. Robert Martwick's lead over Republican Anthony Beckman has grown as the election officials continue to count mail-in and provisional ballots. About 3,000 votes now separate them. On election night, the race was separated by about 80 votes. As is the case with a number of statewide races, election officials aren't yet ready to call it.

— Blue wave drenches DuPage County, aiding Democratic transformation of one-time GOP stronghold. But will it last? "DuPage County, once known as one of the most solidly Republican areas in the country, appears to have given Democrats control of the County Board for the first time since the 1930s. Two more Democrats are leading their races for countywide office, and could be joined by another when the final votes are tallied," by Tribune's John Keilman.

— Many Chicago-area immigrants look forward to Biden presidency, but 'we will hold (him) accountable': "Biden's win represents a sign of hope for some immigrants, partly because he has promised that in the first 100 days he will present an immigration reform bill to create a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million people without legal immigration status. But Toribio and other immigrants say they will remain skeptical and alert to hold the new president accountable," by Tribune's Laura Rodriguez Presa.

JOIN THURSDAY: A WOMEN RULE ROUNDTABLE : 2020 proved to be a history-making year for women in politics. We saw the first Black woman elected as vice president, a record number of Republican women running for Congress, and women of color running for public office at an all-time high. Join POLITICO's Elizabeth Ralph, Crooked Media's Shaniqua McClendon, and Winning for Women's Micah Yousefi for a deep dive into the results for women candidates in the 2020 election cycle and what progress we still need to see for women in politics. REGISTER HERE.

QUOTABLE

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was an answer on The New York Times Magazine crossword puzzle. (H/T Andrea Hanis)

CHICAGO

— Moody Bible Institute rocked by allegations it mishandled sex misconduct claims; one leader resigns, another on leave: "Tim Arens and Rachel Puente had been the two people at the center of claims that school administrators mishandled sexual assault allegations," by Sun-Times' Madeline Kenney.

— This morning's in box: "Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) is urging the City of Chicago to file a lawsuit to prevent a new proposed bar in Pilsen from being granted a liquor license after local residents broadly panned plans by chain arcade bar, Headquarters Beercade, to open a new location on 18th street in the heart of Pilsen," according to a statement from Lopez.

— A 'dark cloud' follows Chicago's drill scene: "Drill music, for some, is purely entertainment. And for others, it's the difference between life and death," by Sun-Times' Evan F. Moore.

— This Chicago bar has been named one of the best in the world: "Kumiko, the Japanese-inspired West Loop cocktail bar, has earned a spot on The World's 50 Best Bars list," by TimeOut's Emma Krupp

COOK COUNTY AND COLLARS

— What Kim Foxx's reelection says about racial politics, fear and justice In Chicago and beyond: "Reformers are celebrating Foxx's reelection as an even more important victory than her initial election in 2016 because she was able to beat back a tough-on-crime challenge when voters were understandably focused on gun violence," by WBEZ's Patrick Smith.

— Cook County murder defendant who fled to Ohio is one of more than 50 murder defendants here out on bond and on electronic monitoring: "After a significant push toward bail reform, and a pandemic that made emptying the jail a priority, the number of people on monitoring has skyrocketed — and along with it, the number of people on ankle bracelets with serious violent charges. In October 2016, there were 17 people on ankle monitors charged with murder, according to Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart's office. As of Thursday, there were 54," by Tribune's Paige Fry, Jessica villagomez and Megan Crepeau.

— Suburban school board member spoke up about racial injustice, then board tried to silence her: "I'm not fitting into their box, I guess, because their box leaves out so many people," said Jill Manrique, school board vice president at Niles Township District 219, by Sun-Times' Nader Issa.

DAY IN COURT

— Cook County Jail guard flunked fitness test, now is suing Sheriff Tom Dart: "Denise Hobbs, 59, says she wanted to transfer from being a correctional officer to a courthouse deputy but couldn't pass the running portion of the test, which she calls discriminatory," by Sun-Times' Frank Main.

— Woman charged with illegally boarding plane at O'Hare: "Yaazmina Payton, 23, was taken into custody for criminal trespassing after boarding an airplane without a ticket in Terminal 3 of O'Hare," by Sun-Times.

THE NATIONAL TAKE

— Republicans already racing to fill Trump power vacuum, by POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt

— 'I loved John McCain': Inside Arizona's GOP movement to defeat Donald Trump, by POLITICO's Bryan Bender and Maggie Severns

— Biden swung Georgia left. Now Democrats are racing to do it again, by POLITICO's Elena Schneider

— Here's what Kamala Harris faces as a first, by POLITICO's Teresa Wiltz… "You really are held to a higher standard, a different standard," said former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun. "It was not an easy row to hoe. I had to pray a lot, obviously, just to keep from losing my mind."

IN MEMORIAM

Cheryl Ann Rabine, who was active in philanthropic causes, has died. Her husband is businessman and political fundraiser Gary Rabine.

TRIVIA

FRIDAY's GUESS: We stumped you! Ferdinand Wythe Peck was a prominent Chicagoan who hosted Presidents William Henry Harrison and William McKinley at his mansion at 1826 South Michigan Ave. back in the day (According to "Old Chicago Houses" by John Drury.)

TODAY'S QUESTION: Who were the 'Crazy Eights' of the Illinois Senate? Email your answer to skapos@politico.com.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD

Michael Mansour, legislative director for Rep. Adam Kinzinger, and Ginny Mansour, director of business development at the R Street Institute, welcomed John Charles "Charlie" Mansour II on Oct. 15. He came in at 10 lbs and 21.75 inches and is named for Michael's late father. Pic

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Former Rep. Michael Patrick Flanagan, former state Rep. Sid Mathias, Kirkland & Ellis' Douglas C. Gessner, and business consultant Reyahd Kazmi,

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