News : POLITICO Illinois Playbook: LIGHTFOOT BUCKLES DOWN — NITTY GRITTY OF COVID RELIEF

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

POLITICO Illinois Playbook: LIGHTFOOT BUCKLES DOWN — NITTY GRITTY OF COVID RELIEF — NEW STATE SENATOR

Dec 22, 2020

Happy Tuesday, Illinois. PROGRAMMING NOTE: Illinois Playbook will arrive in your inbox tomorrow (Wednesday) and then we're taking a breather until the new year. After the hiatus, we'll be back Jan. 4.

TOP TALKER

Officers involved in the botched raid on Chicago social worker Anjanette Young were put on desk duty Monday, and Mayor Lori Lightfoot criticized the Civilian Office of Police Accountability for dragging its feet on its investigation into the case.

The admonishment follows the city's chief attorney, Mark Flessner, being shown the door this week for his team's handling of the case.

We'll find out today whether the proactive measures have appeased City Council members concerned that Lightfoot failed to follow the reform mantra she campaigned on.

Aldermen will discuss the case during a joint meeting of the City Council's Public Safety and Health and Human Relations committees. The mayor won't be in attendance.

Attention will also turn to Chicago Police and how top brass handle warrant cases.

Some big questions: Why did it take until this week for officers to be reprimanded for an incident that happened nearly two years ago? How are officers trained to execute a search warrant when people — including children — are in the home? Does CPD have a system in place to learn from its mistakes? And how is the department trying to change a culture that would allow such callous treatment of a person, whether or not they are the intended focus of a warrant?

"What is so shocking about the video — much like the George Floyd video — is just how routine it all seemed to those executing the search warrant at what we know is now the wrong address," Roseanna Ander, the executive director of the University of Chicago Crime Lab, told Playbook.

The Aldermanic Black Caucus, chaired by Ald. Jason Ervin (28th), has already called for abolishing warrants "based solely on the use of paid informants," creating a database to monitor search warrant patterns and efficacy, and standardizing how the search warrant application process. The caucus also renewed a call for civilian oversight of police, an effort where Lightfoot and community groups have yet to find common ground.

Public Safety Chairman Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29^th) joined Lightfoot Monday and promised a "top-to-bottom" examination of the case "to find out how we can better serve the residents of the city of Chicago."

Tribune's take on police officers getting desk duty, by Gregory Pratt and John Byrne.

Hairston calls for creating a new committee to inspect and review civil litigation tied to CPD, by Sun-Times' Sam Charles.

Not the first time the administration has come under fire for not being upfront with the public, reports NBC/5's Phil Rogers.

A Black women's collective has been formed in response to Young's experience, reports WTTW's Amanda Vinicky. VIDEO

THE BUZZ

The House passed a $900 billion pandemic relief bill Monday, and the Senate approved it in the middle of the night. It's now headed to President Donald Trump's desk.

The badly needed relief package will help small businesses, hospitals and millions of struggling Americans. The package also includes $1.4 trillion to fund the government through next September, eliminating the threat of yet another federal shutdown during the Trump era.

There are five things to know about the latest payments, writes POLITICO's Brian Faler

It's not exactly what everyone wanted, reports The Associated Press. Rep. Chuy Garcia called it "too little, too late," but praised the measure for what it does do, including assistance to families that have members with different citizenship or immigration statuses.

POLITICO breaks down the numbers. These line items will also trickle down to Illinois:

$600 in direct payments for most Americans;

$300 per week in federal unemployment insurance through March for families coping with job losses;

$284 billion in PPP loans; key modifications to serve minority, women, veteran-owned, nonprofits and the smallest businesses; $15 billion in dedicated funding for live venues, theatres, and museums; and $20 billion for targeted disaster loan grants for downtown businesses;

$25 billion in rent assistance;

$13 billion in increased SNAP and child nutrition benefits to help relieve the Covid hunger crisis;

$82 billion in funding for colleges and schools and $10 billion for child care assistance to help get parents back to work and keep child care providers open;

$15 billion to extend the Paycheck Support Program and keep flight attendants and airport service workers on payroll, including those at Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports;

$14 billion to keep transit agencies like the CTA, Pace Bus and Metra afloat;

$12.9 billion for the education of children with disabilities;

$300 million to install carbon monoxide poisoning detectors in affordable housing units;

$2 billion for Amtrak to continue rail service and make capital investments and avoid furloughing workers, a priority for Congressman Dan Lipinski, who has served as chairman of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.

There's also nearly $9 billion in the year-end stimulus package to help states distribute and administer coronavirus vaccines, but overstretched local health departments say the money is coming months too late. preparations by many state and local health officials began in the summer, with health departments training people to give the shots, scaling up the IT systems needed to track who receives a vaccine and planning outreach to a hesitant public.

But a lack of cash on hand led several states to cut those efforts short. Now the long-sought money is on its way — but state and local officials worry that it could take several months for it to reach communities that are already rushing to vaccinate health care workers and other priority groups.

— A surge of state aid for vaccinations may already be too late, by POLITICO's Brianna Ehley, Dan Goldberg and Rachel Roubein.

Have a tip, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch: skapos@politico.com

EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT TRANSITION PLAYBOOK, SUBSCRIBE TODAY: A new year is quickly approaching. Inauguration Day is right around the corner. President-elect Joe Biden's staffing decisions are sending clear-cut signals about his priorities. What do these signals foretell? Transition Playbook is the definitive guide to the new administration and one of the most consequential transfers of power in American history. Written for political insiders, this scoop-filled newsletter breaks big news daily and analyzes the appointments, people and emerging power centers of the new administration. Track the transition and the first 100 days of the incoming Biden administration. Subscribe today.

WHERE'S LORI

No official public events.

WHERE'S J.B.

No official public events. As cases have fallen, he's put his daily Covid-19 briefings on hold. While we're reluctant to give up regular access to the governor, let's hope the numbers keep going the right way.

Where's Toni

No official public events.

THE LATEST NUMBERS

The Illinois Department of Public Health on Monday reported 98 new deaths and 4,699 new confirmed and probable cases of the coronavirus. That's a total of 15,299 fatalities and 905,069 cases in Illinois. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total tests from Dec. 14 through 20 is 7.5 percent. Chicago's positivity rate is at 10.7 percent.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATES

— Illinois says 63,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered from state's supply: "As of Sunday, 9,383 Chicago residents had received the vaccine, according to the city, a figure that includes city residents who received their vaccine elsewhere. The state's total number does not, however, include inoculations from the city's supply of the vaccine," by Tribune's Jamie Munks and Dan Petrella.

... Illinois expects to receive 234,450 more doses of the Covid-19 vaccine this week, via WREX/13

— Cases and deaths are surging again in Illinois prisons: "Advocates for prisoners' rights say the state's delays in broadening staff testing, releasing thousands of medically vulnerable or other nonviolent prisoners and better enforcing a staff mask mandate have led to widespread infections and more deaths," by Tribune's Christy Gutowski.

— Why social media hasn't been able to shut down vaccine misinformation: "The vaccine rollout is presenting Facebook and others with fresh challenges, including a new breed of anti-vax material that could be harder to combat than electoral disinformation," by POLITICO's Alexandra S. Levine.

— Not taking no for an answer: Restaurant asks state Supreme Court to throw out indoor dining ban: "FoxFire Tavern is one of dozens of restaurants that sued Gov. JB Pritzker and his administration after he issued an executive order imposing stricter restrictions on businesses, including a ban on indoor dining and bar service, in response to rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations throughout the state," by Capitol News' Sarah Mansur.

— A blow for Bailey: Court won't hear his case against Pritzker but will rule on written motions: State Sen.-elect Darren Bailey had filed suit in Clay County alleging Gov. J.B. Pritzker overextended his authority in issuing repeated executive orders due to Covid-19, via Premier Broadcasting's Greg Sapp.

BUSINESS OF POLITICS

NEW STATE SENATOR: Democrat Tina Pacione-Zayas, a policy executive at Erikson Institute, has been appointed to the state Senate seat vacated by Iris Martinez, who was elected last month as Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court. Pacione-Zayas tweeted: "It's official! The 11 committee people cast votes in my favor to fill the vacancy for the IL state Senate 20th District." Pacione-Zayas is active in education issues, especially in the Latin American community.

CHICAGO

— Former top cop shocked by 71-year-old's slaying on street where he lived for decades: "The most we worried about was garage burglaries," says Eddie Johnson, who was Chicago police superintendent from 2016 through 2019. Sun-Times' Frank Main, Sam Charles, and Mitch Dudek report.

— How this Chicago pre-K teacher created a typical day for her students in an atypical year: "Chicago prekindergarten teacher Margi Bhansali approached the first day of school this year with apprehension... But through weeks, and then months, of virtual learning, Bhansali prioritized welcoming parents and grandparents as well as her Brunson Elementary students — holding individual virtual meetings with families, creating monthly at-home learning packets, and even volunteering to troubleshoot technical issues with parents so they could upload their children's work," reports Chalkbeat Chicago's Cassie Walker Burke.

— High Ridge YMCA to close in January: The facility in West Rogers Park has operated at a loss for a number of years even before the Covid-19 crisis, according to a statement on the YMCA of Metro Chicago's website. "The overwhelming economic stress caused by the coronavirus (Covid-19) has put an enormous strain on our organization to the point where we are no longer able to sustain the center during and after the pandemic," the statement said. "Unfortunately, we have reached the point where we cannot identify a path to sustainability for the High Ridge YMCA, so we have made the difficult decision to close the center," Sun-Times' Emmanuel Camarillo reports.

— 'Windy City Rehab' host Alison Victoria drops $100K off price on her Bucktown home: "She knocked $100,000 off the price — so negotiations for her masonry brick and limestone single-family home will now start at $2,195,000," reports Sun-Times' Mitch Dudek.

— Why did Chicago stop growing?: "Our city became a metropolis by gobbling up suburbs we now know as neighborhoods. Then, in the 1960s, it stopped," writes Edward McClelland for Chicago magazine.

TUNE IN TO NEW EPISODE OF GLOBAL TRANSLATIONS: Our Global Translations podcast, presented by Citi, examines the long-term costs of the short-term thinking that drives many political and business decisions. The world has long been beset by big problems that defy political boundaries, and these issues have exploded over the past year amid a global pandemic. This podcast helps to identify and understand the impediments to smart policymaking. Subscribe for Season Two, available now.

DAY IN COURT

Chicago area data engineer stole, sold company computer equipment for $500K: feds: "The employee was allegedly directed by his friend and business partner to ship the stolen equipment by FedEx to resellers in California and Texas," by Sun-Times' David Struett.

THE STATEWIDES

— Congress OKs 5-year extension of Great Lakes cleanup program: "The bill, which requires President Donald Trump's signature to take effect, calls for gradually boosting the program's annual funding from $300 million to $475 million by 2026. The measure doesn't guarantee the money, which lawmakers will need to provide in annual spending bills. But authorizing the program for multiple years is an important step," reports AP.

— As 34th resident dies after LaSalle Veterans' Home Covid-19 Outbreak, families prepare to sue: "The facility has not seen a new COVID-19 case among residents since Dec. 1. But in November, the virus raged through the home, eventually sickening the majority of residents and killing more than a quarter of the home's residents since the first deaths were reported on Nov. 11 — Veterans' Day," by NPR Illinois' Hannah Meisel.

— BOOK REVIEW: What Springfield taught Barack Obama about how politics really work: "It's not that state legislators 'didn't know the difference between good and bad policy,' the future president wrote in his new book. 'It just didn't matter,'" by David Webber, an associate professor emeritus of political science at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

THE NATIONAL TAKE

— Feuds, Zoom and Italian food: How the stimulus got done, by POLITICO's Burgess Everett, Heather Caygle and Marianne LeVine

— Can Biden whack Russia for its latest big hack? POLITICO's Natasha Bertrand and Nahal Toosi report

— Judges are locking up children for noncriminal offenses like disobeying parents and skipping school, by ProPublica's Jodi S. Cohen and Duaa Eldeib

Persistence — House Republicans meet with Trump to discuss overturning election results, by POLITICO's Melanie Zanona

— Kelly Loeffler has hardscrabble pitch but once had a condo in Chicago's Gold Coast, via NYT

TRIVIA

MONDAY's GUESS: Congrats to Jordan Henderson, a member of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus Greenest Region Corps, for correctly answering that Singing Rheotome, the Westco Lloyd Neurostat and the Long Gasometer are found in the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesia located in Schaumburg

TODAY'S QUESTION: What were the three professional sports teams in Illinois during the last global pandemic? Email your answer to skapos@politico.com.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Former Rep. Bill Lipinski, political consultant Kitty Kruth, Zapwater Communications CEO David Zapata, fashionista Ikram Goldman, restaurateur Nick Kokonas, former Chicago Woman publisher Sherren Leigh, Ipsos senior writer Kate MacArthur, Mara Kelly, the outreach manager for Rep.-elect Marie Newman, and Joseph (J.T.) Varallo, who works with the Illinois State Society of Washington, D.C.

-30-

Follow us on Twitter