News : POLITICO Illinois Playbook: LAHOOD’s BIG MOVES — STATE REPS SMACK KINZINGER

Friday, February 12, 2021

POLITICO Illinois Playbook: LAHOOD’s BIG MOVES — STATE REPS SMACK KINZINGER — GIANNOULIAS’ FULL-CIRCLE GIFT

Feb 12, 2021

TGIF, Illinois. The Immersive Van Gogh Experience has a good tagline: "It's safe to Gogh." So I did.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Illinois Playbook is taking Monday off and will be back Tuesday in your inbox. Have a good weekend and stay warm out there!

TOP TALKER

Republican Darin LaHood participates in a debate in 2015.

Republican Darin LaHood participates in a debate in 2015. | Seth Perlman/AP Photo

Congressman Darin LaHood has taken on a big role with the National Republican Congressional Committee — and he hasn't ruled out a run for governor of Illinois.

"Listen, there are a lot of people I respect in the state of Illinois who have asked me to consider the governor's race," he told Playbook in a phone interview Thursday. "I'm going to wait and see what happens with our remap and see how the spring legislative session goes and see where we're at during the summer."

LaHood says his No. 1 priority for now is raising money for the National Republican Congressional Committee, the organization that funds campaigns for Congress. The Illinois congressman was named finance chair Thursday by the NRCC.

We asked him if that includes the campaigns of Rep. Adam Kinzinger and the nine other Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump. His answer: "Absolutely."

He's referring to the General Election. The NRCC has a longstanding policy of not meddling in primaries — something that helps LaHood stay above the fray.

NRCC spokesman Michael McAdams told Playbook: "The NRCC's stance has not changed. We support our members in general elections and do not get involved in primaries. We look forward to building on last cycle's successes and retaking the majority."

LaHood, who campaigned for Trump, said capturing the chamber in 2022 is a prize worth more than threatening to starve fellow Republicans of precious campaign cash during the general election.

"If we are going to become the majority party — which I think we will — you've got to accept that we're a big tent," LaHood said, adding that Republicans in Peoria, Ill., are different than those in Florida, New York or California. "I have tried to take that philosophy and that attitude of that's how we'll become the majority party."

THE BUZZ

Two state legislators are taking issue with Rep. Adam Kinzinger's campaign to shift the Republican Party away from Donald Trump. In a Facebook post, Republican state Rep. Andrew Chesney of Freeport called Kinzinger "a political embarrassment" for creating what he called an "Adam First" PAC instead of directing his efforts against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats.

State Rep. Chris Miller, husband of Republican freshman Rep. Mary Miller, responded, saying, "I could not agree more… RINOs like Adam Kinzinger seem to think a circular firing squad is the path to victory. Insane."

Kinzinger's spokeswoman did not immediately return a request for comment.

Chesney and Miller are the highest-level elected officials in Illinois to speak out against Kinzinger, though he was censured by the LaSalle County Republican party last week.

In an interview, Chesney said he "disagreed" with Kinzinger's vote to impeach Trump but he is "disgusted" that the congressman has started a PAC that "leverages his support for impeachment and raises money off of one of the greatest actions that members of Congress can ever take."

Kinzinger has said his "Country 1st" PAC is meant to push the GOP away from Trump and supporters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6.

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

THE INDISPENSABLE GUIDE TO CONGRESS: Looking for the latest on the Schumer/McConnell dynamic or the increasing tensions in the House? What are the latest whispers coming out of the Speaker's Lobby? Just leave it to Beavers... New author Olivia Beavers delivers the scoop in Huddle, the morning Capitol Hill must-read with assists from POLITICO's deeply sourced Congress team. Subscribe to Huddle today.

WHERE'S LORI

No official public events.

WHERE'S J.B.

At Aunt Martha's Chicago Heights Community Health Center at noon to showcase a Federally Qualified Health Center vaccination site in Cook County.

Where's Toni

No official public events.

THE LATEST NUMBERS

The Illinois Department of Public Health on Thursday reported 102 deaths and 2,838 new confirmed and probable cases of the coronavirus. That's a total of 19,841 fatalities and 1,155,833 cases in Illinois. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total tests from Feb. 4 through 10 is 3.3 percent. Chicago's positivity rate is at 4.6 percent.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATES

— Governor's office defends vaccine rollout as local health leaders complain of poor communication: State health officials say "the pace of vaccinations is picking up and will get even faster as more vaccine doses become available in coming weeks. They pleaded for patience and blamed the sluggish start on the lack of enough doses to meet the overwhelming demand," by Tribune's Dan Petrella, Jenny Whidden and Joe Mahr.

— First case of more infectious South Africa variant of Covid-19 detected in Illinois: "New strains of the virus spread more easily, but vaccines are still effective against them, officials say." Sun-Times' Mitchell Armentrout reports.

— Lightfoot, Preckwinkle won't follow Pritzker's plan to start vaccinating people with underlying health conditions: "Chicago and Cook County do not have enough doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to expand eligibility to Illinois residents with chronic health conditions and those who are disabled, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said Thursday morning in a rare joint statement. Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Wednesday that the state would start vaccinating residents with cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, heart condition, sickle cell disease, pulmonary disease and obesity on Feb. 25," by WTTW's Heather Cherone.

... Meanwhile... White House tiptoes around governors relaxing coronavirus rules, report POLITICO's Rachel Roubein, Brianna Ehley and Sarah Owermohle

— When can I get the Covid-19 vaccine in Chicago?: "WBEZ has created a tool that determines your eligibility phase and matches it to the latest information about when and where you'll likely get inoculated. Although geared for Chicago residents, the tool — based on daily reporting from WBEZ's health care team — provides eligibility status for every Illinoisan," by WBEZ's Becky Vevea, Vivian McCall and Andrew Uebelein.

— More vaccine doses heading to Illinois Walgreens stores through federal program: "But for CVS, Jewel, Walmart? Not yet," reports Tribune's Lisa Schencker.

THE TRUMP ERA, IMPEACHMENT TRIAL EDITION

— 'He can do this again': Dems rest case against Trump warning of more attacks: "The House managers' two days of arguments captured the intense fury still felt over the desecration of the Capitol, which senators from both parties have at least partly blamed on Trump. Still, Trump is almost certain to be acquitted, with the vast majority of Republican senators saying the House has not met the legal standard to charge Trump with inciting the violence, and that the Senate has no constitutional authority to try a former president," by POLITICO's Kyle Cheney and Andrew Desiderio.

— Trump defense lawyer thinks impeachment trial will wrap up on Saturday: "David Schoen said his team would likely take three to four hours on Friday to present its arguments," by POLITICO's Matthew Choi.

THE JUICE

FULL CIRCLE GIFT: Steven Galanis, the CEO of Cameo, just donated $6,000 to Alexi Giannoulias' campaign for Illinois secretary of state. The donation brings their friendship full circle. Galanis worked as a driver for Giannoulias during his run for state treasurer. Giannoulias won that race and held the position from 2007 to 2011. Years later, when Galanis started Cameo — a website and mobile app that allows users to pay celebs and athletes to do video shoutouts — Giannoulias was an early investor. Now it's Galanis who's helping out his former boss. "Alexi was a huge mentor to me when I was working for him. It meant a lot for him to support me when I was getting started at Cameo." Giannoulias has raised another $100,000 in the past week, according to a spokeswoman, including donations from filmmaker Ebs Burnough (who was previously an adviser to Michelle Obama) and members of Lettuce Entertain You's Melman family.

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CHICAGO

— After civil unrest, Covid-19 and presidential election, Chicago pays out $367 million in overtime to city workers: "That's more than twice as much as the city budgeted for the year and a $45.5 million increase from 2019, according to updated data released by the city's Budget Department Thursday. The reason: 2020 was a uniquely challenging year, Budget Director Susie Park told WBEZ. City Hall spent $84.8 million in overtime to address civil unrest, nearly $60 million on Covid-19 response and $14.4 million on enhanced security for the 2020 presidential election. That made up 43% of the final overtime budget for the year," by WBEZ's Claudia Morell.

— City says 'all hands on deck' as deep freeze, snow expected to continue through weekend: "This has been the coldest weather event since January 2019," said Rich Guidice, executive director of the city's Office of Emergency Management and Control. "We urge residents to take precautions and plan accordingly." Sun-Times' Tom Schuba reports.

— Chicago police are eligible to get the Covid-19 vaccine, but survey shows many may not want it: "'Help save lives and protect your families and co-workers against this virus by saying 'yes' to the vaccine,' read the email from police Superintendent David Brown. The email asked employees to log into the department's 'E-Learning' site and respond to the survey, if they were interested in getting vaccinated. As of Jan. 22, according to figures provided by the department, 4,937 employees had done as Brown asked — that's 38% of the department's 13,146 employees," reports WBEZ's Patrick Smith.

— CPS schools reopen with celebration and contention, as alderman calls CTU fight a 'hostage takeover of our children': "Appearing at a news conference with Mayor Lori Lightfoot and CPS CEO Janice Jackson on Thursday morning to celebrate the reopening of school at Brown Elementary on the Near West Side, Ald. Walter Burnett Jr., 27th, offered his own description of that struggle. 'It gives me a great pleasure and honor to be here now that we are done with our hostage takeover of our children here in the city of Chicago,' Burnett said," by Tribune's Alice Yin, Elyssa Cherney, Hannah Leone, Gregory Pratt and Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas.

... Teachers will get vaccinated. When will its child care workers? "Child care centers largely have been open since late last spring or early summer. That hasn't made it any easier for early childhood educators at nonprofits or private day cares to find appointments for vaccinations," reports Chalkbeat Chicago's Cassie Walker Burke.

... As students return to classrooms, some families call for remote learning improvements: "The vast majority of district students will still spend more time in remote learning than in classrooms: One in three Chicago students has elected to return to in-person learning under a hybrid schedule that means two days a week, at most, at schools," writes Chalkbeat Chicago's Mila Koumpilova and Yana Kunichoff.

... Parents say feud between CPS and teachers union is pushing families away: "Months of deadlock over a plan to reopen Chicago Public Schools put parents in the middle of a fight between the district and teachers union," by WBEZ's Adriana Cardona-Maguigad.

— Lightfoot calls Mercy Hospital bankruptcy 'devastating': "There should have been a better way and we're going to have to now play catch-up on fixing what's broken, but I understand why they filed," Lightfoot said. "It's really tough to run, even a not-for-profit, when you don't have money, your staff is fleeing and you don't have additional resources to backfill. It's a tragedy for our city, there's no question about it." Tribune's Mary Ellen Podmolik, Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz and Gregory Pratt report.

— Q&A: Second City's second life: "New executive producer Jon Carr aims to rehabilitate the iconic improv company," writes Lauren Williamson for Chicago magazine.

DAY IN COURT

— Rittenhouse won't face higher bond or arrest warrant: "A Wisconsin judge on Thursday rejected calls for a higher bond for Kyle Rittenhouse, rebuffing prosecutors who sought consequences against the 18-year-old for failing to tell the courts where he's living as he awaits trial for fatally shooting two men and wounding a third during an August protest in Kenosha," by Tribune's Dan Hinkel.

— Sentence thrown out in 1995 killings of 2 girls, ending an unusual, winding legal battle: Wayne Antusas was charged with gang members even though someone else fired the shots that killed the girls, who were sitting in a van near an elementary school, by Tribune's Megan Crepeau.

— Woman recovering from opioid addiction sues to get methadone treatment in DuPage County Jail: The jail's policy is not to provide medications to inmates, but Christine Finnigan says if she's forced to endure a painful withdrawal from her methadone, "she'll be in danger of relapsing and overdosing once she's released — a regular occurrence for inmates who go cold turkey behind bars," writes Tribune's John Keilman.

— Once dubbed 'kid cop' for posing as police officer as teen, he's arrested again for impersonating sergeant: "Vincent Richardson has a long history of police impersonation. But he most notably grabbed national headlines in 2009, when he walked into the Grand Crossing station as a 14-year-old and was able to fool officers into letting him walk the streets," by Sun-Times' Tom Schuba.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Advocating for more sex ed: "In an effort to create inclusive and factual health education standards, a coalition of public officials and activists is pushing to reintroduce the Responsible Education for Adolescent and Children's Health Act, which would require personal health and safety education for K-12 public schools in Illinois. The act defines grade-appropriate education ranging from personal safety to anatomy, abuse, bullying and gender identity for elementary-age students," by Tribune's Jessica Villagomez.

THE STATEWIDES

— Milhiser resigning as U.S. attorney: "The U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois will leave at the end of the month at the request of the Biden administration. John Milhiser took over the federal post in October of 2018. But with a new president, change is coming," writes NPR Illinois' Sean Crawford.

— A tale of two brownfield sites in the Midwest: "Herculaneum, Missouri, is a former industrial town. Since the lead smelter closed in 2013, the town has been cleaning up century-old contamination under guidance of the EPA. While the transition away from its past has been stark, residents there say they feel confident in local leadership. Less than 100 miles away in another Midwestern industrial town, residents of Carbondale, Illinois, say they are struggling to feel heard in their calls for officials to clean up the town's contaminated soil," reports Amelia Blakely for WBEZ.

— Secretary of State's Office still working on making online DMV appointments: For now, you have to wait in line in person to make an appointment for later at the Department of Motor Vehicles, reports WGN/9's Mike Lowe.

HIGHER-ED

Northwestern reviewing deal with conservative billionaire Dick Uihlein: "Northwestern's statement followed a WBEZ story detailing Uihlein's long record of making large political contributions to the Tea Party Patriots. The Georgia-based group was among 11 organizations that promoted the Washington protest of former President Donald Trump's re-election defeat," writes WBEZ's Dan Mihalopoulos.

THE NATIONAL TAKE

— Nikki Haley can't decide who she wants to be — leader of a post-Trump GOP or a friend' to the president who tried to sabotage democracy, writes POLITICO's Tim Alberta

— San Francisco sues school district over closed campuses 'with no end in sight,' by POLITICO's Mackenzie Mays

— Dems prepare for heartburn over Biden immigration plan, by POLITICO's Heather Caygle, Sarah Ferris and Laura Barron-Lopez.

MEDIA MATTERS

Alden is in talks to buy Tribune Publishing: "Alden Global Capital LLC, Tribune's largest shareholder with a 32 percent stake, is discussing a deal with the publishing company to buy the shares it doesn't already own, according to people familiar with the matter. A deal for Tribune could be reached this month, the people said, though they cautioned that the negotiations are far from over and could still fall apart," reports the Wall Street Journal.

TRIVIA

THURSDAY's ANSWER: Congrats to Ken Thomas, bankruptcy attorney at Fox Swibel Levin & Carroll LLP, for correctly answering that the Mather family owned the property that's now home to the state Capitol . They sold it to the Abraham Lincoln Monument Association as the location for Lincoln's tomb. A temporary vault was constructed there but never used. Lincoln is interred in Springfield's Oak Ridge Cemetery.

TODAY's QUESTION: Of the four presidential impeachment trials ever held, who are the two members of the Illinois delegation who served as impeachment managers? Email to skapos@politico.com.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Today: Ald. Michele Smith, former state Dem Rep. Ken Dunkin, longtime GOP political aide Barb Frobish, Partners Group Investment Professional Matthew Nadherny, public-relations pro Beth Silverman, former publishing executive Gloria Scoby, POLITICO Playbook co-editor and White House correspondent Eugene Daniels, POLITICO associate editor Kristen East, and Illinois' own President Abraham Lincoln

Saturday: state Rep. Marcus Evans Jr. (33rd), Appellate Court Judge Joe Birkett, consultant Brian Bernardoni, Walsh Group senior counsel Ted Gibbs, Boca Media Group President Xavier Nogueras, former Rauner campaign manager Betsy Ankney, and Young Invincibles Midwest program manager Morgan Diamond.

Sunday: Ald. Sophia King (4th), Becker Friedman Institute for Economics policy director Karen Anderson, consultant Bill Beach; political consultant Roberto Caldero; PR pro Emerald-Jane Hunter, senior legislative analyst at National Insurance Crime Bureau, Craig Sepich, and National Insurance Crime Bureau government affairs senior director Howard Handler, who's also a Deerfield Public Library trustee.

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