| | | | |  | | By Shia Kapos | TGIF, Illinois. May every shamrock bring you joy and good luck this weekend.
|  | TOP TALKER | | | 
Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia,' photographed when he announced his own run for mayor, is now backing Brandon Johnson. | POLITICO's Shia Kapos | SCOOP: Watch for Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, who lost his bid for Chicago mayor last month, to back Brandon Johnson for the job. Garcia is expected to announce his endorsement today. It's a big get for Johnson, who, like opponent Paul Vallas, is working to build a ground game in areas won by rivals in the first round. Garcia lost in the runoff for mayor, coming in fourth. He and Johnson share the same progressive supporters. Johnson and Vallas have been courting Garcia's supporters, as well as Black voters who aligned with Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Other big names: Garcia follows endorsements of Johnson by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. They’re big names on the national scene, but they won’t be canvassing. Politics is local: Vallas’ team is banking on Chicago aldermen for that. On Thursday, a group of Black aldermen came out for Vallas: Alds. Michelle Harris (8th), Anthony Beale (9th), David Moore (17th), Derrick Curtis (18th), Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) and Emma Mitts (37th). Retired state Senate President Emil Jones has endorsed Vallas, too. First in Playbook: The Chicago Laborers’ District Council is endorsing Vallas for mayor. The union represents 20,000-plus workers from 15 Affiliated Local Unions in the construction, municipal and industrial sectors. Meanwhile, another debate: Vallas and Johnson got snippy about who could better handle the city budget, by Tribune’s Alice Yin, Gregory Pratt and A.D. Quig The tables were turned from the last debate. This time Vallas was the aggressor, writes Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman Here’s the full debate on ABC 7. One thing both candidates agree on: Legalize video gambling in Chicago: “Even with a new city casino on the horizon, both Vallas and Johnson support the legalization of video gambling machines,” by WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel and Tessa Weinberg.
| | THE BUZZ | | | 
Tapes of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan were played in the trial on Thursday, March 16, 2023. | Seth Perlman/AP File Photo | Trial of the ComEd Four: The courtroom came to life Thursday with the voice of former House Speaker Michael Madigan heard on secretly recorded FBI tapes. Madigan is heard speaking to Michael McClain who is accused with three others of using the utility company to create cushy jobs and contracts in exchange for legislative support. “So when do you want me to call Lang and just lower the boom on him,” McClain is heard saying. “Because he’s … not getting it.” "Sooner rather than later," Madigan says on the tape. “I think the guy’s gonna be a continuing problem. That’s my expectation.” They were referring to the powerful former state Rep. Lou Lang, who they wanted out of office amid a #MeToo scandal. Lang ultimately resigned only to be cleared later of any wrongdoing. The recording was played to show Madigan’s power as speaker and that McClain worked as his intermediary. McClain is heard describing himself as “an agent, somebody who cares deeply about ya.” Lang also took the stand Thursday, testifying that McClain was known to use nicknames to describe Madigan. He wasn’t just “Mike” or “the speaker.” McClain would refer to Madigan as “our friend,” Lang said. “Sometimes he called him, Himself,” Lang said. “As if it had a capital H.” It was a lesson in machine politics, write Sun-Times’ Tina Sfondeles and Jon Seidel Tribune has the audio and a transcript. If you are Ald. Michelle Harris, Playbook would like to know what sold you on Paul Vallas. Email skapos@politico.com.
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | WHERE'S JB | | At Malcom X Community College at 9:30 a.m. to highlight proposed higher education investments. — At Chicago Filmmakers at 1 p.m. to announce record film industry revenues.
| | WHERE'S LORI | | No official public events.
| | Where's Toni | | At the Cook County Building at 10 a.m. to release the Simon Wiesenthal Center Digital Terror Report and to address “increased online Anti-Semitic, racist, anti-LGBTQ hate and violence against Black, immigrant and Jewish residents.” — At the Village of Lyons at noon for the 16th District Women’s EmpowHER Brunch. Have a news tip, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? I’d like to hear from you: skapos@politico.com
| | THE STATEWIDES | | — From deepfakes to declawing cats, 21 bills Illinois lawmakers are considering: Among them: “House Bill 1633, sponsored by Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford, would mandate that, beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, all public elementary and high schools include a unit on Native American history within Illinois and the Midwest. It would also require instruction of the Native American genocide during the unit on the Holocaust,” by Lee Enterprises’ Brenden Moore. — State oversight agency alleges fathers’ rights lawyer Jeffery Leving charged ‘unreasonable fees’ to clients: “A complaint filed by the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission also accuses Leving of failing to refund unearned fees, in violation of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct,” by Sun-Times’ Matthew Hendrickson. — At Walgreens, a CEO caught in the Venn diagram of medicine, politics and profits: “After the Deerfield-based retailer said it wouldn’t sell the abortion pill in 21 states, #BoycottWalgreens took off. What’s a modern CEO to do?" by Adrienne Samuels Gibbs for WBEZ. — Casino at Hawthorne Race Course remains in limbo, while downstate Collinsville project moving ahead, by Tribune’s Robert McCoppin
| | 2023 MUNICIPAL RACES | | — Four other big mayor races: Voters in Naperville, Lake Forest, Joliet and Springfield are also voting for mayor. Political consultants at Cor Strategies are out with a report analyzing the races. — 46th Ward: Kim Walz has been endorsed by five unions: IBEW Local 134, Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council, Associated Firefighters of Illinois, Painters District Council 14, and the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150. Walz is also out with a new ad showing opponent Angela Clay in her own words advocating to “defund the police.”
| | CHICAGO | | — ‘Proof of airport business’ required to enter O’Hare during overnight hours from Blue Line, officials say: “People arriving at O’Hare after 10 p.m. must have a boarding pass or employee badge, the city Department of Aviation says. The policy has been in place since 2020,” by Sun-Times’ Emmanuel Camarillo. — A night out with the people helping homeless riders: “Outreach workers say fewer shelter beds and Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s recent crackdown on people sleeping at O’Hare has forced more unhoused people onto trains and buses,” by WBEZ’s Anna Savchenko. — New 400 Theaters facing closure after more than 100 years in Rogers Park, by WTTW’s Joanna Hernandez and Blair Paddock
| | SPOTTED | | A TO Z: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was guest of honor at a small fundraiser hosted by Congresswoman Robin Kelly and attorney Darren Collier on Thursday at the Chicago home of BMO Harris’ Mary Kenney and TV producer David Manilow. In introducing him, Kelly gave her version of Jeffries’ A-Z speech that he delivered to the House right before handing Republican Kevin McCarthy the speaker’s gavel in January. Guests included: Congressman Jonathan Jackson, Illinois Attorney Gen. Kwame Raoul and his wife, Lisa Moore, Ariel Investments' John Rogers Jr., Nate Horn (Kelly’s husband), attorney Tony Romanucci, public affairs consultant Greg Bales, Walgreens exec Donovan Pepper, McDonald’s exec Ashli Nelson and attorney Aurora Austriaco. Pix!
| | DAY IN COURT | | — A former Illinois prison guard gets 20-year sentence for fatal beating: “In pleading for leniency, Alex Banta said he took a job as a prison guard at 23 and had no idea how it would change him,” by WBEZ’s Shannon Heffernan. — CPS students with disabilities abused by teacher at West Pullman school, lawsuit alleges: “Parents say the Whistler elementary school teacher routinely “administered harmful, physical and violent corporal punishment,” including striking students with her hands and wooden rulers,” by Sun-Times’ Sophie Sherry.
| | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | | | | Reader Digest | | We asked who helped with your NCAA brackets. And kudos that you all do it on your own. Bill Velazquez said he turns to Barack Obama, who “knows college basketball.” What’s the last movie you saw in a movie theater? Email skapos@politico.com
| | THE NATIONAL TAKE | | — Florida GOP sweats Trump vs. DeSantis, by POLITICO’s Olivia Beavers — Biden inches closer to the center to win over Republicans he’ll need in 2024, by POLITICO’s Jonathan Lemire and Daniela Diaz — Former editor of Jewish newspaper charged for Jan. 6 actions, by POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney — Marianne Williamson’s ‘abusive’ treatment of 2020 campaign staff, revealed, by POLITICO’s Lauren Egan — Backlash hits Audubon after refusal to drop slave-holder’s name, by POLITICO’s Robin Bravender
| | TRANSITIONS | | — Heather Tarczan is comms director for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. She was executive director of Urban Autism Solutions.
| | HISTORY LESSON | | — March Madness was born in Illinois: “Henry V. Porter, an Illinois High School Association official who was later inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, is credited with originally using the phrase to describe the state’s high school basketball tournament in 1939,” via the Tribune’s Kori Rumore, Andrew Johnston and Marianne Mather.
| | TRIVIA | | THURSDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to Mike Zalewski and Trisha Rich for correctly answering that Old St. Patrick's R.C. Church on Adams Street is the oldest church building in Chicago, having been built in 1854. H/t to Judith Erwin for correctly answering that First Presbyterian Church started practicing in Chicago in 1833, though its church wasn’t built until 1927. TODAY’s QUESTION: Mayors Richard J. and Richard M. Daley are the father-son combo that served the most combined terms, barely beating out which other father-son politicos? Email skapos@politico.com
| | HAPPY BIRTHDAY | | Today: Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Wayne Township Supervisor Randy Ramey, former GOP gubernatorial candidate and state Sen. Darren Bailey, Senate policy adviser Joe Bushong, political consultant Chris Shaffer, lobbyist Mark Peysakhovich, Gavel Public Affairs President Larry Farnsworth, real estate guru Kathleen Weiss Boyle, UIC law student Jake Leahy and journalist Maureen O’Donnell. Saturday: former state Sen. Melinda Bush, Illinois Education Association President Al Llorens, Illinois Institute of Technology international admissions adviser Genie Melamed, political campaigner Allison Schraub, comms exec Ofelia Casillas, Finn Partners VP Ameet Sachdev and Myrna Mazur, the retired vice chancellor for health affairs and intergovernmental relations at the University of Illinois. Sunday: Niles Township Supervisor Bonnie Kahn Ognisanti, former Ald. Joe Moreno, Business Leadership Council Chair Charles Smith, attorney and former congressional candidate Kristine Schanbacher, Northeastern Illinois University trustee Jose Rico, PR pro Michelle Mekky and Block Club co-founder and Executive Editor Stephanie Lulay. -30- | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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