| | | | |  | | By Shia Kapos | Welcome back, Illinois. The 2024 presidential election will be certified today, and we’re expecting a peaceful transfer of power since Donald Trump actually won this time.
|  | TOP TALKER | | | | 
Clayton Harris III, photographed during a campaign event last year, is now chief of staff to the Illinois House speaker. | Nam Y. Huh/AP | TURNING HEADS: Members of the Illinois House and Senate were in Springfield over the weekend for a lame-duck session that’s been light on legislation and heavy on intrigue. It runs through Tuesday. What’s got people talking is House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch has upended his experienced administrative team for new players. Here’s his memo. Clayton Harris III, the former Cook County state’s attorney candidate, becomes chief of staff, taking over for the veteran staffer Tiffany Moy. And Isabel “Izzy” Dobbel is now deputy chief of staff after serving as political director for the Chicago Federation of Labor. Moy’s exit prompted the resignations of Legislative Director Kylie Kelly, Chief Counsel Kendra Piercy and press spokesperson Jaclyn Driscoll. A person familiar says senior staffers “are simply ready to move on” and felt it was “an appropriate time to transition.” Reporters will miss Driscoll’s expertise and cool demeanor. (She’s a former reporter, so she got us.) Welch is now in search of a new spokesperson. What it all means: Welch has been speaker for four years and has sometimes struggled to shift his team from the old way of doing things under his predecessor Michael Madigan’s administration. Welch also faces challenges trying to manage a large, super-majority caucus with numerous progressive voices sometimes butting heads with moderate Dems. Harris' bonafides: The former prosecutor and policy wonk was edged out by Eileen O'Neill Burke in the Cook County state's attorney Democratic primary last year. Harris, who served briefly as chief of staff to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, is seen as a progressive who has the demeanor to work with a broad range of Democrats. House Republicans called the lame duck session a “waste of taxpayer dollars,” given Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher declared it a snow emergency day. In a statement to Playbook, Republican Leader Tony McCombie accused Welch of leading a “mismanaged” lame-duck session. “The buck stops with the leader — the speaker.” DRUM ROLL, PLEASE: Illinois senators will be sworn in on Wednesday in their state Capitol chamber after relocating the past two years to the Howlett Building while major renovations were conducted.
| | | THE BUZZ | | | 
The sun rises over power lines near Monee, Ill., in September 2023. | Charles Rex Arbogast/AP | BUNDLE OF ENERGY: As Illinois sets its sights on being a hub for data centers and quantum computing while also facing a potential energy shortfall, state lawmakers are working on legislation that will ensure it has enough energy to keep it all running. It’s a pivot: “When we negotiated CEJA (the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act) four years ago, we anticipated there would be an increased demand for electric cars. What we didn’t anticipate is that it would be driven by data centers. And right around the corner is quantum,” state Sen. Bill Cunningham, a Democrat from Chicago, told Playbook. Both require huge amounts of energy as the state is teetering on an energy crisis: Electricity rates are high, coal plants are retiring soon and Illinois runs the risk of falling short of clean energy goals. The timing: Negotiations on a clean energy package have been going on behind the scenes for months. Lawmakers have decided to shoot for a “skinny” energy package in lame duck and come back in the spring for a broader bill. Cunningham and state Rep. Barbara Hernandez are carrying the “skinny” legislation. They’re still not sure it will pass in the lame-duck session, but they’re working toward it. There are three parts to the bill. First, it would expand the state's energy efficiency program, which has been negotiated by the Clean Jobs Coalition — an umbrella group of environmentalists and utility companies. In the past, the program has focused on swapping out old light bulbs for new, more efficient ones. But the new legislation wants to go further to include, among other things, subsidies for people who buy energy efficient utilities like refrigerators or furnaces, Cunningham explained. The second leg of the bill calls for speeding the development of renewable energy programs, particularly wind and solar. “There’s a lot of wonky, nerdy energy stuff in this part, but it would change contractual language to speed up the existing process,” Cunningham said. The third part of the bill requires the Illinois Commerce Commission to conduct a workshop on “battery development,” or more simply, energy storage. The idea is to develop a road map to complement solar and wind for those days when the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing. The batteries or energy storage facilities would store the energy generated by renewables “and then when the wind isn't blowing and the sun isn't shining, the batteries would take over,” Cunningham explained. Storage requires transmission lines, and that’s another issue area that will be pushed off until spring. Experts say that the U.S. needs a massive transmission rollout. Building additional HVDC interregional transmission lines has support from the environmental advocates, business and labor. Next steps: Once the three-legged bill is passed, lawmakers will then offer up a separate energy bill for the regular legislative session that will consider the energy storage strategy and transmission — pegged off of the working group in the lame-duck bill. MORE FROM SPRINGFIELD — HEMP HARRUMPH: Gov. JB Pritzker has called on House lawmakers to pass legislation to regulate hemp products during the lame-duck session, as POLITICO’s Mona Zhang reports. But Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is pushing back. His team wants to slow down the discussion “to make sure Chicago is at the table” on hemp. “What the governor is doing is overreaching and trying to overrule Chicago’s home-rule authority to tax hemp on our own,” said a person close to the mayor’s office. Johnson supports strict public health regulations but also sees generating revenue as crucial. — A resolution honoring President Jimmy Carter’s legacy of peace and commitment to humanitarian efforts “especially in the Middle East and Palestine,” was adopted in the Illinois House on Sunday. The measure was carried by state Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, a Bridgeview Democrat. RELATED: Check out some of Carter’s Illinois visits here. — Other bills in the lame-duck session address criminal justice, public health and child welfare, by the Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner and Addison Wright If you are Clayton Harris III, Playbook would like to hear from you! Email: skapos@politico.com
| | WHERE'S JB | | No official public events
| | WHERE's BRANDON | | No official public events
| | Where's Toni | | No official public events Have a tip, suggestion, birthday, new job or a complaint? Email skapos@politico.com
| | BUSINESS OF POLITICS | | — Congressman Jonathan Jackson is weighing whether to jump into the race to chair the Democratic National Committee. It’s competitive, reports NBC. — Former Naperville Councilman Kevin Coyne named new DuPage County GOP chair, by the Naperville Sun’s Tess Kenny — OPEN SEAT: On Friday, Democrats of Thornton Township will pick a new commissioner for Cook County’s 5th District, filling the seat vacated by Monica Gordon, who is now the Cook County clerk.
| | TAKING NAMES | | — Lee Daniels, the former speaker of the Illinois House, is stepping down as board chair of Haymarket Center, a notable nonprofit that provides care for people with substance use disorders, mental health and primary care conditions. — Jason Lee, Chicago's shadow mayor, helps Brandon Johnson weather the political storm, by the Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman — Heather Steans, the former state senator, has been appointed to the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which oversees Rate Field, where the White Sox play and Soldier Field, home of the Bears. — City comptroller Chasse Rehwinkel has resigned to become CFO of Devon Bank, by the Sun-Times’ Cindy Hernandez — Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s garage struck by bullet, by the Block Club’s Leen Yassine — Samantha Steele, the county official who was charged with a DUI, will keep her driver's license, by WBEZ’s Dan Mihalopoulos — Ald. Jim Gardiner agrees to $157,000 settlement for blocking critics on Facebook, via CBS 2
| | THE STATEWIDES | | — GOOD READ: America’s oldest Black town is in Illinois — and it’s dying. But the fight has begun to save it: Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski is part of a push to add Brooklyn, Ill., to the National Register of Historic Places, “a distinction some hope could lead to the creation of a museum and other monuments aimed at driving historic and cultural tourism to town,” writes the Tribune’s Jonathan Bullington. — Federal judge partially blocks Illinois card swipe fee law, by POLITICO’s Michael Stratford — NEW LAWS: Many Illinois companies must now list salary range in job postings, by WTTW’s Amanda Vinicky New guardrails in Illinois target AI, via NBC News There are nearly 300 new Illinois laws, by Capitol News’ Ben Szalinski
| | CHICAGO | | — Happy New Year! Bears beat the Packers, via The Associated Press — CPS CEO Pedro Martinez says contract talks with the teachers union have not stalled: 'In fact, it's just the opposite': “But Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates said she’s frustrated the school chief seems to hold the keys to getting a contract as the two sides work to negotiate a deal and avoid a strike,” by WBEZ’s Sarah Karp. — Mayor Johnson creates group to study, stop killing of trans women, by the Sun-Times’ Violet Miller — Bally’s Chicago opens investment to women and minority investors, by Silvia Pavlof for Gambling News
| | COOK COUNTY AND COLLARS | | — Glendale Heights President Chodri Khokhar asks DuPage court to put him back on ballot, by the Daily Herald’s Susan Sarkauskas — Thornton Township stops bus service for senior citizens amid government shutdown, by ABC 7’s Leah Hope — Transportation predictions for 2025, by the Daily Herald’s Marni Pyke
| | Reader Digest | | We asked for your political predictions for 2025 Matt Buckley: “The tight budget situation will create some public tension between the Dem legislative leaders and the governor, who’ve gotten along well so far.” Jim Lyons: “After being rubber stamps for years, Chicago alders will stand up and represent the people of their wards.” Marilynn Miller: “Mayor Brandon Johnson will face fierce competition ahead of the 2026 election." David Prosperi: “President Trump gets tired of Elon Musk getting all of the media attention and holds a press conference saying he never wanted anything to do with him.” Dennis Rendleman: “Chaos!” Patricia Ann Watson: “The U.S. Treasury will be looted, the nation will survive deeply wounded but rebound a bit wiser.” Next question: How did you ring in 2025? Email skapos@politico.com
| | KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION | | — Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia on deportation threat: Trying to figure what’s ‘bluster’ and what’s ‘real,’ via POLITICO — Delia Ramirez is warning her constituents about Republican rules package, by ABC 7’s Sarah Schulte — Eric Sorensen says DOGE has ‘no validity’ to enforce budget cuts, by WGLT’s Eric Stock
| | THE NATIONAL TAKE | | — 20 years before Jan. 6, Al Gore stood up to his own party. Mike Pence was watching, by POLITICO’s Michael Kruse — Trump has a Lincoln fixation, by NBC News’ Peter Nicholas — Dems fight to Trump-proof the federal judiciary, by POLITICO’s Anthony Adragna
| | TRANSITIONS | | — Sabha Abour now heads Draco Strategies, a public relations and strategic consulting firm. She was chief of staff to Ald. Lamont Robinson. — Adam Sachs is now a credit rating analyst at S&P Global’s Chicago office. He was staff assistant and assistant to the state director for Sen. Tammy Duckworth. — Alex Salisbury is now campaign manager for Ted Mesiacos, who’s running for mayor of Aurora. Salisbury was Congressman Bill Foster’s campaign manager.
| | | EVENTS | | | — Ben Jealous, executive director of the Sierra Club and former CEO of the NAACP, keynotes Rainbow Push’s annual Dr. King Breakfast on Jan. 20. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is among the honorees. Tickets here
| | TRIVIA | | PREVIOUS ANSWER: Congrats to Alexander Domanskis for correctly answering that Erika Harold is the former Illinois attorney general candidate who also was crowned Miss America. She’s now executive director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism. TODAY’s QUESTION: What was Chicago’s role in precipitating the demise of the KKK? Email skapos@politico.com
| | HAPPY BIRTHDAY | | State Rep. Marty Moylan, G-PAC President Kathleen Sances, activist Terry Cosgrove, Teneo Managing Director Eric Herman, Purfect Elections owner Al Kindle, Rose Capital's Rob Rose, Ketchum's Claire Koeneman, University of Chicago professor emeritus Stuart A. Rice, Associated Press-NORC Center's David Sterrett, Cravath, Swaine & Moore associate Alexandra Dakich and journalist Eric Zorn. -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 | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment