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| By Shia Kapos |
TGIF, Illinois. The weekend forecast: cold.
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 | TOP TALKER | |
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Precious Brady Davis is sworn in as a water board commissioner by Illinois Supreme Court Justice Joy Cunningham on Dec. 3, 2024. | Photo provided |
Precious Brady Davis saw her election to the Chicago-area water board as an important step in showing voters that policy matters more to voters than identity. She was taken by surprise when Republicans around the country started rolling out anti-transgender TV ads. “Folks have tried to make this about bathrooms, pronouns and sports. But that’s a distraction. It takes away from the actual humanity, safety and sanctity of our lives,” the newly elected commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago told Playbook. Brady Davis had been appointed to the post a year ago and won election in November. During her campaign, Brady Davis said she focused on issues such as “protecting the source of our drinking water, managing wastewater [and] preventing flooding. I can tell you, people did not vote for me because I am trans — but from my perspective.” Lost in translation: She acknowledges, however, that Democrats need a better response to the Republicans’ anti-trans messaging, and she criticized Democrats who have blamed the trans issue for affecting the presidential outcome. “There does need to be a great reckoning within the party in terms of us being a big-tent party,” she said. “I don't think that the conversation should exclude trans people. I think trans people have to be a part of what that future policy conversation looks like.” What the message should be, she says, is that “trans people are part of democracy too. It’s about talking about the needs of working-class people.” Brady Davis isn't the first transgender elected official in Illinois — Cook County Judge Jill Rose Quinn was elected in 2020, and Clare Killman was elected to the Carbondale City Council in 2023. But Brady Davis is one of the most visible transgender political figures in Illinois as an active member of the Cook County Democratic Party and a surrogate for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign and has traveled the country as an author, public speaker and activist. By the numbers: Nearly 1.2 million Cook County residents voted for Brady Davis, a Nebraska native who lives in Chicago and previously spent six years at the Sierra Club as associate regional communications director. By comparison: Delaware Democrat Sarah McBride, who just became the first openly transgender member of Congress, won her race in November with nearly 288,000 votes. Bipartisan matters: Brady Davis is also a 2024 graduate of the Edgar Fellows program, which was created by former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar to address leadership and governing practices that cross party lines. “I appreciate how the program encourages bipartisanship and how to reach across different ideological differences to find common ground,” she said.
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| | THE BUZZ | |
| MIGRANT MOVES | Two Chicago aldermen want to change the Sanctuary City rules ahead of Trump’s term, allowing cops to work with ICE: “Alds. Raymond Lopez and Silvana Tabares want to see certain crimes exempt from the city’s Welcoming City ordinance, which prevents Chicago police from cooperating with federal agents when they arrest an undocumented person,” by the Block Club’s Francia Garcia Hernandez and Quinn Myers. IN D.C. | Large swath of Senate Dems vote to advance GOP’s immigration bill: Even Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois voted to advance it, by POLITICO’s Daniella Diaz. If you are Dick Durbin, Playbook would like to hear from you! Email: skapos@politico.com
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| WHERE'S JB | |
No official public events
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| WHERE's BRANDON | |
At the House of Hope at 11 a.m. to attend a CTA Red Line Extension press conference
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| Where's Toni | |
No official public events Have a tip, suggestion, birthday, new job or a complaint? Email skapos@politico.com
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| THE STATEWIDES | |
— Pritzker says Illinois is 'on guard' for any Trump hit to budget: “We are doing the best that we can to try to predict the things that might happen,” Pritzker told reporters in Springfield on Wednesday. He said he’s weighing the possibility that potential changes “will create another hole in the budget,” adding that Donald Trump’s actions are “so unpredictable,” via Bloomberg’s Shruti Date Singh. — Illinois joins Justice Department lawsuit against RealPage and big landlords: “The real estate companies kept rents high with RealPage’s software and by sharing information, the antitrust complaint says,” by the Sun-Times’ Amy Yee. — State slow to overhaul downstate mental health facility plagued by abuse, watchdog finds, by the Sun-Times’ Mitchell Armentrout
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| CHICAGO | |
— Ex-Chicagoans, former Mayor Lightfoot's relatives among 180,000 displaced by raging Los Angeles fires: “For those of us who are not physically there, we’re still trying to wrap our minds around that this really happened,” Lightfoot told the Sun-Times Thursday. “It’s just so incredibly surreal,” by the Sun-Times’ Violet Miller and Emmanuel Camarillo. — CPS CEO Pedro Martinez injunction hearing postponed by judge: “Representatives for Martinez and the school board agreed to defer the hearing because the positions past board members have taken are complicated by the Jan. 15 meeting in which 10 newly elected and 11 members appointed by the mayor will be seated,” by the Tribune’s Nell Salzman. — Casino operator Bally’s faces no city fines for demolition debris dumped into the Chicago River: “The city says the casino operator can resume the teardown of Chicago Tribune’s former printing plant on Friday,” by the Sun-Times’ Brett Chase. — Ald. Silvana Tabares is on a crusade to ban legal weed dispensaries in her Southwest Side ward, by the Block Club’s Jack Liederman — How window dots at McCormick Place are saving bird lives, by the Block Club’s Grace Xue — Opinion: McDonald's retreat from DEI goals is a disheartening setback, writes Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce CEO Jaime di Paulo in Crain’s
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| | COOK COUNTY AND COLLARS | |
— Accused Highland Park shooter regains only some phone privilges ahead of next month’s trial, by the Daily Herald’s Barbara Vitello — Slain gunman who targeted far-right provocateur Nick Fuentes had mounting legal battles, by the Sun-Times' Tom Schuba and Matthew Hendrickson.
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| TAKING NAMES | |
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Heidi Heitkamp is retiring from the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics. | Scott Applewhite/AP |
— Heidi Heitkamp is retiring later this year as director of the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, a post she’s held since 2023. Heitkamp is a former U.S. senator from North Dakota. She made headlines last year when pro-Palestinian protesters wearing masks and sunglasses burst into her office and ordered her to leave the building. She refused and the confrontation ended when police soon arrived. “I planted my feet. I’m a stubborn old woman,” she told The New York Times. What’s next: The institute, which was headed by political strategist David Axelrod, announced on Thursday that it has launched a global search for a new director to succeed Heitkamp. — “STAYING ALIVE: Trials and Triumphs of a Manic Mind” is the latest book by Michael Golden, a former journalist who went on to work in Illinois political circles managing Melissa Bean’s congressional campaign in 2006 and advising Gery Chico’s mayoral bid in 2011. The book is an anthology of columns he’s written over the years and is a sequel to his 2022 release of “Write or Die.” — Paul Alivisatos, the University of Chicago president, receives the Enrico Fermi Presidential Award today at the White House at 1:30pm CT. Watch here
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| Reader Digest | |
We asked about funerals you’ve attended. Gail Purkey: “I remember being stunned by the size of the crowds of people who attended the wake/services in Peoria for state Sen. Prescott Bloom and his daughter, who died in a fire at the family home.” Rodrigo Sierra: “The funeral of broadcaster Bob Collins at a packed Holy Name Cathedral in 2000 after his death in a tragic plane crash in Waukegan. It was surreal to be there with my boss, Mayor Richard M. Daley. There were at least three Illinois governors there.” James Scalzitti: “The funeral of Dominic DiFrisco in 2019 at Our Lady of Pompeii Shrine. In his eulogy, Rev. Richard Fragomeni recalled a phrase in Sicilian that Dominic had shared that exemplified his spirit and generosity. It was, ‘Sugno scarsu pa iamancanza ci vostre cummani,’ meaning ‘I am poorer for a lack of your requests.’” Next question: What is your favorite household chore? Email skapos@politico.com
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| KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION | |
— Congressman Mike Quigley is calling for the establishment of an Arab-led peacekeeping force in Gaza to ensure food and medical aid are delivered. “It is imperative that this brutal war comes to an end so the remaining hostages are released. But we cannot wait until this war ends for humanitarian aid to be widely distributed in Gaza,” he said in a statement.
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| THE NATIONAL TAKE | |
— Biden cements a sad new tradition: The Presidential Medal of trolling your successor, by POLITICO’s Michael Schaffer — Biden, days from leaving office, remembers fondly another one-term president, by POLITICO’s Myah Ward — Michelle Obama, who would have sat by Donald Trump, misses Carter funeral, by POLITICO’s Myah Ward — Supreme Court rejects Trump’s bid to halt his hush money sentencing, by POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein and Erica Orden
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| TRANSITIONS | |
— Michael Zalewski is now a partner at the Taft law firm. Zalewski is also a lobbyist and former state representative who chaired the House Revenue and Finance Committee and authored the state’s Sports Wagering Act, among other legislation. — Aaron Holmes has joined Fulcrum Government Strategies as senior VP. He was the director of policy and budget for the Illinois Senate Dems for the last five years and earlier was Senate liaison for the Pritzker administration. — Jessica Merritt is now legislative director for Democratic New York Rep. George Latimer. She was legislative director for Illinois Rep. Mike Quigley. — Lea Jesse is now executive director of Cubs Charities. She had worked for First Tee–Greater Chicago.”
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| | EVENTS | |
| — Jan 23: State Sens. Mike Halpin and Ram Villivalam are holding an axe-throwing fundraiser in Rock Island. Email anissen@newchicagollc.com or eric@blueprintcampaignconsulting.com.
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| | HISTORY LESSON | |
| Anita Bryant, whose anti-gay politics undid her singing career, is dead at 84, via The New York Times. The former beauty queen and spokeswoman for Florida orange juice has a place in Chicago history, too. They came out: Bryant, who in 1977 organized an “anti-homosexual” media campaign, came to Chicago to perform at Shriners Children’s Hospital. But she was met by 5,000 protesters. “The rally was a huge galvanizing point for the burgeoning LGBTQ+ civil rights movement in Chicago,” Equality Illinois CEO Brian Johnson told Playbook. “What LGBTQ+ people showed in 1977 is what we are showing today: that we are powerful and that we know we deserve equal rights in our country.”
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| | TRIVIA | |
| THURSDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to Graham Grady and Kristin DiCenso for correctly answering that Addison was originally named Dunkley’s Grove. TODAY’s QUESTION: Where in Illinois did the Massacre of 1730 occur? Email skapos@politico.com
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| HAPPY BIRTHDAY | |
Today: Former state Sen. Dale Risinger, activist Aaron Buchner and social studies teacher Neil Calderon. Saturday: State Sen. Andrew Chesney, retired federal Judge Richard Posner and Chicago attorney Rebecca Ford. Sunday: Retired Cook County Commissioner Peter Silvestri, noted philanthropist and businessman Neil Bluhm, Midwest Coalition of Labor Associate Executive Director Ed Maher, Chicago Community Trust COO Sylvia Garcia and University of Chicago Assistant Director of Digital Marketing Innovation Scott Winterroth. -30- |
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