Preckwinkle is running
Good Monday morning, Illinois. Say hello to Danny Nguyen, who will be shepherding the newsletter this week while your Playbook host takes a bit of a break.
Programming note: Reader Digest and Trivia are paused this week, but we'll have plenty of news to fill the rest of your time.
TOP TALKER
SCOOP: Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is running again, she told your Playbook host in an exclusive interview.
'I'm running for reelection, and I'm looking forward to another four years serving the people of the county,' said Preckwinkle, who celebrates her 78th birthday today.
Age is not a number as long as you're up for the fight, she added. 'I feel good. I work hard at my job, and I'm gonna do that.'
Preckwinkle will be running on successes, including expanding health care for county residents, advocating for the pretrial Fairness Act that eliminates cash bail based on a judge's decision on safety and risk and submitting year-after-year balanced budgets 'without any new taxes. ... I'm proud of that work,' she said.
The Democratic board president was first elected to the job in 2010 and earlier served 20 years on the Chicago City Council. She meets regularly with Gov. JB Pritzker to talk about the state of government and for a time had similar meetings with Mayor Brandon Johnson, too. 'I've got my own lane,' she said.
Looking ahead, Preckwinkle's big worry is how the Trump administration's government cutbacks will affect county residents, especially when it comes to health care.
Health care hassles: 'The county is a provider of Medicaid services and we have a Medicaid managed care program, so if there's a reduction of the size of the program as a result of federal cuts, we're going to be heavily impacted. Residents would lose coverage, and there is no way around it,' she said. The county has retired $455 million in Medicaid debt with the help of strategically allocated dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act that's benefited more than 288,000 people, she said.
The uncertainty of what's happening in Washington could impact Medicaid and infrastructure projects, she said. 'I am not going to predict what's going to happen in Washington, but the uncertainty and the sort of brutality of the kinds of things they are talking about is very, very concerning.'
About the campaign: It's headed by her political adviser, Scott Kastrup. And a fundraising reception will be held Tuesday to ramp up the campaign. Details here
THE BUZZ
MEMORY LANE: During an event Friday honoring former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel 'Chris' Welch shared a story about the first time they met. He was an intern at WGN, and she was the Cook County recorder of deeds at the time and running for U.S. Senate. Moseley Braun stopped by WGN for an interview, and Welch stood with her for a photo that he's kept ever since. He shared it on stage during a tribute to Moseley Braun's career.
History in the making: Moseley Braun would become the first Black woman senator, and Welch went on to become the first Black Illinois House speaker. Here's the picture that Welch saved.
Friday's event at RPM Seafood in Chicago drew a large crowd for the speaker's Black Excellence in Bleu foundation.
Also honored: Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, Illinois Supreme Court Justice Joy Cunningham, Comptroller Susana Mendoza, state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke, Ald. Pat Dowell, Chicago Sky Co-Owner Nadia Rawlinson and America Scores Executive Director Kimberly Townsend.
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
THE STATEWIDES
— Immigrant families scramble as state health insurance for some noncitizens faces the axe in Gov. JB Pritzker's budget plan, by the Tribune's Laura Rodriguez Presa and Dan Petrella
— How life changed when Illinois' pandemic lockdown began five years ago — here's what you told us, by WBEZ's Isabela Nieto and Araceli Gomez-Aldana
— New campaign: Americans for Prosperity-Illinois is launching a statewide video campaign opposing House Bill 2827, the Homeschool Act that would require oversight requirements for homeschooling families.
— Illinois votes on a new state flag design — and chooses the current one, by The Associated Press's John O'Connor
CHICAGO
— Chicago wants city contractors to share in budget pain: 'The city is asking city vendors to take a 3 percent haircut on their existing contracts,' by Crain's Justin Laurence... The request drew criticism from Comptroller Susana Mendoza, a statewide office holder who is mulling a potential bid for mayor.
— Trump administration targets University of Chicago over DEI, by Crain's Brandon Dupré
IN MEMORIAM
— Marian 'Cindy' Pritzker, the aunt of Gov. JB Pritzker and the matriarch of one of Chicago's wealthiest families, died Saturday at 101, the Chicago Tribune reported. She's been a force in the city's public library system, working to increase the public library system's book budget in the late 1900s. She also brought to the Chicago Public Library Foundation a library commissioner instrumental in overseeing the construction of dozens of libraries from 1994 to 2012. Her service will be private. The obit is here.
SPOTTED
— IRISH EYES: It was a see-and-be-seen weekend celebrating St. Patrick's Day. At the American Partnership's annual breakfast at the Union League Club, we spotted Alds. Walter Burnett Jr. and Brian Hopkins, Clerk of the Court Mariyana Spyropoulos and former Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson. The Irish Fellowship Club dinner at the Michigan Avenue Hilton on Friday evening also drew a crowd, including Chicago parade Chair Jim Coyne, Illinois Attorney Gen. Kwame Raoul, state Treasurer Mike Frerichs, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Commissioner Bill Daley and Ald. Bill Conway.
Business and political movers and shakers packed the St. Patrick's Day Party at Gibsons. It was hosted by Neal Zucker and Marko Iglendza and Ashley and Pam Netzkey. Gov. JB Pritzker and MK Pritzker were spotted swaying along with the bagpipers who entertained. Also in the room: Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke, County Treasurer Maria Pappas, Comptroller Susana Mendoza, state Rep. Margaret Croke, Alds. Timmy Knudsen and Bill Conway, former Mayor Richard M. Daley and former White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley (who held their annual party on Saturday).
Sen. Dick Durbin made it back from Washington, D.C., to attend the Saturday service at Old St. Patrick's Church. And Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson were front and center for the Chicago St. Pat's parade.
TAKING NAMES
— Museum founder Peggy Montes helped establish Chicago's Women's History Month — and still is a 'lady in motion,' by the Sun-Times' Mariah Rush
— PERFECT GAME: William Duff Jr., who recently retired as executive director of the Illinois State Bowling Proprietors Association, was inducted into the United States Bowling Congress Illinois State Hall of Fame on Saturday. And Keith Hamilton, the new executive director of the Illinois association, is being inducted into the National USBC Hall of Fame in Las Vegas in May. Hamilton was inducted into the International Bowling Media Association Hall of Fame in 2021.
THE NATIONAL TAKE
— White House seriously considering deal from Oracle to run TikTok, by POLITICO's Dasha Burns, Megan Messerly, Brendan Bordelon and Meredith Lee Hill
— 'Beyond my wildest dreams': The architect of Project 2025 is ready for his victory lap, by Michael Hirsh for POLITICO Magazine
— Liberal group calls for Schumer to step down as minority leader after spending bill vote, by POLITICO's Jessica Piper
Transitions
— Federal judge Jim Shadid to become Bradley University's next president: 'Shadid currently serves as a senior U.S. District Judge for the Central District of Illinois, appointed to that position by President Barack Obama,' by CIProud's Andy Kravetz.
— Jasculca Terman Strategic Communications CEO Mary Patrick is retiring after working at the firm for 40 of its 44 years of business. Starting July 1, senior VP Jessica Smith, who's also a managing partner, moves up to CEO. And COO Lauren Foley takes on a managing partner title, too. Founders Jim Terman and Rick Jasculca aren't going anywhere.
EVENTS
— Tonight: State Rep. Bob Morgan is holding a town hall with a guest speaker: Congressman Brad Schneider. Details here
— March 26: Immigration is the subject of a Working Women's History Project forum featuring University of Illinois professor Xóchitl Bada, Southside Together's Dixon Romeo and Chicago Chief Homelessness Officer Sendy Soto. Your Playbook host is moderating. Details here
— April 12: Dave Kohn, Chicago Water Management deputy commissioner by day and rock drummer at night, hits the stage with Kitty Devine and the Big Whoop at Montrose Saloon in Albany Park. Details here
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Wayne Township Supervisor Randy Ramey, former state Sen. Darren Bailey, Invariant exec and former U.S. Senate policy adviser Joe Bushong, political consultant Chris Shaffer, MBM Advantage Managing Partner Mark Peysakhovich, public affairs pro Larry Farnsworth, real estate guru Kathleen Weiss Boyle, Assistant AG Jake Leahy and journalist Maureen O'Donnell.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Former Sen. Donnelly speaks at Gary Chamber of Commerce meeting
At a Gary Chamber of Commerce meeting Monday, former Sen. Joe Donnelly said the future is bright for the city. 'We have so much going on here, but the biggest thing we have is our people,' Donnelly said. 'People who love this community, people who are willing to work together and to build a future for our kids and for our grandkids. That's what is going to power Gary and Lake County for years to come.' Donnelly was the speaker at the Gary Chamber of Commerce's monthly meeting Monday. In addition to his work as senator from 2013 to 2019, Donnelly has also served in the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2013, and he was the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See from 2022 to 2024 under former President Joe Biden. In his talk Monday, Donnelly highlighted the deal between U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel and President Donald Trump's recently signed megabill that targets Medicaid, among other areas. Donnelly said he's worked with steelworkers and Nippon Steel representatives to help get a deal that works best for Gary as a whole. 'I think (the deal) is going to be great for steelworkers,' he added. 'I think it's going to be great for the steel companies, and I think they're going to invest an incredible amount into our area right here. Those are the things we see every day.' In June, U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel announced they had finalized their 'historic partnership,' which gives the federal government a say in some company matters. 'Together, Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel will be a world-leading steelmaker, with best-in-class technologies and manufacturing capabilities,' the two companies previously said in a joint statement. Through the deal, the Gary Works facility should receive $1 billion as part of the deal, a Nippon executive said in late 2024. Gary Mayor Eddie Melton has vocalized his support since about August 2024, when it was first announced that Gary would receive about $300 million if the deal is approved. 'This deal is going to happen,' Donnelly said. 'I am hopeful that we will continue to grow American steelmaking year after year after year. I think what you'll see is that we have a really solid foundation here now.' Donnelly also addressed the recently passed and signed 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' which focused on tax breaks and spending cuts. The package's priority is $4.5 trillion in tax breaks enacted in 2017 during Trump's first term that would expire if Congress failed to act, along with new ones, according to Post-Tribune archives. That includes allowing workers to deduct tips and overtime pay, and a $6,000 deduction for most older adults earning less than $75,000 a year. To help offset the lost tax revenue, the package includes $1.2 trillion in cutbacks to Medicaid health care and food stamps, largely by imposing new work requirements, including for some parents and older people, and a major rollback of green energy tax credits. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the package will add $3.3 trillion to the deficit over the decade, and 11.8 million more people will go without health coverage. Donnelly believes more legislators nationwide needed to go against the bill and stand up for constituents, he said Monday. 'Some of our legislators, I think, have forgotten over the recent years who they work for,' Donnelly said. 'We needed some of our representatives and senators to tell the president, 'I know, Mr. President, you think this is good, but this isn't good for the United States.' Donnelly remembered when he worked with former President Barack Obama when the Affordable Care Act was first introduced, saying he brought forth concerns he had for constituents. Donnelly worked with Obama to address concerns and come to a conclusion he felt was best for American citizens. 'I told him, 'You are the president of the United States, and I will work with you every single day, but I do not work for you,'' Donnelly said. 'I work for the people of Indiana and for the people of the United States.'
The Hill
3 hours ago
- The Hill
Reports of DOGE's demise are greatly exaggerated — it's just getting started
'Ding-Dong! The DOGE is dead!' Democrats gleefully proclaimed this spring. However, House Republicans said, 'Not so fast.' Elon Musk's departure from the White House had always been part of the plan. As a 'Special Government Employee' he was never going to be a permanent fixture in government. But with his departure in May, many commentators are wondering aloud whether President Trump's Department of Government Efficiency — and, with it, the prospect of meaningful spending cuts — is over as well. But the report of DOGE's demise are exaggerated. In fact, its work is just getting started. DOGE is about more than simply identifying and eliminating wasteful and harmful spending. It is about identifying corruption, holding culprits accountable and changing the way the government thinks and operates when it comes to spending taxpayer dollars. And it must continue, or else all Americans will pay a heavy price. Conservatives should take a moment to applaud the incredible, historic and transformational work accomplished through the DOGE effort so far. DOGE exposed previously hidden waste, fraud, abuse and possible corruption in a new and exciting way, showing the public what our government had really been up to. The work of the DOGE team vaulted Washington excess onto center stage. Most Americans already knew D.C. bureaucrats were wasting taxpayer dollars, but seeing exactly what it was being wasted on unleashed a new nationwide demand that the harmful, reckless and insane spending be stopped immediately. With Musk returning to his many business ventures, chapter one of DOGE finished with a flourish. Now, it's Congress's turn to take hold of the pen and write chapter two in permanent ink. Last month, the White House sent Congress a 'rescissions message' to cut nearly $10 billion in spending. Recission is a president's way to suggest returning unspent funds back to taxpayers before the checks are cashed. The best part: This move can be approved by a simple majority in the U.S. Senate. The House passed a package of recommended DOGE cuts, sending the savings plan to the Senate for final approval. While rescission bills deal with what's called 'discretionary' spending, Trump's One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law, contains several important cost-savings measures focused on the mandatory spending side, such as work requirements and eligibility checks for federal programs like Medicaid and food stamps. These necessary reforms will have a big impact on the federal deficit by getting able-bodied adults who can work back into the workforce while strengthening Medicaid for those who need it most. President Trump's DOGE effort has also elevated the priority Cabinet secretaries place on identifying and eliminating waste, fraud and abuse within the agencies they lead. This has spurred all federal agencies to take a closer look at their spending. Moving forward, every agency must use their internal DOGE teams to go through their budgets line by line while carefully analyzing their organizational charts, coordinating with the White House and Congress to get their spending and personnel under control. Then, to DOGE chapter three: accountability. Identifying waste, fraud and abuse isn't enough. Americans want accountability as well. According to the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office, the government is aware of more than $160 billion in improper payments last year alone — and the data only comes from a small subset of federal programs. The government is aware it lost nearly $3 trillion to waste, fraud and abuse in the last 22 years — the real number is likely much larger. In chapter three of the DOGE saga, Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice must publicly prosecute the fraud and corruption that DOGE uncovered, as well as any additional fraud against taxpayers. Investigations and prosecutions take time, but the public's patience is waning. How many billions of dollars went to lucrative jobs for connected Joe Biden supporters? Did anyone receive kickbacks for funneling millions of taxpayer dollars to left-wing groups? Taxpayers have a right to know. Real accountability means consequences for corruption. Voters are demanding justice, and the D.C. bureaucrats who committed fraud should fear the exposure and justice that is coming. Congress likewise should look beyond the rescission packages to find even more opportunities to find savings, using must-pass legislative vehicles as needed to strong arm the left into passing new laws to tackle waste, fraud and abuse that cannot be addressed through reconciliation. Spending controlled by Congress is now up to $1.6 trillion per year, up by $300 billion since 2019. Even a return to pre-pandemic spending levels would be an unprecedented reduction in the cost of government. Despite the departure of Musk, the president's DOGE effort will be one of the rare cases in which the sequel is better than the original. If you liked chapter one, then you are going to love the DOGE trilogy. Stewart Whitson is a former FBI Supervisory Special Agent and currently senior director of federal affairs for the Foundation for Government Accountability.
The Hill
3 hours ago
- The Hill
Democrats underwater in new poll
The Democratic Party's approval rating is underwater at 40 percent, according to a new poll, the latest troubling sign for a party still grappling with its losses from November. A Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll released on Monday found that only four in 10 respondents approved of the job that the Democratic Party is doing, a slight drop from June when 42 percent of respondents answered similarly. Of the 40 percent of respondents who gave the Democratic Party a thumb's up, they included 72 percent of Democrats and 29 percent of independent or other voters. The latest poll shows that the party's disapproval rating sits at 60 percent, slowly inching up from 58 percent in June. Twenty-eight percent of Democrats and 71 percent of independent/other voters contributed to the overall 60 percent disapproval rating of the party. By comparison, the Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found the GOP with a 48 percent approval rating, which includes 85 percent of Republicans and 38 percent of independent/other voters who had that sentiment. Overall, the GOP had a 52 percent disapproval rating. The polling underscores a broader trend for Democrats who have grappled with low approval ratings as the party has attempted to reset after a disappointing November election. While the party has begun to regain some of its footing with its messaging as it rallies against the Medicaid cuts included in Republicans' major policy bill, the party is still searching for national leaders to help guide the party. 'Democrats are doing a good job throwing jabs at the administration but that's not helping them with their own image which remains in the cellar,' said Mark Penn, chairman of the Harris Poll, in an email. However, the Harvard CAPS/Harris polling indicates there may be several openings for Democrats: For one, the latest poll found that only 40 percent of respondents said the country was on the right track while 51 percent said it was on the wrong track. And while 52 percent of respondents believe the U.S. economy is strong today, only 38 percent of respondents also say that the economy is on the right track. One thing likely to play in Democrats' favor is that the president's party in power typically faces headwinds during the midterm cycle, which could aid Democrats in retaking the House and making inroads in the Senate. The Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey was conducted from July 6 to July 8 and surveyed 2,044 registered voters. It is a collaboration of the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University and the Harris Poll. The survey is an online sample drawn from the Harris Panel and weighted to reflect known demographics. The margin of error is 2.2 percentage points.
