Paul Vallas critic received hefty donation from Rahm Emanuel’s campaign in 2016

Ka-ching . . .

Keeping things honest.

Keeping things fair.

State Rep. Marcus C. Evans Jr. — who sent a letter to Chicago State University Interim President Rachel Lindsey last Thursday questioning whether (prospective mayoral candidate) Paul Vallas, then the school’s $200,000 a year chief administrative officer, was just using the job as a springboard for political office — was a major recipient of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s largess in 2016.

• To wit: Emanuel’s campaign donated $46,122 to Evans’ campaign coffers in 2016.

• Backshot: Sneed tipped the letter late Thursday, but also reported Vallas’ response: He had already made plans to resign from Chicago State at the end of March rather than wait until July.

• Buckshot: Vallas was subsequently fired Monday.

• Potshot: Was the campaign donation an incentive to write the letter?

“No, absolutely not,” Evans told Sneed on Wednesday.

“That money was used during my campaign,” he said. “I am hiding nothing. I do care very much about Chicago State. And that money was used doing campaign work.”

Ah, politics . . . and Vallas was at the City Club of Chicago luncheon Wednesday looking ever so much like a mayoral candidate.

Hey! Hey!

Ho! Ho!

No surprise Todd Ricketts, a Cubs co-owner, was President Donald Trump’s choice to become finance chairman of the Republican National Committee.

• Translation: In a shoutout to Ricketts at a luncheon tossed by Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar in September 2016 when Trump’s poll numbers were tanking — and Cubs owner Joe Ricketts had just endorsed Trump and donated $1 million to help elect him — Trump yelled:

“I want to commend the Ricketts family on their business plan and how they rebuilt the Chicago Cubs in a few short years!”

• Response: Ricketts shouted back:” It’s gonna be a great year because YOU are going to win the presidency AND THE CUBS ARE GOING TO WIN THE WORLD SERIES!”

Melania musings . . .

. . . and the Great White Way: The press has gone gaga over first lady Melania Trump again, only this time it’s not whether her husband is in the doghouse.

It’s about her arrival sans her husband at his State of the Union address Tuesday night decked out in an almost blinding “suffragette” white outfit.

• Hmmm. Was it a tweak at Hillary Clinton’s choice of “suffragette” white garb when she became the first woman to accept the nomination as president of the United States?

• Hmmm. Or was white chosen because it has been variously described as “a positive color associated with purity, innocence, goodness, understanding, humility, sincerity, perfection and promoting feelings of fresh beginnings and renewal — assisting in cleansing, clearing obstacles and clutter.” (Take that, porn star Stormy Daniels, who claimed and now denies she had a hmmm hmmm visit with Trump shortly after Melania’s son was born.)

• Please note: In cases of extremely bright light, the color white can even be blinding.

• Please credit late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel with asking Daniels the most creative question Tuesday night in an attempt to find out the truth: “One last thing, have you ever made love to anyone whose name rhymes with ‘Lonald Lump’?”

Lips & quips . . .

Smack ’em: All eyes seem to have been riveted by what appeared to be the brilliantly shiny lip corners of Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III, 37, who delivered the rebuttal to Trump’s State of the Union on Tuesday night.

The tweet world went berserk!

“That’s what high-def TV will do to you,” quipped a Kennedy source who opined it looked like Joe III had either used lip gloss or eaten a piece of fried chicken for dinner. “But he was eloquent and showed he was ready for the national stage in shirtsleeves,” said a Kennedy fan.

Kennedy is due in Chicago Feb. 20 to attend a luncheon fundraiser for his uncle Chris Kennedy.

Let’s hope no chicken is on the menu.

Sneedlings . . .

Today’s birthdays: Harry Styles, 24; Lauren Conrad, 32; and Big Boi, 43.