Tina Sfondeles
Chief Political Reporter
Tina Sfondeles is the chief political reporter, covering all levels of government and politics with a special focus on the Illinois General Assembly, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration and statewide and federal elections. Sfondeles spent much of the pandemic in Washington, D.C. — covering the White House and co-authoring the West Wing Playbook for Politico. She also covered the White House and Democratic politics and policy as a politics correspondent for Insider. Sfondeles joined the Sun-Times in 2007, covering politics, transportation, crime and sports — and returned to the newspaper in 2022.
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are courting Polish voters, who could factor heavily in several battleground states. In Chicago, the once unified voting bloc is hard to define.
Harris’ campaign is courting Haley supporters while ex-President Donald Trump is relying on Haley’s endorsement to boost his campaign in key swing states. Those voters, nearly 1 million coming from battleground states, could help decide the race.
The Democratic vice presidential nominee attended a fundraiser at the Park Hyatt. On Monday, a high-dollar private fundraiser for the Harris Victory Fund will be hosted by Gov. JB Pritzker and MK Pritzker — with former President Barack Obama and Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy.
Former President Donald Trump’s event in Chicago was before a receptive crowd, a downtown room full of the Economic Club of Chicago’s members and their guests, who often applauded his digs at moderator John Micklethwait, Bloomberg editor-in-chief.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is seeking to enforce state consumer protection laws to stop the platform from capitalizing on young users, and wants to hold the defendants accountable for “unfairly and deceptively designing, operating, and marketing the TikTok Platform to ensnare and addict young users in Illinois.”
State Rep. Curtis Tarver, D-Chicago, said the political turmoil would undermine the case Mayor Brandon Johnson hopes to make for additional state funding for public schools. “Everyone wants to help children, but I don’t think anyone wants to help him — given his lack of leadership,” Tarver said.
Gov. JB Pritzker is leading the trip, along with 49 top administration officials and Illinois business leaders, including Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, Related Midwest President Curt Bailey and ComEd CEO Gil Quiniones. The trip will focus on clean energy, manufacturing, life sciences and quantum computing.
Illinois is now part of an FBI investigation after the State Board of Elections office received a suspicious envelope Friday, prompting the evacuation of about 15 to 20 employees.
Raoul, the son of Haitian immigrants, called former President Donald Trump’s debate night accusations “super-audacious fear-mongering.”