Politics

Political news, including Chicago City Hall, Cook County government, Chicago and county elections, the latest from Washington and Springfield and more.

Podcast
The Fran Spielman Show
Now that spring has officially sprung, come concerns the dreaded spotted lanternfly, a colorful leafhopper from China, is expected to add to our troubles. The invasive pests damage fruit, ornamental and woody trees by draining them of their health, causing stress and depriving them of their vitality.
As the team shifts focus from Arlington Heights to a new stadium south of Soldier Field, its proposals seek major infrastructure upgrades around the Museum Campus.
Fidel Marquez did not succeed in purchasing the firearm, and no criminal charges appear to have been filed against him. Prosecutors confirmed earlier this week that he is expected to testify at the trial of ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan.
No Labels, the group that plans to field a third-party candidate in the presidential election, claims that it is only interested in fielding a ticket that can win outright and has no desire to serve as a spoiler. Polling shows otherwise.
This is not some dry, academic question, writes Max Stier of the Partnership for Public Service. It’s an issue in the upcoming presidential election, with profound consequences for the capability of our government to solve critical problems.
The Cook County State’s Attorney said Tuesday’s historically low turnout was “deeply concerning,” saying that it “tells me that we have an electorate that has not been engaged and that’s very troubling, not just for the state’s attorney’s race, but for our democracy as a whole.”
One reason for the long-delayed payments for traffic control outside big events is the city takes so long to send a bill, according to Live Nation and others.
“The restriction of public access to arbitrations for serious police discipline is in direct contravention to the well-defined and dominant public policy of accountability and transparency of the government services in general and the Chicago Police Department specifically,” Judge Michael Mullen wrote Thursday.
In between meetings with film and business leaders in California, Gov. J.B. Pritzker will fundraise for the Democratic National Convention Host Committee, including a reception in Los Angeles, and for abortion rights ballot initiatives in Arizona and Nevada.
If the problems in Blagojevich’s complaint were fish in a barrel, the judge wrote, the lawsuit contained ‘an entire school of tuna.’
The groups — both part of the Coalition to March on the DNC — filed for parade permits to march during the Aug-19 convention, but the city denied them, saying it would tie up traffic and require police officers it could not spare.
The appointment of City Hall lifer Rich Guidice sent a reassuring message to those most fearful of the most progressive mayor in Chicago history. But now, Guidice is abandoning ship before seeing Chicago through the Democratic National Convention in August.
Marlene Hopkins was the city official in charge of reviewing plans for the 2020 Crawford coal plant implosion that ended up blanketing the Southwest Side community in dust.
Voter turnout is always low in primary elections, and Tuesday was an extreme example. Ranked choice voting is one idea that could boost turnout and decrease partisanship and negative campaigning.
Some 100,000 votes or more are still to be counted in the close race, including votes cast in 11 Chicago precincts and mail-in ballots.
But under repeated questioning after Wednesday’s City Council meeting, the mayor refused to say exactly what he would do to continue that fight. Nor would he say whether he would try to search elsewhere for more revenue.
“The unfortunate reality is that relationships between supervisors and subordinates can be fraught,” U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo wrote. “It may well be that Donald in fact did not want or enjoy her relationship with Johnson. The problem is one of proof.”
While candidates backed by the Chicago Teachers Union won many of their primary races Tuesday, the city’s left-leaning political movement hit a major bump with the apparent loss on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s key ballot initiative, while the Cook County state’s attorney race hangs in the balance.
The ADL says in a new report that pro-Palestinian groups are stoking a rise in anti-Jewish hate through weekly protests, organizing on campuses and social media posts. Students for Justice in Palestine calls the allegation “baseless.”
Whether the city’s low voter turnout on Tuesday is a sign of apathy or dissatisfaction, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and key Democrats are downplaying the significance for President Joe Biden. But one leading pollster calls it a warning bell for other key Democratic cities: ‘These cities need to be engines of turnout.’
Lab tests of hemp products sold in Chicago showed wildly varying levels of THC and unexpected cannabinoids in edibles and flowers. Lawmakers are calling for the items to be regulated.
Jesús “Chuy” García es una figura establecida en la política de Chicago, con cuatro décadas como concejal, comisionado del Condado de Cook, senador estatal y dos veces candidato a la alcaldía.
Guzmán ganó a pesar de recaudar menos de $658,000, una cuarta parte de la cantidad de su oponente.
The largest of the settlements — for $45 million — goes to Nathen Jones, who suffered a massive traumatic brain injury after an unauthorized police chase. The settlements were approved at a Council meeting that also saw Mayor Brandon Johnson introduce an ordinance authorizing drawing of boundaries for a security footprint around the Democratic National Convention.
Backed by 44th Ward Ald. Bennett Lawson, the measure would pave the way for more signs on two buildings that don’t have clubs. The Cubs also could install signs on all 13 buildings the Ricketts family owns around the field.
U.S. Rep. Mike Bost declared victory at about 9:41 p.m., and Bailey conceded 15 minutes later. Democratic U.S. Reps. Sean Casten and Bill Foster held on to their suburban congressional seats.
Eileen O’Neill Burke, who stepped down from a seat on the appellate court to run for state’s attorney, took an early lead against her opponent Clayton Harris III.
With almost 90% of the vote counted, Guzmán was declared the winner over Toro, defeating her with almost 50% of the vote to Toro’s 30%. Guzmán won despite raising less than $658,000, or about a quarter of the amount of money raised for Toro.
Spyropoulos, a commissioner on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District board, had far more campaign contributions than Iris Martinez and the backing of the county Democratic Party.
“This is not the result we wanted. We’re gonna have to take a real hard look at what happened and figure out how to move forward from here,” said Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, who was instrumental in getting the binding referendum on the ballot.