Happy Wednesday, Illinois. It was debate drama around the country Tuesday night, via POLITICO
BIG STORY: That cardboard box in your home is fueling election denial, according to ProPublica’s deep dive into conservative mega-donors Richard and Liz Uihlein, the Illinois couple who own Uline, the shipping supply company headquartered just across the border in Wisconsin.
How it started: The story examines how Dick Uihlein came to his conservative politics and how that continues to play out in the couple’s political and professional work.
Along with funding Republican Darren Bailey’s campaign for governor in Illinois, Uihlein and his wife, Liz, are the largest contributors to Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano, who attended the Jan. 6 rally, and they’ve given to Jim Marchant, the Nevada secretary of state nominee who says he opposed the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory in 2020, according to ProPublica’s Justin Elliott, Megan O’Matz, Doris Burke and Andy Kroll.
Hard-nosed on politics: The Uihleins’ political giving reflects “longings for a bygone era,” according to the story. They have funded ads attacking “transgender ideology,” abortion and the teaching of “critical race theory.”
Old-time rules at work, too: They have no patience for tardiness, messy desks or bare legs. “Women are not permitted to wear pants except as part of a pantsuit or on Fridays; hose or stockings must be worn except during the warmer months; dresses ‘that are too short’ and corduroy of any kind are strictly prohibited.”
Uihlein zeroes in on court races:According to the progressive American Independent, the Uihleins are primary funders to a Super PAC that’s behind a group called Fair Courts America, which is working to elect far-right judges in state supreme court races. “Fair Courts America is planning to spend $22 million across 16 judicial races in Illinois, Louisiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Texas, and North Carolina. All seven states have contentious Supreme Court races in November that could drastically alter the future of civil and voting rights for their residents,” according to the publication.
The Uihleins also have a beef with voting by mail: Liz Uihlein wrote Illinois lawmakers this week saying the state’s vote-by-mail program “makes Illinois elections less secure and offers more opportunity for fraud,” according to blogger Rich Miller.
NEW AD: The campaign supporting an amendment allowing workers to collectively bargain is out with a new ad today featuring a firefighter saying, “I love my job, but I need to make it home safely.”
It’s the latest in a well-funded media plan organized by the Vote Yes for Workers Rights campaign. Voters connect seeing “everyday workers,” spokesperson Joe Bowen told Playbook on Tuesday.
Both sides now: With less than two weeks until Election Day, both sides of the labor issue say they have grassroots momentum on their sides. TV ads are fine, says Matt Paprocki, treasurer of Vote No on Amendment 1. The Vote No group is knocking on doors and focusing on digital ads and phone calling. “Just engaging in conversations with people,” said Paprocki, who also heads the conservative Illinois Policy Institute.
Will money matter? As Nov. 8 draws near, both sides have money to promote their messages. Supporters of the amendment entered the fourth quarter with more than $3.7 million cash on hand, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. Opponents had nearly $2.7 million in the bank, with primary funding coming from ultra-conservative donor Dick Uihlein (See story above.) .
The big picture: If it passes, supporters argue the amendment could trailblaze in countering right-to-work laws, which can disempower unions. Opponents say it could give outsize power to unions.
Where the candidates stand: The measure is supported by Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker and opposed by Republican opponent Darren Bailey, whose campaign is also funded by Uihlein.
The measure must pass by 60 percent of people voting in the election in order to be added to the state constitution.
RELATED: The next chapter of America’s post-Roe, pro-weed, tax-the-rich movement is coming: POLITICO’s Liz Crampton and Marissa Martinez examine ballot initiatives across the country in this week’s THE FIFTY.
If you are Dick Uihlein, Playbook would like to hear about your approach to campaign giving. Email [email protected]
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On the campaign trail in Waukegan at noon for a rally with Lake County Democrats. — In Grayslake at 1:30 p.m. for a rally with Judge Liz Rochford, who’s running for the Illinois Supreme Court, and General Assembly candidates Mary Edly Allen and Laura Faver Dias.
At City Hall at 10 a.m. to preside over the City Council meeting.
At the Cook County Health Professional Building at 10:30 a.m. to announce a grant program to expand behavioral health care services and new data tools to support health equity.
— Governor’s race: Where JB Pritzker, Darren Bailey stand on immigration, guns, crime, by ABC 7’s Craig Wall
— Congressman Brad Schneider is out with a final ad in which he says, “maybe boring is just better.”
— Brady, Giannoulias outline how they’d improve driver services as Illinois Secretary of State, by CBS 2’s Dana Kozlov
— In the 62nd District state House race, Republican Adam Shores has been endorsed by the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police and Trooper’s Lodge #41. He’s running against Democrat Laura Dias to fill the seat now held by Rep. Sam Yingling, who ran — and lost in the primary — for state Senate.
— In the 79th District state House race, incumbent Republican Rep. Jackie Haas has been endorsed by mayors from Monee, Herscher Village, Bourbonnais, Kankakee and Hopkins Park. Haas faces Democrat Erin Slone.
— IMMIGRANT FLOW EASES: The flow of migrants to Chicago has eased up since the Biden administration shifted its border policies. Until a few days ago, hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants had been crossing the border into Texas before traveling by bus to Chicago and New York. Under new rules, migrants must have a financial sponsor before they can enter the country.
With the change in policy, the city of El Paso closed its Migrant Welcome Center, where migrants boarded buses bound for Chicago, according to KTSM TV in Texas. So far, 3,639 asylum-seekers have been bused to Illinois since Aug. 31.
RELATED: Florida judge orders DeSantis to hand over migrant flights records, by POLITICO’s Gary Fineout
— City Council members wrap up budget hearings, look toward vote: “Aldermen spent the last two weeks grilling department leaders about their spending priorities. A vote on the budget is scheduled for early November,” by WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel.
— Divided City Council committee shoots down attempt to clip Lightfoot’s emergency wings: “Ald. Brendan Reilly failed to persuade his colleagues to require that legislation introduced directly to committee be sent to alderpersons and publicly posted at least 48 hours before a hearing, along with an ‘unbiased summary’ and ‘statement explaining the urgency,’” by Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman.
— Watchdog: CPD overlooked incriminating evidence while investigating cop’s ties to far-right Proud Boys and should have fired him, by Sun-Times’ Tom Schuba
— Hate crimes in Chicago up by 71 percent, according to city report, by WTTW’s Brandis Friedman and Andrea Flores
— RELATED: Adidas ends partnership with Kanye West over anti-Semitic remarks, by The Associated Press
— How the nation’s signature barrel-aged beer festival grew into a Chicago legend, by Tribune’s Josh Noel
— Ald. Andre Vasquez wants to compel regular testimony from CTA president: “The Transportation Committee has repeatedly summoned transit agency leader Dorval Carter Jr., but he has ignored them, sending underlings instead,” by Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman.
— Construction beginning on South Side railroad project intended to reduce freight, Metra and traffic delays, by Tribune’s Sarah Freishtat
— Drew Peterson’s former lawyer Joel Brodsky launches bid to represent Lakeview on Chicago City Council: “Brodsky said he was running for the City Council to make Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s ‘political life as miserable as possible’ while tackling crime and police reform,” by WTTW’s Heather Cherone.
— Federal oversight of Cook County assessor’s hiring to end; supervision tied to decades-old Shakman patronage lawsuit: “Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez also told commissioners Tuesday she expected her office to exit court oversight in November. Court records indicate her office will file a motion to terminate on Tuesday,” by Tribune’s A.D. Quig.
— Evanston is considering ranked-choice voting: “Ranked-choice voting would eliminate Evanston’s separate primary election for [mayoral, city clerk and City Council] positions, consolidating the voting process into one general election,” writes the Daily Northwestern’s Jorja Siemons.
— School districts near Arlington Heights racecourse want info on ‘potentially transformative’ impact of Chicago Bears stadium, by Tribune’s Caroline Kubzansky
—Man who claimed abuse by Burge detectives had sentence commuted, but a prosecutor now alleges ‘three-state crime spree’ after his release, by Tribune’s Madeline Buckley
We asked for a political names for the Shedd’s new otter:
Lissa Druss: “Slick.”
Mark Heffington: “‘Oughta,’ as in ‘I oughta carry through on my campaign promises.’”
Michael Penicnak, Lisa Brasch and Laura Kotelman (a Cook County Board candidate) all picked “Otter Kerner.”
Steve Sheffey: “Name it ‘Democracy,’ because if they don’t take care of it, it will die.”
And Olivia Olander, POLITICO’s breaking news reporter and Playbook contributor, takes the cake with: “Otter-ham Lincoln, Barack Otter-bama, Ott Blagojevich and Jan Sea-kowsky.”
At the risk of showing your age, what is the first historical event that you remember happening in your lifetime? Email [email protected]
— DEAD LETTER: Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia found himself at the center of controversy this week when his name appeared on a letter urging President Joe Biden to engage in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to my POLITICO colleagues.
Timing is everything: The progressives’ letter was drafted and signed back in June and was supposed to be released in August. Instead, it came out this week just as Republicans suggested they might pull back on funding to Ukraine if they win control of the House. Rep. Marie Newman also signed the letter.
The letter has since been retracted but not without an uproar. Some Democrats saw it as supporting Republicans who want “to pull the plug” on American support of Ukrainian forces, acknowledged Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the Washington state Democrat who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Timing is everything: Garcia said in a statement the “letter should not have been sent” because of its outdated information, though he still believed in the letter’s “underlying message” of the need for diplomacy while supporting Ukraine’s defense.
Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley, co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, responded: “If Putin believes that the support of the United States and global allies is contingent on Russia’s demands, we can be confident that other autocratic leaders will use these same tactics in the future.”
— Biden’s poor approval ratings weigh on undecided voters, by POLITICO’s Brittany Gibson
— The non-Trump 2024 field starts to make their moves, by POLITICO’s Meridith McGraw
— How gov races could turn the battle for the Senate, by POLITICO’s Burgess Everett
— Dan Montgomery, a high school English teacher, was re-elected president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) over the weekend. Stacy Davis Gates is executive vice president and Cyndi Oberle-Dahm is secretary-treasurer and Local 434 President. (Gates is also president of the Chicago Teachers Union.) Earlier this year, former Secretary-Treasurer Jane Russell announced her retirement from IFT after five decades of union work. She was awarded the Margaret Blackshere Women in Union Leadership Award for her lifetime of service.
— Lissa Druss, founder and CEO of Strategia Consulting, and Arabel Alva Rosales, president and CEO of AAR Tech, have been named women of the year by Enterprising Women magazine. They’re in Florida this week to receive the honors. Druss, who counts politicos and municipalities as clients, and Rosales were nominated by Hedy Ratner, who helped start the Women’s Business Development Center in Chicago.
— Ginevra Ranney is now vice president of development at the Lincoln Park Zoo. She was senior director of major gives at the Field Museum. “The zoo is essential to the vitality of our city, and as the nation’s only privately managed free admission zoo, the organization makes a powerful case for philanthropy,” Ranney said in a statement.
Thursday at 7 p.m.: A live U.S. Senate debate features Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Republican opponent Kathy Salvi. Hosts are WTTW, WBEZ and Sun-Times. How to watch
TUESDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to Derik Ohanian, who answered that Dan Cronin has served 12 years as DuPage County Board chair, and Alexander Domanskis for noting Jack Knuepfer also served 12 years.
TODAY’s QUESTION: President Benjamin Harrison attended the opening night of which Chicago landmark in December 1889? Email [email protected]
Former Sen. Hillary Clinton, Ald. Gilbert Villegas, Ald. James Cappleman, former Congressman David Phelps, political consultant Hanah Jubeh, Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund spokeswoman Michelle Holleman, Chicago mayor’s scheduling director Kaitlin Delaney, Rabbi and dean of Ida Crown Jewish Academy Leonard Matanky, Silver Property Group’s Ron Abrams and WTTW co-anchor Brandis Friedman.
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