| | | | |  | | By Shia Kapos | | Presented by |  | | | Good Monday morning, Illinois. In the statehouse reporters NCAA bracket, WBEZ’s Alex Degman is in the lead.
|  | TOP TALKER | | STILL TOO CLOSE TO CALL: A mere 2,015 votes now separate Eileen O’Neill Burke and Clayton Harris III in the Cook County state’s attorney race after some 13,000 votes were included to the count Sunday. O’Neill Burke has the edge with 50.2 percent of the vote to Harris’ 49.8 percent, according to unofficial results from the Chicago Board of Elections and Cook County Clerk’s office. No one is conceding nor declaring victory just yet. Happening today: Some 2,500 vote-by-mail ballots will be processed and counted by election judges in Chicago, according to the city’s election board. And another 1,000-plus ballots will be tallied by the Cook County clerk. Both election boards will continue counting ballots that are properly postmarked. The deadline is April 2 unless a candidate concedes or the race is called by The Associated Press. The election-watch has been dramatic. On Saturday, the Chicago Elections Board announced that it had incorrectly reported the number of mail-in ballots it had received last Monday night mostly from drop boxes. The correct number was added to the results Sunday, putting Harris within striking distance of O’Neill Burke. The elections board fumble raised concerns about the accuracy of the vote. But both candidates said it was more of a communications error, not a problem in counting. From O’Neill Burke’s camp: “I understand tensions are high. Along with dozens of volunteers, lawyers & retired judges on Team Eileen, I’ve been on-site since Wednesday watching the vote count process,” O’Neill Burke’s campaign manager, Don Black, posted on social media. “We’ve seen problems with communicating, not counting. Let’s please be patient while the process continues.” Chicago Ald. Brian Hopkins hinted at voter fraud but later deleted his post on X, previously known as Twitter. Harris’ campaign manager, Alaina Hampton, also urged calm. “Given the narrowing margin in this race, and the votes newly added to the total, we will continue to monitor the counting and will determine how to proceed at the appropriate time,” she said in a statement. Adding to the confusion: On Friday evening, WTTW’s Heather Cherone interrupted the “Week in Review” show to announce that Harris had surpassed O’Neill Burke in the count. But Cherone likely only looked at Chicago Board of Elections results, not the overall count that includes Cook County. A few minutes later she announced that O’Neill Burke was back in the lead because of a suburban count, even though there was no new suburban count Friday. The flub caused a social media stir. Who mails in their votes: Harris has gained ground in recent days, likely from young people who may have mailed in their ballots on Election Day or a few days before. Older voters who mail in ballots tend to do it earlier in the process. Outstanding ballots: Election officials say they expect far fewer ballots to trickle in during the coming days. In Chicago, for example, there are 54,191 outstanding vote-by-mail ballots, according to Chicago Board of Elections Public Information Director Max Bever. “We do not expect all of these to return back to the board properly postmarked by the April 2 deadline,” he said in a statement.
| | | THE BUZZ | | | MEA CULPA! “Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch apologized to Chicago Tribune reporters and the Statehouse press corps Saturday, saying an order his office issued instructing members of his Democratic majority not to speak to a Tribune reporter about ‘political matters’ at the State Capitol or elsewhere was a ‘mistake,’” writes the Tribune’s Rick Pearson. The apology followed a Tribune story that revealed the speaker had ordered his Democratic caucus members not to talk to Tribune reporter Jeremy Gorner about questions he was posing in regard to the primary election — specifically campaign contributions that supported the candidacy of Michael Crawford, who defeated veteran Democratic state Rep. Mary Flowers in last week’s primary. Gorner and Olivia Olander have that story here. RELATED From the Crusader: In a no-holds-barred interview, Democratic state Rep. Sonya Harper says: “I went from being one of the best, loved and well-respected members to now being at the bottom of the list because I’m too Black … that I need to go somewhere, sit down, and shut up. That is the sentiment there.” If you are Sonya Harper, Playbook would like to hear from you. Email skapos@politico.com
| | | | A message from Amazon: As the largest job creator in the U.S. Amazon is committed to helping their employees thrive with benefits starting day one and free, on-the-job skills training. When MJ started at an Amazon fulfillment center, “health care started on day one for me and my kids,” she said. See the impact of comprehensive benefits. | | | | | WHERE'S JB | | In California on a trade mission.
| | | WHERE's BRANDON | | | No official public events.
| | | Where's Toni | | No official public events. Have a tip, suggestion, birthday, new job or (heaven forbid) a complaint? Email skapos@politico.com
| | | | Access New York bill updates and Congressional activity in areas that matter to you, and use our exclusive insights to see what’s on the Albany agenda. Learn more. | | | | | | | CONVENTION ZONE | | — Staffed up: New recruits have joined the Democratic National Convention Committee communications team in Chicago. Megha Bhattacharya is deputy director of surrogate communications. She was adviser for strategic comms at the State Department. Jaidan Idarraga joins as assistant press secretary. He was speechwriter at the DNC and is a Precision alum. Camille Candaele joins as surrogate communications manager and was special assistant in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Leah Hurwitz joins as press assistant after interning with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D=Minn.).
| | | 2024 WATCH | | | — Primary results indicate support for Biden, Trump is flat: In Chicago, “nearly 1 in 4 Democratic voters — more than 73,000 — opted not to vote for president or cast a ballot for one of Joe Biden’s three nominal challengers. At the same time, the Republican primary election indicated a softness in support for former President Donald Trump in the suburbs,” by the Tribune’s Rick Pearson. — Congressional contests set for IL-06 and IL-11: Republican Niki Conforti, an energy consultant from Glen Ellyn, faces Democratic Congressman Sean Casten in IL-06. And Warrenville music school owner Jerry Evans, a Republican, faces Democratic Congressman Bill Foster in IL-11. Daily Herald’s Russell Lissau reports.
| | THE STATEWIDES | | — Illinois farmers anxious after ramping up production for food program that was delayed: “ Farmers hope a multimillion-dollar state program to connect underrepresented farmers with communities in need can help them get their products in more grocery stores, restaurants and family kitchens soon,” by the Tribune’s Karina Atkins. — Painting from Springfield Art Association headed to Smithsonian Institute: "Woman with a Monkey" by Springfield native Ethel Mars, believed to be a self-portrait created in Paris between 1906 and 1909, will be shown at the National Portrait Gallery, reports the State Journal-Register’s Steven Spearie. — In fight to keep invasive carp from the Great Lakes, Pritzker and Army Corps are at impasse on building a barrier, by WBEZ’s Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco.
| | | | A message from Amazon:   | | | | | TAKING NAMES | | — State Rep. Maurice West, a Democrat from Rockford, was blanketed at the Community Recognition and Celebration event hosted by the Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative at the University of Illinois-Chicago the other day. The ceremony shows respect for those who have made an important contribution to the Native American community. West was the lead sponsor of the law signed last year that requires Native American history to be taught in Illinois schools. Pic!
| | CHICAGO | | — Mayor Johnson’s plan to borrow $1.25B for development projects gets a mixed reception: "Some Chicago City Council members urged more oversight of which projects Johnson’s plan would fund, while supporters said it would be a much needed boon to housing and city development,” by WBEZ’s Tessa Weinberg and Mariah Woelfel. — ENFLAMED: Chicago Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez drew criticism over the weekend for speaking at an event where organizers had earlier burned an American flag. Alds. Scott Waguespack, Brenden Reilly and Gilbert Villegas, who all serve with Sigcho-Lopez on the City Council, took to social media here, here and here to call out Sigcho-Lopez as “unpatriotic.” Sigcho-Lopez issued a statement, saying he “was not present or a witness to the [flag-burning], nor did he endorse it in any way.” He said he was invited to speak out against the Democratic National Convention coming to Chicago. It’s a stand taken by those opposed to the U.S. response to the war in the Middle East. Regarding flag-burning: The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment protects flag burning as a form of symbolic speech, but it’s still an act that ignites criticism. — Moody Nolan unveils design of athletic facility at Obama presidential campus, by online architecture magazine Dezeen’s Ellen Eberhardt — Column: Don’t forget about the April election for local school councils, a force for parent empowerment, by WBEZ’s Natalie Moore
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | Reader Digest | | We asked about the spring break you’ll never forget. Suzie Bassi: “A cheap teacher's spring break to Acapulco — major sunburn, not once, but twice — and our hotel room had no windows.” Mark Heffington: “A 1992 motorcycle ride from Carbondale to Atlanta to Panama City to Pensacola to New Orleans and back to Carbondale. It was 10 days and 2,000 miles of backroads, beaches, great food and fun.” Chris Jessup: “My senior year of high school I snuck away from home in New Mexico to come to Chicago, check out the big city and hang out with new friends. My family wasn’t happy. But I found my new home and moved here nine days after high school graduation.” Theodore Kemna: “In 2020, my family and I took a spring break trip to Hawaii. It was great. But by the time we left, the pandemic hit and everywhere cleared out. It felt like the aftermath of 9/11. The airport was barren and there was a sense of desolation and paranoia.” John Straus: “A Knox College choir tour to New Orleans in 1971, when we sang an impromptu concert at Pat O’Brien’s on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter.” Whitley Tee: "A 1991 trip with a bestie near D.C. that included four nights with the Grateful Dead in Maryland and a party at an Arlington hi-rise." Timothy Thomas Jr.: “Atlanta, as chronologized here.” Steve Weiss: “A friend and I, two Jews from Chicago, drove South for a winter vacation. After 10 hours, I needed a nap and pulled into a closed gas station. Soon, we were surrounded by six police cars and after a search were told to continue. This was in Pulaski, Tenn., the origin of the KKK.” Chris White: “Visiting public housing in Houston, Texas, that a coalition of residents and squatters were fighting to save.” NEXT QUESTION: If the company let you choose your own working hours, what would they be?
| | DELEGATION | | — ‘Why only TikTok’: Suburbanites weigh in on potential ban of popular app: “Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg, who introduced the legislation, says it's vital to get a handle on the popular Chinese-owned phone app — especially in the face of an upcoming national election,” by Daily Herald’s Jenny Whidden.
| | | THE NATIONAL TAKE | | | — How is abortion shaping 2024? Look at Arizona, by POLITICO’s Alice Miranda Ollstein — Meet the Oklahoma superintendent at the forefront of the GOP’s education crusade, by POLITICO’s Juan Perez Jr. — Biden campaign puts Florida — sort of — in play, by POLITICO’s Kimberly Leonard
| | | | A message from Amazon: Amazon fulfillment centers create on average 3,000 local jobs with comprehensive benefits and free technical training so hourly employees get the support they need to succeed. Amazon’s local investment in cities and towns across the U.S. helps employees and whole communities thrive.
Learn how Amazon supports employees and their communities. | | | | | EVENTS | | — April 5: Congressman Mike Bost and former Congressman John Shimkus headline a fundraiser for the Illinois Republican Finance Committee in O’Fallon. Details here
| | TRIVIA | | FRIDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to Kevin Conlon for correctly answering that former Lt. Gov. Dave O'Neal once described his office as one that “a person of average intelligence can learn it in a week.” He would quit the post in 1981. TODAY's QUESTION: Who was known as the father of the GI Bill? Email skapos@politico.com
| | HAPPY BIRTHDAY | | Des Plaines Mayor Andrew Goczkowski, former Congressman Terry Bruce, comms specialist Sofia Kinzinger, state comptroller Comms Director Abdon Pallasch, project manager Trout Kinney, comms specialist Meredith Shiner and Workiva value management consultant Haley Parker Miller And belated greetings to attorney Steve Weiss, who celebrated Saturday. -30- | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
