| | | | |  | | By Shia Kapos | | Presented by |  | | | Happy November, Illinois. Enjoy the leaf-raking. BREAKING OVERNIGHT, a stunner on the campaign trail: Trump on Liz Cheney: ‘Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her,’ by POLITICO’ Adam Wren.
|  | TOP TALKER | | | Two issues fueling fear and anxiety in Chicago’s Jewish community came to a head on Thursday. Terrorism and hate-crime charges were issued in the case of a Jewish man shot while walking to synagogue in West Rogers Park. And separately, Mayor Brandon Johnson asked for — and got — the resignation of his hand-picked school board president after it came to light that he had posted antisemitic, misogynistic and conspiratorial material on social media. The two instances aren’t related, but … they are adding to ongoing tensions between the mayor’s office and the city’s large Jewish community. Earlier this week , aldermen and Gov. JB Pritzker questioned the vetting process that allowed Rev. Mitchell Ikenna Johnson to be named head of the public school board after learning about his questionable social media posts about the war in the Middle East. The mayor said the school board leader apologized. Then new posts surfaced showing the reverend claimed 9/11 was a conspiracy and that women who work are abandoning their families. The governor said he should be fired. The mayor then said the same. From the mayor: “Today, I asked Chicago School Board of Education (BOE) President Reverend Mitchell Johnson for his resignation, and he resigned, effective immediately,” he said in a statement. It was seen as a positive step . “When you put people that express antisemitic views in positions of authority, then it normalizes it. And that’s a dangerous thing in society,” said Rabbi Shlomo Soroka, a director of government affairs for Agudath Israel of Illinois. Hours later , the mayor joined law enforcement to announce that a shooting last weekend in the Jewish community was elevated to an act of terror. It brought some relief to a community that worried City Hall didn’t see it that way from the outset. Defending the mayor: Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said Johnson was only responding based on information police had given him. Showing empathy: Johnson’s comments Thursday were more empathetic: “Antisemitism in Chicago does not reflect the soul of Chicago,” the mayor said at the news conference with Snelling and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. “Everyone in our city deserves to feel safe. No one in our city should be attacked based on their beliefs, their religion, their identity.” The take-away : Tensions between some Jewish residents and the mayor’s office go back to when Johnson made the deciding vote in City Council to pass a Gaza ceasefire resolution. It’s not that Jewish residents didn’t support a ceasefire but rather that the mayor didn’t accept language supported by Ald. Debra Silverstein that was less of an attack on Israel and President Joe Biden. Silverstein is the only Jewish member of the council so it seemed like a snub. Months later, Johnson hired a top aide, who shortly after Oct. 7 posted on her social media accounts the phrase “From the river to the sea. Palestine will be free,” which is also seen as antisemitic. Simply put, said Daniel Goldwin of the Jewish United Fund of Chicago: “He has work to do with the Jewish community.” HEADLINES Hate crime, terrorism charges filed after Orthodox Jewish man shot in West Rogers Park, by the Block Club’s Madison Savedra Chicago’s new school board president resigns a week after taking office, by Chalkbeat’s Becky Vevea
| | | THE BUZZ | | | GOOD READ| THE BREAKING OF A POLITICAL FAMILY: What the Johnson Brothers of Centralia, Illinois, tell us about the causes of our nation’s political divide: “Ted and Fred Johnson were both registered independents, and both were tempted by Nikki Haley’s Republican run — but Trump, it turned out, had come between them as something like an unbending wedge, the source of a new split in an already strained fraternal bond. Ted had voted for him — Fred had not and would never. But Ted, he had said, was weary of the rift. He was interested in repair,” writes POLITICO’s Michael Kruse. Kruse writes: “After all these years, big fights and subtle grudges and shared experiences that curdle into separate stories that sow division and distrust, they are brothers who say they love each other but cannot talk to each other or won’t. They are brothers who say they love each other but do not understand each other and certainly not their political choices. They are brothers who love each other who say they are no longer sure they even know each other.”
| | WHERE'S JB | | No official public events
| | WHERE's BRANDON | | No official public events
| | | Where's Toni | | | At the Cook County Building at 6 p.m. for a candle lighting ceremony and moment of reflection at the Cook County Ofrenda in celebration of Día de Los Muertos Have a tip, suggestion, birthday, new job or (heaven forbid) a complaint? Email: skapos@politico.com
| | | | A message from Amazon: Abel turned his entry-level job at Amazon’s Rockford, Illinois fulfillment center into a transportation career, through Amazon Career Choice. Since 2012 more than 200,000 employees have used Amazon Career Choice to learn and earn more. Find out more. | | | | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | — Q&A: Congressman Darin Lahood worries about complacency: “We can’t let strong early vote numbers and continual gaffs from the Harris campaign allow us to take our foot off the gas,” he told your Playbook host for POLITICO’s daily Q&A with politicos. LaHood, who doesn’t have an opponent in Tuesday’s election, will be watching the returns from Peoria. Check out some of our other Q&As with Illinois politico Bill Daley, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. — Could Polish Americans help swing the presidential election? In Chicago, they’re split: “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,” by the Sun-Times’ Tina Sfondeles and Mitchell Armentrout. — Joe McGraw , the Republican candidate in the IL-17 congressional race, is being endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Watch for the announcement today. — Illinois volunteers try to tip the presidential race in swing states Wisconsin and Michigan: Hundreds of Illinois Democrats are traveling across the state line — past the Mars Cheese Castle — to push voters in Wisconsin to cast their ballots for Vice President Kamala Harris. And they’re going to Michigan, too, writes the Tribune’s Dan Petrella. Here are details on their Sunday plans.
| | THE STATEWIDES | | — MADIGAN TRIAL: Testimony in Madigan corruption trial turns to 2018 sex harassment scandal: “Prosecutors are presenting the fallout within the speaker’s political organization as evidence of the lengths that Madigan’s soldiers would go to protect the boss and to show Madigan had the willingness and power to provide a soft landing for someone close to him who was in trouble,” by the Tribune’s Jason Meisner and Megan Crepeau. — ABOUT ETHICS: Republican state Rep. State Martin McLaughlin of Barrington Hills is calling for ethics reform in wake of the trial of former House Speaker Michael Madigan. “Today, I witnessed the corruption trial in person. The ruling Democrats of Illinois continue to undermine public trust, underscoring the urgent need for transparency and accountability in our political institutions,” McLaughlin said in a statement. He’s calling for an independent ethics commission to be “empowered to investigate misconduct” as well as beefed up campaign finance reform and conflict of interest laws. — Governors of five states, including Illinois, call for ‘swift action’ on rising electric bills, by the Tribune’s Nara Schoenberg — Illinois’ 2024 report card is out: SAT scores are down, but high school grad rates are up, by Chalkbeat’s Samantha Smylie
| | | SPOTLIGHT | | | — A chapter has ended for The Gallery Bookstore, but story isn’t over for bookstore owner thought to have died: “Instead of resting in peace, he’s simply resting,” by the Tribune’s Peter Breen.
| | | | A message from Amazon:   | | | | | CHICAGO | | — Chicago Police Department reform office slashed under Johnson's proposed budget: “Under the mayor’s plan, spending for the office charged with implementing reforms to get CPD out from under the costly constraints of a federal consent decree would shrink by 45 percent, and more than half the positions would be eliminated,” by the Sun-Times’ Tom Schuba and Fran Spielman. — Cubs, Justice Department reach settlement over alleged ADA violations at Wrigley Field, by WGN 9’s Gabriel Castillo — FHLBank Chicago awards $47M to support housing developments, by the Chicago Business Journal’s Wendell Hutson
| | COOK COUNTY AND COLLARS | | — Property owners suing Blue Island over ‘outrageous’ water bills: “Officials with the south suburban city say they’ve updated their billing procedures to prevent late-payment fees from piling up, but two property owners say the city’s practice of charging 10 percent compounding late fees is illegal,” by the Sun-Times’ Stephanie Zimmermann — Elgin Community College is building an $85M manufacturing center to help meet demand for more skilled workers: “The building will be the second-largest public community college manufacturing center in Illinois and allow the college to expand its program offerings and instruction space,” by the Sun-Times’ Abby Miller. — War of words erupts between McHenry County’s top prosecutor and SAFE-T Act advocates, by the Daily Herald’s Susan Sarkauskas and Charles Keeshan
| | TAKING NAMES | | — Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza visited the White House for Thursday's "Day of the Dead" ceremony. Mendoza placed a photo of her late father on the "Ofrenda" table where Latinos honor their loved ones who have passed.
| | Reader Digest | | We asked which celebrity endorsement made you blink. Charles Keller: “When Elon Musk ... endorsed Donald Trump.” Jim Lyons: “When ‘The Terminator’ Arnold Schwarzenegger, with deep GOP roots, endorsed Kamala Harris earlier this week.” Ed Mazur : “When former Green Bay Packer QB Brett Favre endorsed DJT. Both have histories of less than legal activities.” Tomás Revollo: “Dennis Quaid endorsing Trump with a heavy toned speech.” Timothy Thomas: “When baseball's integration pioneer Jackie Robinson endorsed Richard Nixon over John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election.” Next question: When have you battled over the thermostat? Email skapos@politico.com
| | THE NATIONAL TAKE | | — Trump lagging in early vote with seniors in Pennsylvania, a red flag for GOP, by POLITICO’s Meridith McGraw and Jessica Piper — Meet the sleeper conservatives who could help fulfill Trump’s promise to be a dictator on Day 1, by POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein — Harris keeps bringing in new money as Trump struggles to grow his donor base, by POLITICO’s Jessica Piper
| | | | A message from Amazon: Amazon raises wages for hourly employees to an average of over $22 an hour.
This includes employees like Abel who started out in one of Amazon’s fulfillment centers in Rockford, Illinois before using an Amazon skills training to launch a career in transportation.
See the impact. | | | | | IN MEMORIAM | | — Bill Holland, the former state auditor general who died in August, will be remembered at a celebration of life event on Saturday. Details here
| | TRANSITIONS | | — Taylor Griffin has been promoted from policy adviser to senior policy adviser for Mayor Brandon Johnson. — Matthew McFarland is set to become VP of strategic partnerships and community relations at TASC (Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities) on Monday. He's been VP for external relations at the Lawndale Christian Legal Center.
| | | TRIVIA | | | THURSDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to Congrats to Cubs Senior VP Mike Lufrano with the help of Cubs historian Ed Hartig for correctly answering that Gene Baker , who signed with the Cubs from 1953 to 1957, is sometimes mentioned as the first Black player to manage in MLB as he took over for Pittsburgh Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh when Murtaugh was ejected from a game in September 1963. Ernie Banks managed the Cubs in May 1973, when then manager Whitey Lockman was ejected from a game. Each of these was before Frank Robinson took the helm in Cleveland as full-time manager. TODAY’s QUESTION: Which World Series parade was the largest ever and how many people did it draw? Email skapos@politico.com
| | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY | | | Today: Level-1 Global Solutions CEO Thomas McElroy II, Ariel Investments’ ESG Senior VP John Oxtoby and Oracle Solution Sales exec Eric Allen. Saturday: State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, ComEd Comms VP Shannon Breymaier, Salesforce Executive Comms VP Katie Hogan, Capital J. Productions owner JoAnn Fakhouri, actor David Schwimmer and POLITICO national Playbook reporter Eli Okun. Sunday: Harris Campaign Principal Deputy Campaign Manager Quentin Fulks, Stomping Ground Strategies co founder Isabelle Dienstag, Consul General of Israel to the Midwest Yinam Cohen, political consultant Kathy Posner, Rabbi emeritus Paul Caplan and Wall Street Journal Senior Publishing Editor Lisa Donovan. -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 | | | | |
