Good Thursday morning, Illinois. It's going to feel like sub-zero temps with the wind chill today, so bundle up with Midwestern pride.
TOP TALKER
Jesse Jackson Jr., the former congressman, has filed for a pardon. | Chance Yeh/Film Magic
SCOOP: The same day Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, the Rev. Jesse Jackson wrote to the president seeking pardons for his son, former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., and his former daughter-in-law.
The message: “His children — my grandchildren — would do well and find hope in seeing both their father and their mother, former Chicago Alderwoman Sandra Stevens Jackson, receive forgiveness,” the Civil Rights leader wrote, adding he'll keep Biden “in prayer” as he considers the “power of forgiveness.” The two-page letter is here and here.
Time served: Jesse Jackson Jr. spent 30 months in prison for wire and mail fraud in 2012. Sandi Jackson served a year for filing false tax returns. The former congressman had already stepped down from elected office for health reasons when he pleaded guilty to illegally spending $750,000 in campaign funds on personal expenses, including a Rolex watch.
In an interview with Playbook, Jesse Jackson Jr. says when he walked out of the prison doors, he never asked President Barack Obama for a pardon, choosing instead to advocate for "a mass pardon for millions of men and women who have paid their debt to society in full,” he said.
A few years ago, Jackson said his father and California Congresswoman Maxine Waters urged him to fill out the documentation to seek a full pardon.
“Dad made the argument that it was important to articulate my point of view. I objected. Richard Nixon didn't fill out [a pardon form] and neither did Hunter Biden,” said Jackson, acknowledging that he did eventually fill out the paperwork.
He’s since talked about the pardon process on his Facebook page. His argument: Biden pardoning of his son “has now changed the standard … and language for what constitutes a human right.” It’s language President Gerald Ford used to pardon Richard Nixon, said Jackson. “So, it's now the Nixon-Biden language. If he uses a different language for anyone else, he's creating a class of citizens that's different from them.”
Jackson says his conviction hovers over him. “I did 30 months in prison. I did what the judge told me to do on behalf of the people. I honored it. I pled guilty. No jury had to find me guilty. So I owned my behavior,” he said.
“But the felonization doesn’t end. My marriage ended. My house is near foreclosure. I’m having difficulty getting hired. It doesn’t end,” he said, adding there are others who have an even harder time re-entering their community. “It shouldn’t be a life sentence.”
SCOOP: Gov. JB Pritzker is returning from a quick trip to Paris, where he accepted the Startup Ecosystem Star award from the International Chamber of Commerce.
Pritzker's message upon accepting the award: The goal of government is to “uplift emerging startups, light the fires of creativity and harness human potential," he said, according to his team.
Parlez-vous: “Let me thank you all for continuing to inspire the next generation of world-changing innovators,” Pritzker added, prompting a big round of applause — because he spoke in French (!).
The awards program is put on each year by Mind the Bridge and the Chamber. Illinois was one of just 35 organizations worldwide to receive the Startup Ecosystem Star Award.
WHERE'S JB
No official public events
WHERE's BRANDON
At Teamwork Englewood for a press conference announcing the new director of re-entry
Where's Toni
No official public events
Have a tip, suggestion, birthday, new job or (heaven forbid) a complaint? Email: skapos@politico.com
REGISTER NOW: As the 118th Congress ends, major decisions loom, including healthcare appropriations. Key focus: site neutrality. Can aligning hospital and clinic costs cut federal spending, reflect physician costs, and lower patient expenses? Join policymakers and providers to discuss.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
— SCOOP: Chicago-based United Airlines has signed a contract with Phillips 66 to purchase 3 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel, SAF, with the option to receive up to 8 million gallons at O’Hare International Airport.
Why it matters: “Fuel is one of the top costs for operating an airline, and when you're able to actually secure sustainable aviation fuel where you're using waste products, you're able to actually control an expense that in the past has been very volatile and significant for the airline,” United Chief Sustainability Officer Lauren Riley told Playbook, adding the efforts to control operating costs trickle down to ticket prices, too. “It’s really in the best interest of our travelers.”
The deal follows United earlier this year becoming the first airline to purchase SAF for use at O'Hare. United expects to use more than 4 million gallons of SAF in Illinois now through 2025, the most of any airline.
How it works: SAF is made from recycled animal and plant waste and can have up to 85 percent lower lifecycle GHG emissions compared with conventional jet fuel, according to United. SAF will also be delivered to the Los Angeles International Airport.
How it happened: The partnership between United and Phillips came about through tax credits passed by the Illinois General Assembly and signed into law last year by Gov. JB Pritzker.
Historic timing: The United-Phillips deal comes as the aviation world marks the 80th anniversary of the Chicago Convention, which guarantees freedom of the air in international civil aviation. It provided a program for complete modernization for air travel and led to creation of the International Civil Aviation Organization. The signing took place in Chicago on Dec. 7, 1944, after a 37-day meeting.
— America’s role reversal: Working-class Blacks make gains while whites fall back: “Madison County was dominated for decades by heavy industry — including steel mills, oil refineries and a glass factory—that fueled thriving downtowns in the riverfront cities of Granite City and Alton. When deindustrialization took hold, those areas suffered, and jobs in other sectors grew, including in wholesale and retail trade, healthcare and professional services,” writes The Wall Street Journal’s Arian Campo-Flores.
How it happened: “Many white workers with union positions at plants saw their jobs as core to their identities. ... That made it harder to adjust when factories disappeared,” the story continues.
— City Hall braces for Trump assault on its minority set-aside program: “City Council members are concerned about an assault from the incoming Trump administration on Chicago’s coveted minority set-aside program, and are wondering what the city can do to insulate that program from attack,” by the Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman.
— EXCLUSIVE | ‘Frustrated’ CTU leader Stacy Davis Gates on contract talks, getting dragged into City Hall scandal: “The mayor of Chicago is in charge of the Chicago Public Schools which effectively makes him the boss of my members — that is an adversarial relationship. I need a contract, so you can imagine the conversations that he and I are having,” by WGN 9’s Tahman Bradley, Jordan Muck and BJ Lutz.
— SPOTTED: Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd) hosted a holiday fundraiser last night at Steppenwolf Theater in Lincoln Park. Attendees included: state Rep. Omar Williams, newly elected school board member Ellen Rosenfeld, Kamala Harris' Finance Director Michael Pratt, Gertie CEO Abby Pucker, Steppenwolf Board Chair Keating Crown, Democratic Committeewoman Lucy Moog, R4 CEO Trisha Rooney, Illinois Holocaust Museum CEO Bernard Cherkasov, restaurateur German González Rico, Jam Productions CEO Jerry Michelson, Appellate Court Justice Celia Gamrath, Clayco Chief Growth Officer Michael Fassnacht, Sister Cities Chair Tamar Newberger and former Ald. Dick Simpson.
— Applause, applause: State Rep. Suzanne Ness, a Democrat from Crystal Lake, was named the Metro West Legislator of the Year, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys Legislator of the Year and received the Friend of Agriculture Award from the Illinois Farm Bureau.
Billions in spending. Critical foreign aid. Immigration reform. The final weeks of 2024 could bring major policy changes. Inside Congress provides daily insights into how Congressional leaders are navigating these high-stakes issues. Subscribe today.
Reader Digest
We asked what world issue you follow closely.
State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit: “Because my son is stationed in the Navy port in Yokosuka, Japan, I watch the aggressive action of China against Taiwan. In addition, the weapons tested by North Korea and their alliance with Russia. My son’s ship has patrolled those waters frequently.”
Jamie Brown: “U.S. foreign aid, like Presidents Biden’s recent announcement of $1 bill investment in Africa. It’s one to watch as we compete with China and Russia for influence.”
Michael Gascoigne: “The conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.”
Marty Green: “Events in China/Taiwan, the Middle East and Ukraine/Russia. They’re all hotbeds impacting the world order and U.S. security interests.”
Charles Keller: The Middle East.
Meredith Krantz: “The LIV-PGA merger. The right combo of personalities, power, politics and culture makes it interesting to follow.”
Alison Pure-Slovin: “The war on Israel and the plight of the Israeli hostages.”
Gail Purkey: “Global warming, because it affects the entire planet.”
Ebony Scott-Anderson: "I follow global women’s health almost obsessively."
Iyana Simba: “Climate change. It’s an amplifier of destabilization. I also miss white Christmases.”
Patricia Ann Watson: “Human migration and unrest due to climate change.”
Josh Weger: “For the last year I’ve been closely following the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.”
Corrine Williams: “For importance I follow Israel and the need to free the hostages. For fun, the royals.”
Next question: What piece of clothing can't you do without when temps are near 0? Email skapos@politico.com
WEDNESDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to Brian Munoz and Wayne Williams for correctly answering that Fox News host Dana Perino is the former WCIA reporter and University of Illinois Springfield alum who worked in the George W. Bush administration. She was press secretary.
TODAY’s QUESTION: What 2017 village president’s race was decided by a coin flip when each candidate captured 11 votes? Email skapos@politico.com
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Cook County Commissioner John Daley, state Sen. Mike Porfirio, state Rep. Nick Smith, Illinois Democratic Caucus Director of Policy and Budget Aaron Holmes, political consultant Porter McNeil, Noted Advisory Partner Dana Popish, University of Chicago Crime Lab Executive Director Roseanna Ander, Chicago Federation of Labor’s Isabel “Izzy” Dobbel, Associated Beer Distributors of Illinois VP Chris Coleman, University of Chicago law professor Eric Posner, hospitality exec Brad Young, PR pro Dionne Williams, Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation’s Amy Shivvers, writer Mindy Greenstein and civic leader and consultant Lisa Schneider Fabes, who celebrates the big 6-0.
