The Illinois budget that JB Pritzker wants to build

Updated June 5, 2019

The Illinois House Revenue & Finance Committee approved, on Monday, a proposed constitutional amendment that would change the state’s flat tax to one that is graduated, a campaign issue from the newly inaugurated Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and was passed mostly by the supermajority from the Democrats.

This supermajority developed last year under the aegis of Speaker of the House, Michael Madigan giving the necessary 71 votes needed, according to state law, for the change. And, as planned, will place a full floor vote with the result of a referendum placed on voter ballots in 2020, giving plenty of time to handle the voices of naysayers.

The news came as a relief to the new governor, but also brought forth some expected blowback from the right-leaning Illinois Policy, a group that largely staffed the later years of the Rauner administration.

They noted that the 9-6 vote would “scrap taxpayers’ sole protection against endless income tax hikes,” and echoing Rauner, they emphasized that “If state lawmakers truly wished to amplify voters’ voices, popular ideas such as term limits, redistricting reform and pension reform would similarly be on the table. These were left unmentioned by progressive income tax proponents in testimony.”

Seizing the soft underbelly of possible opposition, they also reported that, “state Reps. Jonathan Carroll, D-Northbrook, and Sam Yingling, D-Grayslake, were the latest lawmakers in the House Democratic caucus to declare their opposition to Pritzker’s tax plan. Carroll cast a “yes” vote on the amendment in committee, noting that he thought an issue of this magnitude deserved debate in front of the full House. He expressed he still had serious reservations about the proposal, and as a result his vote should not be taken as an indication of a “yes” vote on the House floor.”

Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn said last September, “It’s a popular idea. A Paul Simon Public Policy Institute poll last February found 72 percent of 1,001 registered Illinois voters backed such a change, and 76 percent supported an extra 3 percent tax on all income over $1 million a year,” but expressed some doubts about the details and the devil within the plan. And, there are some within the system that would have to be adjusted to create the fairness that Pritzker wants, such as deductions for lowered income earners to balance,  for example those that rent versus those that own.

With the Senate already approving, most lawmakers, despite the two defections, feel that the proposal may come to fruition with the referendum.

It’s worth noting that “Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Utah are the only other states with similar plans. As of 2012, the rates ranged from 3.07 percent in Pennsylvania to 5.3 percent in Massachusetts.”

This is just part of Pritzker’s tackling of the financial plan, and the budget remains the number one priority with the state mired in pension debt with a ballooning figure of $134 billion dollars.

The tax plan aside, Pritzker feels that his budget is  “a bridge to a stable fiscal future,” and “To get to fiscal stability and eliminate our structural deficit, there is no quick fix,” Pritzker said. “It took decades to get us into this mess. It will take at least several years to get us out of it.”

After the initial budget speech, Crain’s columnist Greg Hinz reported that “with operating expenditures totaling $39 billion—will close a $3.2 billion gap through a combination of taxes from new items such as legalized marijuana sales and sports betting; a delay in making some pension payments; and a slower increase in spending than some progressives have wanted. Combined with a new assessment on Medicaid providers that will be doubled with a federal match, the 2020 budget will have $1.1 billion in new revenues.”

Senate President John Cullerton, said “The budget is “creative and aggressive” in moving to solve problems, he said. And it’s “filled with ideas—real, doable constitutional ideas. Now, whether or not they happen remains to be seen. That’s what the legislative process is for."

Minority leader Bill Brady said , at the time, that Pritzker's initial budget speech,“We heard a lot in his speech about more spending, more tax increases and concepts tried in the past. And while we as legislators now begin digging into the details, I have grave concerns about the pension plan and I remain opposed to a graduated income tax.”

Also balking on the proposals “was the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club, which apparently didn’t like the governor’s rejection of its proposal to raise income taxes across the board and start taxing retirement income. “The proposed budget does not go far enough to address Illinois’ fiscal problems,” it said.

Cheering the governor on was “Illinois Comptroller and Chicago mayoral candidate Susana Mendoza [who] applauded Pritzker for “taking critical steps toward fixing our state’s finances and making much-needed investments. . . .By finding new revenue solutions like a progressive income tax and marijuana legislation, I’m confident we can begin fixing the structural deficit we face.”

“Fair Economy Illinois expressed disappointment that Pritzker didn’t close some “corporate tax loopholes” to get more money for social spending now. “We are counting on Gov. Pritzker to keep his campaign pledge to implement a progressive income tax . . . but our social service providers, public schools and universities, and roads and bridges need major investments this year. . . .The legalization and taxing of cannabis and sports betting are simply more taxes on poor, working and middle-class people. We also reject the privatization of state assets to fill budget deficits.”

Most problematic was the suggested pension holiday, something that Chicagoans are familiar with under Mayor Daley, but now, hearing it on the state level, has sounded some alarms, and the figure of $1.1 billion has them ringing - but the governor responded by saying,” It really is designed to bend the cost curve going forward so that we’re not just in a straight line for a $9 billion payment to a $19 billion payment in… 2045 and then 2046 it’s like a billion and a half dollars.”

Critics say that “The real problem. . . is the ramp’s last ten years or so. Pritzker can’t “bend” that curve by lowering payments up front. That’s a preposterous thing to say. He’ll either make the curve worse or prolong the state’s fiscal agony or both.”

That point seems to be justifiable in light of how pensions operate and seems to be close to fuzzy math, but then St. Theresa said the road to hell was often paved with good intentions, and while Illinois saw what hell was like under former governor, Bruce Rauner, the fallout that emerges might not be hotter than some think.

With one eye on heaven, and another on hell, Pritzker decided that the former was more preferable and changed his mind, and “Due to a variety of factors, including changes that resulted from the recent federal tax overhaul, the state’s individual and corporate income tax revenue in April was more than $1 billion higher than what came in during the same month a year ago, according to a letter Illinois Department of Revenue Director David Harris and Pritzker budget director Alexis Sturm sent to legislative leaders.

The tax windfall, coupled with other revenue collected throughout the year, will be enough to cover most of the state’s projected $1.6 billion deficit for the current budget year, according to Harris’ letter.”

Handling the financial crisis is easiest the most daunting of the new governor and the change of mind, as well of financial hearts, provides a glimpse of the ongoing struggle.

Part of that struggle is to see if the proposed bond sale of $2 billion, to supplement not cover pension payments, is “doable”, coupled with some fast-talking by Pritzker to sell the public on changing from a flat to a graduated tax for the state.

Some observers, bankers and academics have been reluctant to give a full-throated defense of the bonds, even with the endorsement by deputy governor, Dan Hynes.

Bloomberg interviewed “Thad Calabrese, a professor at New York University who studies pension bonds, said the danger is that politicians will use them to avoid necessary but politically difficult decisions, like tax increases or budget cuts. "There’s going to have to be some actual sacrifice.”

Update: In a 38-17 vote the Illinois State Senate, on May 29th, approved, after only 40 minutes of debate, legalization of recreational marijuana after amendments were made for drug-free workplaces, limiting home grown plants to those with medicinal needs, and establishment of a task force headed by the Illinois State Police for the establishment of best practices, and clemency from the governor's office for use over the 30 gram limit, and 30-500 grams to the State's Attorney's Office to vacate the conviction.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) who had ushered in the legislation to remedy the red ink of state coffers, and provide relief to communities of color, who under the previous policy, had been decimated with incarcerations and convictions.The amount of new revenue was adjusted downward to $57 million for the first year of income, beginning Jan 1, 2020, with 35 percent going to general revenue, and 25 percent to communities that were negatively affected by the previous policy. Also added was a social equity clause designed to bring technical assistance, and other forms to minority ownership and management of what is sure to be a multi-million business

Kim Foxx under fire as Smollett case lingers

The Jussie Smollett case has taken on what seems to be a life of its own as it has careened from the initial headlines about the “Empire” actor being the victim of a racist and homophobic attack in downtown Chicago that included a noose placed around his neck by two attackers, shouting, “This is MAGA country!”

After a surge of support from Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and Chicago Police Superintendent, Eddie Johnson, suspicions began to emerge, including lack of a clear video image from street cameras, and witnesses, and it was later revealed that Smollett had paid two Nigerian TV extras to stage the entire incident.

According to USA Today,  “The men, brothers Ola and Abel Osundairo, told police that Smollett paid them $3,500 by check to help orchestrate and stage the crime after he became upset that a threatening letter — addressed to him and sent to the Fox set where “Empire” is filmed — did not get enough attention.”

After State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said she was recusing herself due to contact with family members, her office, under the direction of attorney Joe Magats, said that the case was being thrown out, with Smollett having served community service and that the $10,000 bail was being returned.

That’s when all hell broke loose, with Emanuel claiming that it was “a whitewash of justice”, and an even angrier Johnson issuing damming statement.

"From top to bottom, this is not on the level. You have a person using hate crime laws that are on the books" to promote himself, Emanuel said. "Is there no decency in this man?"

Johnson said, "If you want to say you're innocent of the situation, you take your day in court. ... I would never hide behind a brokered deal in secrecy, period."

From the White House, President Trump sent a smirking tweet: .”@JussieSmollett - what about MAGA and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!? #MAGA”

Calls for a recall for Foxx emerged almost immediately, and was capped off by recent marches for her removal and, for her support, and in a report by the local Fox News channel:

  

Foxx under attack

“The Jussie Smollett case was the 'tip of the iceberg' in regard to mishandlings by Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx, according to Chicago Police Union President Kevin Graham, who has joined a chorus of those calling for her resignation.

Graham said during an appearance on "America's Newsroom" on Friday that Foxx's shocking decision to drop all 16 charges against Jussie Smollett last week represents a trend by the State's Attorney of choosing not to pursue felony charges.

"We have had problems getting felony charges approved for battery to police officers," Graham said. "I've had officers, in my office, where their kneecaps were broken, where their fingertips were nearly bit off, and we can't get felony charges approved on this."

He continued by discussing the Fraternal Order of Police's recent vote of no confidence on the State's Attorney, which indicates the groups pointed lack of support in Foxx.

"We're saying: this is enough," Graham continued. "We're asking for her to step down, the FOP in Chicago took a vote of no confidence and so did the police chiefs around Cook County."

“Magats said the charges would not have been dropped without the bond forfeiture and the community service factor. He added that Smollett had no prior felonies and wasn't a danger to the community. When asked whether he considered Smollett to be innocent, the prosecutor told CNN affiliate WLS: "No."

The public wonders, and some react

While most Chicagoans shook their collective heads, many condemned the actor’s behavior, and the waste of money by the police and investigators; while others felt that his celebrity status had saved him jail time -- a feeling that was further increased when the local media reported that Tina Tchen, former chief of staff to former First Lady Michelle Obama, called Foxx on behalf of family members concerned about negative publicity.

With stern denials from Smollett and his attorneys followed by a collective head-scratching by the city and the entertainment community are mostly left with the impression that this was either a childish prank to gain more stature as an actor, to trying to avoid his character being written out and  ironically, now the attention is that Foxx’s reputation is on the chopping block.

With her term as state’s attorney ending in 2020, it seems that the cards are stacked against her, and has moved the controversy to what at times, has become a nasty confrontation on race; pitting the police, once again, against the community with charges that Foxx has played the race card to win sympathy, not entirely misplaced considering that race is always just beneath the surface in Chicago, where segregation, outright racism, and the legacy of police brutality is not uncommon, from torture (the infamous Jon Burge) to being stopped more frequently for minor traffic violations, than whites.

Things have gotten ugly, and threaten to get even uglier, and trying to stem this tide was The Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. who at a recent press conference where he tried to sooth the waters, saying that Foxx is a good state’s attorney, and will continue to be do so.

It gets racial

Taking up the cudgels was Bobby Rush who stated, “The FOP is the sworn enemy of black people, the sworn enemy of black people.”

The Chicago Tribune reported him also saying, “The FOP has always taken the position that black people can be shot down in the street by members of the Chicago Police Department, and suffer no consequences,” Rush said, as an aide approached Foxx and the state’s attorney stepped out of television cameras’ view. “Let’s be clear: Kim Foxx, her battle, is with the FOP and all of their cohorts.”

Things have reached a fever pitch when it was reported that Members of white extremist groups were said to have participated in the union’s demonstration. A police union official has rejected that assertion, but Foxx criticized the union’s protests as “personal.”

“The injection of white nationalists in this conversation for me, I will tell you personally, I was afraid,” Foxx said.

“I would certainly hope that the FOP and whatever their disagreements with me may be, whatever concerns that they may have about my ability or leadership, would at least expect the people of their union to not inject racism or white nationalists into the conversation.”

Foxx, has also received death threats according to a Sun-Times article where they reported that "Jennifer Ballard Croft, Foxx’s chief of staff, confirmed Monday that Foxx’s “physical safety” has been threatened in the wake of the Smollett case."

These incidents show that the decision, rightly, or wrongly, shows racial scars that have not healed over decades, and impact not only Foxx, but racial tensions in the city.

Some still say why, and others say why not

While that might be so, many are still wondering why the case was sealed, why the secrecy, and why didn’t Smollett at least serve some time, even less than 6 months, and for a city that is overcome by fiscal red ink.

In her Op-Ed piece for the Tribune, Foxx responded by saying: There were specific aspects of the evidence and testimony presented to the office that would have made securing a conviction against Smollett uncertain. In determining whether or not to pursue charges, prosecutors are required to balance the severity of the crime against the likelihood of securing a conviction. For a variety of reasons, including public statements made about the evidence in this case, my office believed the likelihood of securing a conviction was not certain.”

For the $64,000 question, she said, “In the interest of full transparency, I would prefer these records be made public. However, in this case, Illinois law allows defendants in certain circumstances to request that public records remain sealed. Smollett chose to pursue that avenue, and so my office is barred from releasing those records without his approval.”

“Former Cook County Judge Daniel Locallo told the Tribune that prosecutors’ conduct in the Smollett case raised serious questions, particularly given the lack of public detail about the purported agreement and the little, if any, notice the office appeared to give to police.”

“Why the secrecy?” he said. “You believe you have enough evidence to go to the grand jury and you actually indict him, and then without any notice to anybody, you decide to drop the charges?

“What about other defendants? Why aren’t they afforded the same courtesy?” he said. “The bottom line is that this guy got the biggest break. He walks out of court, no charges. His bond goes to the city of Chicago, and he walks out as if nothing happened.”

Foxx defended, and reviled

Last week, it was announced that the city was filing a civil suit seeking to obtain over $390,000 in compensation for the costly investigation, and some cynics said, to paper over the embarrassment for believing Smollett, in the first place.

Lost in the accusations, and the name-calling according to Jobi Cates, the executive director of Restore Justice, a local advocacy organization, is that “Given national and local news coverage, an outside observer would believe Foxx’s handling of Jussie Smollett is . . an indicator of her performance. But does this case does not really say anything about her leadership, accountability or transparency?”

“In Illinois, there are around 40,000 people in prison every day, a large majority from Cook County. Very few of them were famous actors. But a decent percentage are in prison for too long or for the wrong reasons. Illinoisans’ most burning question for anyone sitting in the Cook County prosecutor’s seat should be about whether they are adding to or preserving that number to keep us safe and ensure justice, or as a reflexive response to political pressure?.”

In an attempt to staunch the tide of heated remarks, Foxx has asked the Cook County Inspector General to investigate how her office handled Smollett.

"Ensuring that I and my office have the community's trust and confidence is paramount to me, which is why I invited an independent review of this matter," Foxx said in a statement. "I welcome this investigation and pledge my full cooperation and the cooperation of my office."

That trust has been sorely tried as the controversy continued against a sense of outrage, that was at least three-quarters political, with CNN coverage noting that “State House Republican Leader Jim Durkin asked the Illinois attorney general's office in a letter to "complete a thorough review of the prosecution and sentencing determination in the Smollett investigation."

“Amid calls by the Chicago police union for a federal investigation to evaluate Foxx's involvement in the case, the FBI and the Justice Department will review the Smollett case, President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday, though neither agency has commented: "FBI & DOJ to review the outrageous Jussie Smollett case in Chicago," Trump said. "It is an embarrassment to our nation!"

As if to add even more controversy, we have this, also from CNN: In light of the case, the National District Attorneys Association released a statement on best prosecutorial practices in high-profile cases. Among its recommendations: recusals of chief prosecutors should apply to the entire office; prosecutors should not take advice from politically active friends of the accused; alternative prosecution should include the defendant admitting culpability; and Smollett's record should not have been expunged immediately in the interest of transparency.

While there will continue to be many remaining questions regarding the Smollett case, the legality of Foxx’s actions, and that of Magat, the role of his family and friends, and his celebrity status, the case has opened up a Pandora’s box, for the city, pitting the painful racial stratification that is part of Chicago, and testing relationships between the city, and its leaders, as accusations and counter accusations fly over the air, and in social media; making many wonder when will it end, or will it be akin to the Mueller report without the burden of proof.

The end is still not in sight and "The two brothers initially considered suspects in the Jussie Smollett hate crime investigation filed a defamation lawsuit against the “Empire” actor’s attorneys Tuesday, alleging that those lawyers made several false remarks about them after criminal charges against Smollett were dropped.

In a federal lawsuit, Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo also contend that Smollett paid them “a sum of money to stage the attack [against Smollett] to benefit himself” and “directed every aspect of the attack, including the location and the noose", added the Sun-Times.

As noted, Smollett's motive is debatable, but contained in their joint statement, was this:  “Mr. Smollett’s motivation was simple. He wanted his employer and the public to notice and appreciate him as a successful black, openly gay actor. So, Mr. Smollett directed every aspect of the attack, including the location and the noose.”

Adding a final twist to the story, from The Hill, is  "The cast of "Empire" rallied around their embattled co-star Jussie Smollett, writing a letter to executives at ABC, Fox and Disney in support of his return to the show.

"We write today to ask you to keep Jussie on the cast so that we can all put this behind us and move forward," cast members including Taraji P. Henson, Terrence Howard and Gabourey Sidibe wrote in an April 19 letter obtained by Deadline.

They also described their co-star as "kind," "compassionate" and "honest."

Updated 6:50 p.m. 24 April 2019

Lightfoot defeats Preckwinkle to become Chicago mayor

History was made on Tuesday with the election of Chicago’s first black female mayor, Lori Lightfoot, and an openly gay executive, in what was a landslide victory - 74 percent of the vote against Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who is also head of the local Democratic Party --- a move that some, but not many, saw coming; bringing a mandate for change from the long-held corruption, and smoke filled rooms that ruled the nation’s third largest city for decades.

Notably, like an older dynastic family she carried all 50 wards, and as erstwhile political columnist Greg Hinz noted, “. . . , she can glory in her victory, which apparently included carrying all 50 wards and is the biggest since Richard M. Daley got 78.46 percent in February 2003.”

Lightfoot’s candidacy came on the heels of scandal, after scandal among bribe taking aldermen, failed and jailed public school heads, and a dizzying array of disgrace, that seemed to be part and parcel of what city government was, and might always be.

That path began to take a nosedive with the federal charges against longtime, and uber powerful, alderman, Edmund Burke who faced a criminal complaint by the feds for attempted extortion, served as a valve that flushed out politicians like Preckwinkle who initially denied any association with Burke and said that she was only a friend of his wife Anne, until the Chicago Tribune revealed that she was the beneficiary, not only of a private fundraiser at his home, but also the intended beneficiary of a Burger King shake down creating a whopper of a public relations mess that the voters remembered;, especially when it was later revealed that Preckwinkle was the intended beneficiary.

Her reputation was further shattered after Chicago Tribune investigations revealed that she hired Burke's son, for a county job, for security duties, associated with Homeland Security, having worked for Sheriff Tom Dart, and was “under internal investigation for allegedly making inappropriate sexual comments at the sheriff’s office when Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s administration hired him to a nearly $100,000 per year job, newly released records show,” reported the Tribune.

Lightfoot, on the other hand was the first, and only candidate who publicly condemned him, and the further tattered reputation of the city, who told the  Chicago Tribune, ““It seems all these other folks are running for cover and don’t want to talk about him, but frankly, that underscores the fact that we’ve got different factions of the political machine manifested in Mendoza, Preckwinkle, Daley and Chico and others who don’t want to rock the boat because they are very much wedded to the status quo,” said former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot, one of the few mayoral candidates eager to discuss Burke. “It’s telling that they aren’t willing to step up and say, ‘Look, this guy has been in office way too long, he’s been allowed to amass way too much power.’ ”

Such refreshing honesty had voters sit up and blink, and vote her into office, and remove a slew of other aldermen who had also been “in office way too long” has now with the election of other younger, more progressive, even far-to-the left, aldermen will recreate the city council and move that body into a more cohesive hole but one without old school pols like Pat O’Connor, Joe Moore and Deb Mell, all tied to longtime political, and in the case of Mell, near dynastic ties.

“Mell, 50, is the daughter of powerful former 33rd Ward Democratic committeeman and Ald. Dick Mell. Dick Mell, who was first elected in 1975, famously jumped up on a desk during the tumultuous 1987 City Council meeting to decide a successor to the late Mayor Harold Washington,” said the Chicago Sun-Times.

Lightfoot’s election also shows the erosion of the power of the Irish-American Catholic ascendancy that has ruled Chicago, where once under Richard J. Daley, being Roman Catholic, even if black, might get one a patronage job, a hallmark of the Chicago machine.

In her victory speech, Lightfoot said,  "Thank you, Chicago. From the bottom of my heart, thank you,” where she also noted the contributions of Immigrants and those “who love differently.”

"In this election, Toni and I were competitors, but our differences were nothing compared to what we can achieve together. Now that it's over, I know we'll work together for the city we both love," she said. "Today, you did more than make history. You created a movement for change."

In a previous comments on local public radio, there was this statement from Lightfoot, that galvanized many, where she noted that Chicago needed to  "break from the status quo that has failed us" and deliver "equity, inclusion and fairness."

“The only way we are going to carve a new path for the city ... is to vote for change.”

"It's unacceptable, the condition of our communities on the South and West sides," she said during a candidate forum last week on WBEZ-Chicago Public Media, referring to predominantly black and disadvantaged areas of the city of 2.7 million people. "The only way we are going to carve a new path for the city, to take us in a direction that our communities don't continue to be resource starved, is to vote for change."

Part of the change is to stem the tides of financial holes in the city budget created from some of her predecessors, and mentors, that led to a pension deficit for the city’s first responders, firefighter and police, and ill-advised parking meter scheme that funneled much needed dollars and jobs to New York bankers.

The school system, is struggling under the weight of a less than fully implemented statewide plan to fund its mostly black and brown student population, with a deteriorating physical plant, and great distrust between the police and black communities that culminated in the 2015 shooting of an unarmed black teenager Laquan McDonald.

The new mayor will also have to counter those that want to water down her victory by saying, “well, the voter turnout was so low,” or those that who with open hostility questioned her fitness for office by denigrating her as a “corporate lawyer” (no sin, in and of itself) or belittled her attempts at the police board to bring evidence based practice to her role, or those, like Preckwinkle who blithely dismissed her, and that she saw the mayor’s office as an entry level job.

In her concession speech, she was less than gracious and talked about her record, barely mentioning her defeat, and instead urged her supporters to “keep on fighting.”

At just over 5 feet tall, Lightfoot is not one to mince words, or wary of using profanity, but then it’s been said, that a woman who can cuss with conviction, earns respect, and in a report from Crain’s Chicago Business, there was this assessment: "I don't think she will buckle under political pressure," says Eric Sussman, who served with Lightfoot as a federal prosecutor. Around 2000, he says, she was summing up the prosecution's argument in a bank-robbery trial when the defendant stood up and began yelling. "She dropped her legal pad and went toe-to-toe with this guy who must have been twice her size. Both of them had to be restrained."

Noting her full plate, the Sun-Times, headlined tartly, on Tuesday, and needlessly, to “get to work” after a lukewarm congratulations, setting up a possible racial angle, for her coverage, reminiscent of one of the more infamous Chicago Reader covers, that urged Barack Obama, “Don’t Screw This Up,” both reminding that Chicago, like the nation, maintains a separate but unequal status, even among highly qualified and lawfully elected lawmakers.

Down to the wire for Preckwinkle and Lightfoot as Chicago mayor

Toni Preckwinkle

It’s getting close to the wire for Chicago mayoral candidates Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle, for next Tuesday’s election, as they exhaust themselves, running from pillar to post, in appearances across the city, making their voter pleas in what is bound to be a historic election: the city’s second elected black mayor, and with Lightfoot, an open lesbian in a city known for its strong LGBT community with a multitude of organizations, political pull, and money.

Both candidates have received significant endorsements: Preckwinkle from the Chicago Teachers Union and Service Employees International Union, all very powerful organizations, but Lightfoot has received the endorsement of former mayoral candidate rival Gery Chico and LiUNA Laborers, who were key supporters of Susan Mendoza, giving her increased support from the Latino community on the city’s Southwest Side

She also has an endorsement former Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, who previously forced Emanuel into a runoff, at the last election, giving her a winning edge.

Notably, Lightfoot has also received the endorsement from all of her other former rivals, while Preckwinkle has received none, despite her influence as Democratic party head and county board head, and close relationships with the Black South Side elite, such as Valerie Jarrett, and former President Barack Obama, and his wife Michelle, whose spokesperson says that they will be endorsing neither candidate.

Preckwinkle was seen as seemingly invincible, to many, and in her current positions, practically oozed front runner status, until the primary, in February, that saw her lead crumble under the weight of her association with, now disgraced, long time Alderman Ed Burke, facing federal racketeering charges for attempting to shake down a local Burger King franchise.

With strong liberal credentials on a host of issues: equal sentencing guidelines for black prisoners and support for fair drug laws, and incarceration, the former school teacher seemed ready made as a progressive.

Preckwinkle initially denied any association with Burke and said that she was only a friend of his wife Anne, until the Chicago Tribune revealed that she was the beneficiary, not only of a private fundraiser at his home, but also the intended beneficiary of the Burger King shake down money, creating a whopper of a mess.

Her reputation was further shattered after Chicago Tribune investigations revealed that she hired Burke's son, for a county job, for security duties, associated with Homeland Security, having worked for Sheriff Tom Dart.

While the hire itself, was not the problem, what was, is that he was “under internal investigation for allegedly making inappropriate sexual comments at the sheriff’s office when Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s administration hired him to a nearly $100,000 per year job, newly released records show,” reported the Chicago Tribune.

Taxes also came into play this past year, when she added the sweetened beverage tax that limited household income, and included some layoffs for those working in the beverage industry and, while condemned by many who objected to yet another increased tax, (along with an existing 7 cents city shopping bag tax); which after public hue and cry, was later rescinded.

Critics also felt that Preckwinkle was attempting to boondoggle them with her attempt to push the tax through with a “funded” report by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg at the University of Chicago, who seemed all too willing to take the billionaires money, a move that the media called unethical.

For those with long memories, some may also remember when becoming county president, she promised to lower the taxes from her predecessor, Todd Stroger, only to increase them later, by bumping sales tax to its current level of 10.25 percent, now increasing the cost of everything from a latte, to a Buick.

Lightfoot attacked on several fronts

Lightfoot, while gaining in popularity, and votes, faced a vicious attack for her sexuality with “gay agenda” flyers placed on the car windshields of worshipers, one recent Sunday, at black churches; a move that was decried by local bishop and influential community leader, Bishop Larry Trotter, the senior pastor of Chicago's Sweet Holy Spirit Church.

Trotter, “who lobbied against same-sex marriage in Illinois in 2013, also condemned the flyers, (along with Preckwinkle) saying they are “not reflective of any black church in Chicago,” in his media statement, reported by nbcnews.com

She also faced a partisan attack came from fellow Democratic lawmaker, an old-school black activist, the legendary Bobby Rush, who said this week that “If any young black male or female is killed by a police officer, under a Lightfoot administration, then the blood would be on those voters’ hands who elected her,”

Critics say that Rush, who supports Preckwinkle, has a horse in this race, to keep his elder statesman status in a city council where he might not fare as well with the younger Lightfoot as mayor, and in concert with newly elected younger alderman, many of whom may have no memory of his 70s era activism.

If all this sounds precedent shattering, then it is, and Rush’s critics often assail his long-term reign as indicative as another example of machine politics, albeit with a different complexion.

“Lori Lightfoot has made an alliance with the devil,” he said.

Lightfoot called the remarks hate-filled and asked Preckwinkle to denounce them, reported local NBC affiliate Chicago 5.

“While I’m saddened by what we heard on Saturday, I know that Chicagoans will reject the rhetoric of division,” Lightfoot said in a statement. “I know because I have been talking to people from one of this city to the other, and it’s clear that they want and deserve a better government.”

Lori Lightfoot

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Preckwinkle, in a tart response, said Rush is “a pillar in the civil rights movement in this city and is more than capable of speaking on his beliefs.”

“What I can speak to is that we cannot overlook the concerns of black and brown communities about the fairness of the criminal justice system. Lori has been a part of that system and there are many people that have real fears about how that would impact her ability to work for real reform.” Preckwinkle added in another statement.

“If Lori had more experience working with these communities she would know that and respond to those concerns instead of demeaning them. Lori's response to this is the definition of divisive. By not recognizing the legitimacy of their feelings, by trying to silence and remove them, by choosing to condemn rather than engage, Lori marginalizes the most vulnerable,” she continued.

Marshalling all forces, for some, means commingled opposition to Lightfoot and United Working Families (UWF), “an independent political organization formed by progressive labor and community organizations, today released a video in support of the #StopLightfoot campaign helmed by young Black organizers and activists on the frontlines of the fight to end police violence.”

Representing a redefinition of progressive, UWF represents older established organizations, individuals, smaller progressives, such as “Action Now, Chicago Teachers Union, Cook County College Teachers Union, Grassroots Illinois Action, SEIU Healthcare,” to name a few, has noted that "At a time when James Cappleman, who approved the Lincoln Yards giveaway, and Joe Moreno, who oversaw massive gentrification and displacement in Wicker Park, call themselves 'progressives,' we think the term needs some clarification," said UWF Executive Director Emma Tai.

The hot button issue of police brutality toward young black men in Chicago has become a defining issue for many, and after the shooting of Laquan McDonald, and Lightfoot's role as former head of the police review board, this has fueled opposition to her candidacy, not only from Rush.

"Protecting Rekia Boyd's killer is not progressive. Being the face of Rahm Emanuel's 'police reform' is not progressive. And turning closed schools into cop academies is not progressive, said Tai, in a statement, and also, "We stand in solidarity with the Black organizers and activists who are drawing a line in the sand on this. Lori Lightfoot is not progressive."

Lightfoot has also received a large check from a so-called “dark money group, designated as a 501 ( c ) 4, which is not required to reveal its identity and is anathema to progressives; and, which Preckwinkle immediately denounced, in an interview with a local public radio station: “My opponent portrays herself as progressive and this is antithetical to progressive values,” Preckwinkle told WBEZ on Wednesday. “By definition, these dark money PACs are not transparent, so it’s hard to know who’s attempting to influence the race or the next mayor.”

Polls and negativity continue

NBC 5 has reported “With a little over a week left until the runoff election in Chicago, a new poll released Monday showed Lightfoot with a large lead in the race. The Temkin/Harris Poll, conducted in partnership with Crain’s Chicago Business and WTTW News, polled 500 likely voters by phone last week and showed Lightfoot up 53 percent to Preckwinkle’s 17 percent. Twelve percent of respondents were undecided.”

As the election gets nearer, the negativity among the two women increases, and Preckwinkle has publicly chastised, some say from her weakened position, about Lightfoot's role in 2004 “for allegedly mishandling evidence following a fire that left four children dead. It was the subject of a lawsuit about operations at the 9-1-1 center, said CBS Radio, WBBM in a preview of a joint appearance on its weekly political show, “At Issue” airing this Sunday.

“You have to take responsibility and try to fix things and not cover up,” Preckwinkle said.  “In this instance, I think it’s quite clear the judge felt that there was a coverup.”

“Lightfoot, onetime chief of staff of the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, countered that using the deaths of children to score political points is beyond the pale.”

Looking back at the incident the Chicago Sun Times recalled the details: “The fire happened Sept. 24, 2004, at the Funches family home at 5056 W. Huron. The parents were at a nearby church event, and three of their children were home, along with a godson.

The fire appears to have started in a TV set, records show.

A number of people called 911 to report the fire, but central to the Funches’ lawsuit was that early calls were ignored or dropped by dispatchers, delaying a response by firefighters.”

There was some back and forth on whether Lightfoot handled a request for information correctly by assigning it to a secretary, court records show; and also, her recollection of events, and procedures, which some, say are sketchy, yet she herself admitted that her memory may have been faulty.

“I recall that by Saturday morning, and it’s possible earlier, there were allegations that calls came into 911 and that they couldn’t get through or they were hung up on,” Lightfoot said, according to a transcript of the deposition. “And so part of what I set about doing that day was working with staff to track down every single call that came in in connection with that fire, and to get the tapes and to listen to the tapes to understand exactly what was what”, the Sun-Times noted.

It was later discovered that despite her orders, some tapes were actually destroyed.

Money is in the picture

As a coda to the negativity, last week saw a massive influx of TV ads for Lightfoot, and none from Preckwinkle, leaving some to feel that the former has run out of money, forcing her to keep the heat on Lightfoot.

Speaking of money, and in another context, both candidates have not addressed, at least in specificity, how Chicago’s economic hole can be filed with what some are saying is a $32 billion deficit, with much of that coming from pension obligations -- as tax weary Chicagoans don’t want further increases, after a plethora passed by incumbent Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

In July of 2018, Reuters reported that, “Under Illinois law, the city must make actuarially determined contributions to its police and fire funds starting in 2020. The analysis shows city payments to its four retirement funds will climb from $1.02 billion this year to $2.13 billion in 2023,” further noting that, “Chicago’s budget gap is projected to grow to nearly $252 million in fiscal 2020 and $362 million in fiscal 2021.”

There is the specter of a commuter tax and a real estate transfer tax, both of which would not endear either woman to Chicago’s powerful business community that seems to be at odds on who to support after a tight relationship with the outgoing Emanuel, with most favoring Bill Daley.

After the February primary, Crain’s Chicago Business opined that, “Left out in the cold, or at least in the position to have to make some amends fast, is the city's business community. It threw substantial support to apparent third-place finisher Bill Daley, with some privately cheering for Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza. Now it will have to choose between two self-declared progressives, including one, in Preckwinkle's case, who is extremely close to organized labor.”

Now closer to the runoff election, Crain's Chicago Business, in an editorial, gave lukewarm, or faint praise at best, for either Lightfoot or Preckwinkle’s statements on the financial problems seen previously, noting that “Neither Lightfoot's nor Preckwinkle’s rhetoric on the campaign trail inspires confidence that they appreciate the scope of Chicago’s financial problems or possess the will and the know-how to make the unpleasant choices the next mayor must make to fill a budget gap projected to grow to more than $360 million by fiscal 2021.”

Perhaps, In a nod to a possible Lightfoot victory, they now claim: “On the financial front, Chicagoans must urge Lightfoot, if elected, to make balancing the budget job one. When asked, she cites the Civic Federation, a nonpartisan government watchdog, as a trusted resource—and that’s a good thing. Now those who care deeply about the city’s future as a place to live, work and invest must hope she will follow that reliable organization’s advice and surround herself with the right fiscal stewards to steer Chicago back toward solvency. If she fails to do this, then all the other promises she has made on the campaign trail will amount to little more than hot air.”

Affordable housing

One of the more important issues is the lack of affordable housing and to help, by lifting the statewide ban on rent control, one bound to raise the ire of that same community, but as the city sees a significant exodus of Chicago residents each year -- with a large percentage objecting to higher housing it cannot be wholly ignored.

“In the eight years since Emanuel took office, Chicago’s skyline has become more crowded and its biggest businesses wealthier. But how to expand that success to a wider swath of Chicago has been a central point of this year’s local elections. Despite the surface-level image of a thriving metropolis, the city faces major economic challenges on several fronts. Chicago’s population continues to decline on an annual basis, led by an exodus of residents from its most blighted neighborhoods,” said Chicago Agent Magazine.

“As this campaign unfolds, both candidates are going to need to make an argument to the business and real estate communities on how they are going to address these problems, beyond platitudes,” said Brian Bernardoni, Chicago Association of Realtors senior director of government affairs and public policy.

Brian Bernardoni

“Clearly, rent control is an important issue for us,” he added, referring to CAR’s opposition to recent proposals to repeal the statewide ban on rent control policies, which would open the door to rent restrictions in Chicago. Of the two remaining candidates, only Preckwinkle has specifically voiced support for lifting the rent control ban, saying in a statement that she believed the option to restrict rents “should be given back to local municipalities so they can decide how rent control would best work for them.” At CAR’s Jan. 28 mayoral candidate forum, though, Preckwinkle was reluctant to discuss the issue, saying “I don’t think rent control is the issue we need to be focused on right now.”

“Lightfoot has been even less vocal on rent control, consistently dodging requests for her position and instead highlighting her plans for affordable housing. The movement to lift the ban has gained momentum in Chicago and is likely to continue dogging Realtors and their public policy initiatives.”

“Preckwinkle’s support of lifting the ban is a concern to us,” Bernardoni also said. “We believe that while we’re fighting this in Springfield right now, a pathway to rent control as documented and the pitfalls that can result are of great concern.”

All but for the fighting, say some, and on Tuesday, it will be all over.

Mayoral election in Chicago shows game change

Tuesday’s mayoral election in Chicago was a game change for the city, both a change in gender and race for the top job, for a city long segregated by race, and dominated by machine politics that governed, say its critics, by fiat.

The two front leads, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, and attorney and former police review board chief, Lori Lightfoot are poised to return, the spirit of the late Harold Washington, Chicago’s only previously elected black mayor, and one in who many residents felt was going to change the way government was run, but sadly ended in his death in 1987.

For Lightfoot, who lacked both a large campaign chest, and a troop of foot soldiers, the front lead was an affirmation of her self-identification of not being part of the machine, but also said that Chicago was ready for, and deserved, a change of leadership more associated with a grass roots style that focused on the world outside of the downtown Loop business center, and towards the hundreds of working families, and individuals, who want a more equitable local government.

Chicago has been tainted by scandal, for some time, with the revelation of aldermanic misdeeds, and that of others like former Chicago Public School head, Barbara Byrd Bennett, jailed for bribe acceptance, and falsified teacher training program with a former employer.

The recent raid on the City Hall office of the longtime head of finance on the city council, Ed Burke, has also given notice to most observers, that the end of machine politics may be nearer than previously many would have thought possible.

Reaching even further back there was former U.S. Federal Attorney for Northern Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald who, “As the top federal prosecutor in Chicago, Fitzgerald took down two former Illinois governors, George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich, sending them both to prison for corruption charges.”

For political observers who are sensing a pattern, they might be wise to begin with Fitzgerald.

Preckwinkle was given a surprising second place, as many had thought she should be the first, but her aborted sweetened beverage tax, and her association with a “funded” study by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, earned her the sobriquet of “boss”, just as she was ready to assume the mantle of a crusader for social justice reform: battling the unequal sentencing guidelines for black and white prisoners, and especially for those convicted of marijuana possession.

Then add to that, her denial of knowing Burke, until the Chicago Tribune revealed that she was the beneficiary of a fundraiser at his home, and then the hiring of his son.

Lightfoot on the other hand, untainted by Burke, campaign “donations”, and nepotism began to emerge as a crusader. And, getting added support from the LGBT community for being an openly gay woman, she began to emerge from the field of lesser known candidates.

With the aftermath of the Laquan McDonald shooting, and cries for the resignation of Emanuel, who was accused of hiding the police body cam tape of the shooting by officer Jason Van Dyke, many began to take an earnest look at her work on police accountability boards as a future mayoral candidate.

Some are scrambling, like the business community, for how to approach either woman, since they supported Bill Daley, as Crain's Chicago reported.

There may be a menu of long-neglected items forthcoming, and especially if Lightfoot wins the April runoff election: much needed work in the infrastructure outside of downtown, a sustaining need for Chicago Public Schools, especially in black neighborhoods, and the continued growth, sought by some with the end of moratoriums on charter schools, seen by the Chicago Teachers Union as siphoning off money from neighborhood schools.

Change also came for definite changes in the aldermanic races when a distinct left turn -- notably with the Democratic Socialists of America, where the lead was taken by a DSA veteran, Carlos Ramirez Rosa, and others; a total of five after the April election>

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that “If their success on Tuesday carries over to the April runoff election, as many as five members of the Democratic Socialists of America could be on the Chicago City Council — the most in more than a century.

“Shadowing the Congressional elections and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, prompted Ramirez-Rosa to state: “The oligarchs are shaking in their boots tonight,” Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) told supporters Tuesday at Puebla Restaurant celebrating his re-election over challenger Amanda Yu Dieterich,” reported The Chicago Sun-Times.

“Our continued organizing and movement-building over the last four years is paying dividends. And it appears to be a total transformation of political power at City Hall from the bottom up.”

This is not hubris say supporters, but a reflection of a new political reality.

The other, Daniel La Spata, upset Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno in the Near Northwest Side’s 1st Ward, but this may also be a reflection of personal scandals on the part of the latter, and some questionable assertions by other, now ill-reputed aldermen.

“Socialist Rosanna Rodríguez-Sánchez will be in April’s runoff against incumbent Ald. Deb Mell (33rd). Rodríguez-Sánchez broke into tears at her election-night party at Chief O’Neils in Avondale after hearing she’d gotten the most votes in a three-way race.

“Chicago had a way of doing politics, and I feel like that died tonight,” Rodríguez-Sánchez said. “I’m very very confident that I’m going to win” in April.”

Mell whose father Dick Mell, for those with long memories, is not only part of Chicago’s dynastic political families but also had him famously jumping on his desk with a colorful style to make a point in establishing the successor to Washington.

“Byron Sigcho-Lopez, who heads the Pilsen Alliance, credited the socialist organization — which says it’s not a party but instead a “political and activist organization” — with helping him in the race for the seat vacated by retiring Ald. Danny Solis (25th).”

“DSA members were instrumental, and I’m thankful to the volunteers who spent hundreds — thousands — of hours campaigning,” Sigcho-Lopez said. “We’ve had a rubber-stamp City Council beholden to corporate interests, and that’s why the DSA candidates resonated with people.”

Andre Vazquez, who joined the socialists in June, will be in the runoff against 35-year incumbent Ald. Pat O’Connor (40th). O’Connor took over the powerful finance committee after Ald. Edward Burke was charged in January with trying to extort a Burger King owner.

As The Economist noted, “Looking past the label, however, American socialists are more progressive Democrats than Castros in waiting—and their rise poses more of a challenge to the Democratic Party than to capitalism.”

While a recent poll suggests growing support for the DSA, “the poll never defined “socialism”, so precisely what people were expressing support for remains unclear. For decades, the cold war defined it, at least for most Americans. They were capitalist and free, while socialism was a step removed, at best, from Soviet communism. Americans under 30 have no memory of the cold war. To them, socialism may be little more than a slur they have heard Republicans hurl at Democrats—particularly Barack Obama. They may well have reckoned that if supporting universal health care, more money for public education and policies to combat climate change are all socialist, then they are happy to be socialist too.”

“The platform of Bernie Sanders, the socialist who gave Hillary Clinton a run for her money in the 2016 Democratic primaries, left capitalism fundamentally intact, calling instead for a broader and more redistributive social safety-net. His supporters seem enamoured of Nordic-style social-welfare policies. But those countries are not socialist; they are free-market economies with high rates of taxation that finance generous public services. Indeed, the “socialist” part of those countries that Mr Sanders’s fans like would be unaffordable without the dynamic capitalist part they dislike.”

Maurice Isserman, a professor at Hamilton College and charter DSA member, “contends that DSA members “are not utopian, and we certainly don’t believe in Bolshevik-style revolution”. He approvingly cites Michael Harrington, the DSA’s founder, who said that the group should represent “the left wing of the possible”.

A surprise for some might be this: Sara Innamorato, a DSA member who won her election to the state house, from a heavily Democratic district of south-western Pennsylvania, says that “capitalism isn’t working…but I don’t think that capitalism and socialism are necessarily opposites. There are good lessons to be gained from both.”

Circling back to Chicago: historic change in the mayor’s office, and socialist wins in the aldermanic races, may mean that Chicago is truly ready for reform.