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* ICYMI: Proft and Bailey feud underlined illegal campaign coordination, lawyers argue. Crain’s…
Lawyers for the executive director of the Democratic Party of Illinois argued Darren Bailey and Dan Proft colluded on the 2022 gubernatorial campaign during an Illinois State Board of Elections hearing today.
Proft used his super PAC, the People Who Play By the Rules PAC, to create ads that would boost Bailey or hurt incumbent Gov. J.B. Pritzker during the 2022 campaign. Super PACs, or independent expenditure-only committees, can make unlimited contributions, but are barred from coordinating messaging and other decisions with the campaign they support. […]
Lawyers today presented their case to hearing officer Jim Tenuto. The Illinois State Board of Elections is expected to reach a decision in June or July, he said. That could clarify what it means for a super PAC to coordinate with a candidate, a parameter detailed in federal election law but previously left undefined in Illinois. […]
What is alleged to have ensued on June 29, 2022, the day after the Illinois primary, is a scene that is too on the nose for Chicago politics. According to today’s testimony, after Bailey initially rebuffed Proft, telling him he was too busy to meet following the primary, the candidate and his campaign manager arrived in the backroom of a Chicago country club. There, Proft slid over an envelope which he said contained $20 million. Proft said Bailey’s campaign would get that money if he gave him sole control of the campaign, which Bailey refused.
* Related stories…
Governor Pritzker and First Lady MK Pritzker to announce historic document donation to Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum at 1:00 pm. Click here to watch.
* Pantagraph | Lincoln mayor pledges to fight Logan Correctional Center move: Lincoln Mayor Tracy Welch said Monday that he and other elected officials were not given much notice of Illinois Department of Corrections’ recommendation to shutter the Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln and rebuild the prison in Will County. While hoping for greater transparency in the future before such decisions are made, he said he was focused on making the city fiscally stable and continuing to provide goods and services to the community.
* Tribune | Illinois lawmakers consider measures aimed at making mental health care more accessible: Illinois legislators have advanced two measures pushed by proponents of reform in the state’s behavioral health system that are intended to expand the insurance coverage available for those seeking care. The bills, both of which were passed by the House on April 19 and are now before the Senate, aim to combat what supporters say are inequities in access to support systems for people suffering mental health and substance abuse issues, which have remained at stubbornly high rates following the COVID-19 pandemic.
* WBEZ | What is ranked choice voting? And what could it mean for Illinois?: The 2024 elections are just seven months away, but a task force of state lawmakers, county officials and voters’ rights advocates are already thinking about the way Illinois residents will vote in the 2028 presidential primaries. They’re mulling over a process called ranked choice voting, where voters can rank multiple candidates instead of choosing one candidate per party. The Illinois Ranked Choice Voting Task Force, which launched in January, has concluded its monthly meetings and is expected to release their report recommending whether to adopt the voting method to Illinois lawmakers in the coming weeks.
* ABC Chicago | Many iconic Chicago bridges are deteriorating, officials race to fix problem before disaster strikes: City and state transportation officials tasked with maintaining these bridges are adamant that any bridge that’s open is considered safe to use, and “rigorous inspection schedules” are in place to keep travelers safe. Right now, there are billions of dollars earmarked for repairing the long list of bridges in poor condition across the state and city, something Illinois has never had before, officials say.
* Crain’s | Peeling back the sticker price on Bears stadium reveals even more costs: The total cost to taxpayers to build a domed stadium on the lakefront in an effort to keep the Chicago Bears in the city will be nearly $5 billion and would not be paid off until the team’s 22-year-old rookie quarterback, Caleb Williams, is in his 60s. The Bears’ plan to tap into government bonds to pay for their dream stadium is estimated at $4.97 billion over 40 years, when accounting for interest payments. That’s roughly $4 billion more than the $900 million in upfront capital the team would receive to build their new home.
* WGN | ‘The city is up for grabs’: Chicago Tribune reporter’s new book details Lightfoot’s tenure as mayor: Lightfoot won in a landslide, sweeping all 50 wards. She made history as the first openly gay person, and first black woman to hold the office. But, in Pratt’s analysis, she made an immediate error: alienating city council during her inauguration speech, in which she called out corruption in city government. Pratt’s book argues that the moment was indicative of a theme throughout Lightfoot’s time in office — the impulse to act as a prosecutor instead of a politician. “You can’t slap everybody all the time as though they were a criminal, because that’s just not the way you get stuff done., and she could not adapt her personality and her leadership style,” Pratt said.
* WBBM | Wish granted: Nine-year-old boy takes his family for a ride on CTA train: dris Lockett has a life-threatening heart condition and has endured several surgeries, but on World Wish Day, the 9-year-old’s wish of being a Chicago Transit Authority train operator came true. […] Jessica Miller, senior communications manager for Make-A-Wish Illinois, said granting Idris’ wish to be a CTA train operator was no easy task. “Logistically speaking, this is kind of a complicated wish,” Miller said. “There’s a lot of agencies involved. We live in a big city, so there’s a lot of people we need to connect with.”
* Daily Herald | Merge CTA, Metra and Pace? Lawmakers debut fix amid pushback from suburbs, transit agencies: Proponents promised benefits such as a universal fare and more efficiency, but the seismic shift will be anything but a smooth ride in Springfield. “We know that our current regional transit system needs improvement to provide integrated and community-centered service for all of our residents,” Democratic state Sen. Ram Villivalam of Chicago said during a Union Station briefing.
* WGN | All eyes on Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso as Sky start training camp: “It’s a mindset being able to come in here and not make any excuses because everybody is here is just fighting to be on the team and just fighting for greatness,” remarked Reese. “Coming in here, I didn’t have the mindset to be tired. I had the mindset to go into work every single day and figure everything else out later. I’m just happy to be here.”
* Wednesday Journal | Housing Forward opens Broadview Legacy Apartments: Housing Forward, a nonprofit organization working to end homelessness, has opened a permanent supportive housing development on Roosevelt Road called Broadview Legacy Apartments. The apartment complex has 16 apartments for individuals and families who were experiencing homelessness, 12 of which are one-bedroom units and four of which are two-bedroom units. The complex also has communal spaces and office space for Housing Forward. […] The project cost $7.8 million, according to the release, and was funded through the Illinois Housing Development Authority, Cook County Department of Planning and West Cook Coalition – Illinois Healthcare Transformation Collaborative.
* Fox Chicago | Thornton Township subpoenas reveal Tiffany Henyard is target of criminal investigation: One subpoena focuses entirely on Henyard, including two businesses she owns: a restaurant and a property management company, as well as Henyard’s political fund and the charity bearing her name. It asks for all records including personnel files, wage and tax statements, time and attendance, records of work performed, contracts, and checks written to “cash.”
* WPSD | Carbondale city councilwoman receives death threats: She said she’s gotten emails consistently over the course of being a public figure. She said within two weeks of setting up her city council email account, she received an email in which a constituent said she was “a branch on the tree of life that necessarily must be pruned.” Worse are the death threats and messages explicitly advocating that she kill herself. She said people have told her the world would be better if she found the nearest chair and rope. “It does beg the question, ‘What about me is so threatening that it prompts this sort of rhetoric?’ And that’s a question I still haven’t quite answered,” she said.
* SJ-R | ‘Pain, grief, with a sense of joy and unity’: Lincoln Christian University says goodbye: Brian Messner plunks down on his desk a manila envelope full of notes from his former students telling him what a difference he made in their lives. A 29-year teaching veteran in Lincoln Christian University’s history department, Messner admitted his favorite came from a student working at a state agency. She thanked him for making her write shorter papers. “I never thought anybody would thank me for (that), but those kinds of things are meaningful,” Messner said.
* SJ-R | Illinois State Fair: Get early taste of Fair food, discounts at 100 Days Out celebration: You can get your hands on juicy ribeye sandwiches, fluffy cozy corndogs, tart and chilly lemon shakeups and of course – the infamous turkey legs. The cherry on-top of the day isn’t on the donuts, but the savings Springfieldians can claim at the event. Every menu item purchased comes with a ticket that can be used in a raffle to win State Fair prizes.
posted by Isabel Miller
Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 7:53 am
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Trib’s story on Proft / Bailey worth reading. Wonder if they’d been so interested if Timpone wasn’t involved.
Comment by Anyone Remember Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 8:12 am
That must have been a humongous envelope!
Comment by Dave Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 8:20 am
=Lawyers today presented their case=
I am awaiting the “fake news” or “witch hunt” response from Proft/Bailey.
Comment by JS Mill Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 8:39 am
= Tiffany Henyard is target of criminal investigation =
Why am I not surprised?
Comment by JoanP Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 8:42 am
Re: the Carbondale city councilwoman, nothing surprising there. A lot of Americans have let themselves be programmed to hate and fear trans people to the point that the hatred is effectively a mental disability that makes them unsuited to live in civilization with others.
Right wing media could dial the hate mongering down any time but that will never happen because they enjoy being like this. The fun is in the hating. It’s like a game.
Comment by Larry Bowa Jr. Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 8:58 am
“Proft slid over an envelope”
Reminded of the scene with the Alderman and Elliot Ness in “The Untouchables.”
Comment by Save Ferris Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 9:13 am
Calling Timpone’s “newspapers” pink slime is an insult to pink slime.
Comment by DougChicago Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 9:14 am
Time to fix faulty bridges throughout the Chicago area and focus on public safety. Forget pursuing a stadium funded by public dollars. If owners want a new facility for their team, time to open up their checkbook.
Comment by Rudy’s teeth Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 9:26 am
Rudy - you got the cash to fix all the bridges? Depending on the bridge, talking $50-60 a pop.
Comment by Huh? Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 9:30 am
If a hearing conducted by the Illinois State Board of Elections in Springfield previously determined that Proft and Bailey had not coordinated in 2022, how is that the same Board conducted a second hearing in Chicago on April 29, 2024 to revisit the same allegations?
Comment by Gravitas Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 9:33 am
That must have been a humongous envelope!
I can’t stop thinking about this part of that story. What was actually IN this envelope? How was that possible?
Comment by The Truth Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 9:37 am
Proft’s perfect record remains intact having never flipped a D seat to an R.
Comment by Big Tent Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 9:39 am
It may be sloppy journalism. Another report described the same envelope containing a sizable check.
An envelope containing such a large some in currency would have to be overstuffed indeed.
Comment by Gravitas Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 9:48 am
===An envelope containing such a large some in currency===
Pretty sure it would also be illegal.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 10:29 am
@Rich Miller:
I agree. I think that the story of a huge envelope stuffed with millions in currency is probably bogus too.
Of course, Dan Proft has a reputation for exaggerations as well.
Comment by Gravitas Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 10:43 am
=== I think that the story of a huge envelope stuffed with millions in currency===
The story doesn’t say currency.
Move along.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 10:46 am
Grifters gonna grift.
Comment by I-72 Blues Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 11:17 am
“People Who Play By the Rules that we Make Up for Ourselves”.
Comment by jt11505 Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 11:28 am
==People Who Play By the Rules that we Make Up for Ourselves.== and Constantly Adjust as Necessary
Comment by Pot calling kettle Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 1:35 pm
As to Chicago’s Guaranteed Income, this is temporary money so I hope recipients do not plan for it in their personal budgets for years to come.
Comment by Mason County Tuesday, Apr 30, 24 @ 2:11 pm