Oct. 08--Welcome to Clout Street: Morning Spin, our new weekday feature to catch you up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield.
Topspin
It's Thursday, Oct. 8, the day after the Cubs took another step in Pittsburgh and the Blackhawks raised another championship banner on the West Side.
Republican presidential contender Jeb Bush is scheduled to be in the area for a two-day fundraising trip that starts this evening in far west suburban Geneva and ends Friday in downtown Chicago.
Tonight's event is at the home of Janet and Gerald Keating. He's the president and CEO of Keating Resources LLC, which lists itself as investing in real estate in "right to work" states. Tickets range from $250 for those under age 32 to $2,500. Event co-chairs will raise $10,800, and co-hosts are in charge of coming up with $5,400.
On Friday, Bush, who has the support of much of the state's Republican establishment, holds a similar-priced morning fundraiser at the Chicago Club.
In August, the Tribune reported that Bush's Right to Rise USA fund has collected more than $4.1 million from more than 200 donors in Illinois. Among Bush's biggest in-state donors were investment manager Muneer Satter, who had contributed $550,000, and Craig Duchossois, CEO of the privately held family business The Duchossois Group, who had given $500,000. (Rick Pearson)
What's on tap
*Mayor Rahm Emanuel is still in D.C. Today, he'll speak at the American Jobs and Infrastructure Summit and then a Washington Post event. By the evening, he's expected back in Chicago to attend an awards ceremony put on by 1871.
*Gov. Bruce Rauner will be on the South Side this morning to hit the Chicago Innovation Exchange and then a youth fitness thing. He'll also be at the tech event tonight.
*City Council budget hearings continue with the Transportation Department. (See below for more.)
*Democratic U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Al Franken of Minnesota will hold an afternoon conference call to talk about a measure they hope would reduce college textbook costs.
*Ald. Ameya Pawar, 47th, will hold his second town hall meeting on Emanuel's budget proposal. That's set for 7 p.m. at Lake View High School, 4015 N. Ashland Ave. Enter at Door 6 on Ashland.
From the notebook
*Berrios legal fees: Taxpayers so far have coughed up more than $147,000 in legal fees to sue Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios for alleged nepotism violations and also to defend him in court against those same charges.
The County Board on Wednesday approved paying $91,805 to attorney David Hoffman, the former city inspector general who brought the case on behalf of the Board of Ethics, and $29,272 to Steven Puiszis, appointed by the state's attorney's office to defend Berrios in his official capacity. The county previously had paid $26,343 to Puiszis.
The ethics panel filed the suit to enforce fines it tried to impose on Berrios for hiring sister Carmen Berrios Cruz and son Joseph E. Berrios shortly after he first took office in late 2010.
After Circuit Court Judge Moshe Jacobius earlier this year concluded the ethics panel did not have the authority to fine Berrios, the County Board changed its ethics ordinance to give the panel that power.
The case is up again in court next week, where Hoffman will argue that the judge should reconsider his earlier ruling in light of changes to the ordinance, said Ranjit Hakim, executive director of the ethics panel. (Hal Dardick)
*Emanuel in D.C. again: U.S. Sen. Durbin on Wednesday hosted a bipartisan meeting of the Illinois congressional delegation with Mayor Emanuel, who was in town to attend a Justice Department summit on violent crimes.
Attending Durbin's meeting were Republicans Sen. Mark Kirk and Rep. Rodney Davis. Other Democrats there were Reps. Cheri Bustos, Luis Gutierrez, Robin Kelly, Dan Lipinski, Mike Quigley and Jan Schakowsky. (Hal Dardick)
*From cops to rats: Aldermen stuck mostly to local nuts-and-bolts concerns Wednesday at the budget hearing for the Department of Streets and Sanitation, arguing for better tree trimming and rodent control, graffiti removal and garbage pickup in their wards.
The appearance by Commissioner Charles Williams saw council members return to the more mundane block-by-block worries of voters that characterize much of the annual budget debate, a day after police Superintendent Garry McCarthy's hearing turned into an often-heated referendum on his citywide tactics and leadership style in the face of a call by many African-American aldermen for Emanuel to fire his top cop.
Emanuel has proposed a new $9.50-per-month trash collection fee to help balance the 2016 budget, and Williams responded to some calls for more efficiency if residents are going to be expected to kick in extra cash for that basic service.
"They're looking for, for lack of a better term, some extras, if citizens are going to be deemed (necessary) to pay for garbage," said South Side Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th, who supports the garbage fee. "They're looking for some enhanced service."
Williams said the department is "out there to serve" residents but offered no specific enhancements to trash collection planned if the garbage fee passes.
And with the days growing shorter and colder, talk also turned to snow removal. Williams said the department rarely enforces city rules banning parking on some blocks after 2 inches of snow has fallen. "It's something we're looking at," he said.
Williams also said the department is looking to decrease the number of miles of side streets each plow is required to cover during a snowstorm. "We have had some plows required to clear 30 miles of streets, and it takes them forever," Williams said. (John Byrne)
*Thursday budget hearings: On the docket for City Council budget hearings is the Department of Transportation, the massive agency in charge of street and bridge repair projects and some of the CTA station work that the mayor has made a priority.
Transportation Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld also is Emanuel's point person for defending the red light camera ticketing program that has become a flashpoint for controversy after Chicago Tribune reports showed a pattern of failed oversight and unfair enforcement due to yellow light times too short for conditions, as well as unsupported claims about the safety benefits of the system.
Many new aldermen ran for election this year on promises to end or shrink the camera ticketing program, and several aldermen who got re-elected had to fend off opponents who said the incumbents weren't doing enough to get rid of the cameras. So Scheinfeld will likely be in the familiar position of defending the system, which is a cash cow for the city.
Look for aldermen to also go hyperlocal with their questions for Scheinfeld, seeking relief from particular potholes and crumbling viaducts in their wards.
Transportation is seeking a budget increase from $547.8 million this year to $576 million in 2016.
Also set for budget hearings Thursday are the Department of Family Support Services and the Licence Appeal Commission. (John Byrne)
*Zopp gun plan: Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Andrea Zopp issued a six-point agenda for curbing gun violence, including a ban on military-style assault weapons and funding research into gun violence.
"Our leaders need to have a greater sense of urgency. They must step up and work to solve this problem. As a U.S. senator, I will fight to make sure guns stay out of the wrong hands," said Zopp, the former president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League.
Zopp's agenda also includes background checks for all gun purchases, increased funding for investigating and prosecuting gun crimes, curbing youth access to firearms and allowing health care providers to reveal credible threats of violence from those getting mental health treatment.
Zopp is challenging U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth in the March 15 Democratic primary for the seat held by Republican Sen. Mark Kirk, who is seeking re-election.
Duckworth, of Schaumburg, also has been a supporter of strong gun-control efforts and has received an "F" rating from the National Rifle Association. (Rick Pearson)
*New state lawmaker: Former Peoria City Councilman Chuck Weaver will be sworn as the newest state senator Thursday morning, filling the seat vacated by Darin LaHood. He left after winning a special election to replace former U.S. Congressman Aaron Schock, who resigned amid a federal investigation.
Weaver is scheduled to take the oath of office at 10:30 a.m. at the Peoria County Courthouse. Weaver was first elected to the at-large council position in 2011 but stepped down following his appointment by Republican leaders over the weekend. Weaver grew up on the family farm in Peoria before earning a law degree from DePaul University.
The Senate also got a new Democratic member this week when Laura Murphy was sworn in to replace Dan Kotowski of Park Ridge. (Monique Garcia)
What we're writing
*Rauner, Madigan trade familiar barbs.
*DCFS, Chicago woman and the park next door.
*State panel recommends expansion of medical marijuana program.
*New Chicago FBI chief talks corruption.
What we're reading
*Griffins settle divorce case, avoid public trial.
*Cubs win wild-card game behind Arrieta, Schwarber (includes photo gallery).
Follow the money
*The Independent Maps group, which aims to put a question on the November 2016 ballot to reduce politics in drawing legislative boundaries, reported another $75,000, including $50,000 from former Tribune Co. Chairman Dennis FitzSimons. He's the group's chairman and has kicked in $100,000 so far.
*Speaker Madigan collected $17,000 from four donors, including $10,000 from the electrical workers Local 34.
*Track campaign contribution reports in real time with this Tribune Twitter account: https://twitter.com/ILCampaignCash
Beyond Chicago
*Presidential race, Republican side: Carson stumbles on debt ceiling question.
*Presidential race, Democratic side: Should Clinton be less scripted?
*Obama apologizes for Afghanistan hospital airstrike.
*Russia fires from ships into Syria.
*Pre-speaker vote in House GOP caucus today.
