Feb. 24--Welcome to Clout Street: Morning Spin, our weekday feature to catch you up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield.
Topspin
The Illinois Republican Party is hoping to profit from the March 15 presidential primary by holding a fundraising dinner in honor of Gov. Bruce Rauner on the Friday before Election Day.
Already, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has confirmed he'll be there, and all of the current GOP presidential contenders, including Donald Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio, have been invited to the reception and dinner at the Palmer House Hilton. Even some of the former Republican presidential candidates have been asked to attend.
Tickets for the event start at $500 per person and go up to $40,000 to serve as a "Gold Sponsor," which includes two tables of 10 with a photo opportunity and a one-year membership in the "Governor's Council." (Rick Pearson)
What's on tap
*Mayor Rahm Emanuel has no public events set.
*Gov. Bruce Rauner will talk education funding in the morning at a Springfield high school.
*Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez will speak to a City Club of Chicago breakfast. Live stream likely to start after 8 a.m. here.
*The state's attorney's contenders are scheduled to be at a candidate forum on gender-based violence. It runs from 6-8 p.m. at the Chicago Kent College of Law auditorium, 565 W. Adams St.
*Chicago Teachers Union says school nurses will have morning news conference to protest privatization of their jobs.
What we're writing
*Chicago Teachers Union backs Foxx in rare state's attorney endorsement.
*Legislation would end lawsuits against prison inmates.
*Change in state law made possible largest school bonding referendum in a decade.
*Illinois doesn't track pharmacies that custom blend medicines.
What we're reading
*Muslims say opposition to Palos Park mosque "just bigotry."
*Field Museum to sell craft beer based on thousand-year-old recipe, but will it be hoppy enough?
*Catholic sex abuse hearing will take place in the dead of night in a hotel in Rome.
From the notebook
*Kirk on the air: Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk is heading to the airwaves in his re-election bid, an $800,000 ad buy for a primary in which the GOP incumbent faces only a minor primary challenge next month.
The ad is titled "Security," which follows along the theme that Kirk is seeking re-election upon: national security. The spot targets U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth of Hoffman Estates, a two-term congresswoman who is one of three Democrats vying for the party's Senate nomination.
Kirk has called for a pause in the immigration of Syrian refugees, warning that Islamic State militants could use it as a way to create terrorist attacks in the United States.
Duckworth has called on the U.S. to accept 200,000 refugees from the ISIS battling, more than President Barack Obama has called for. Duckworth is not just using that number for Syrian refugees but others affected by the battling in the Middle East.
In the ad, a narrator says Kirk is "leading the fight to stop refugees until I can be done safely" and raises the question, "Who do you trust to protect your family?" (Rick Pearson)
*Duckworth also on the airwaves: Duckworth launched her TV campaign for the U.S. Senate nomination Tuesday with an introductory biographical 30-second ad.
The ad touts Duckworth returning $10,000 of her salary during a federal budget impasse and sequestration and promoting efforts to make student loans more affordable. The ad is scheduled to air on both cable and broadcast TV statewide. (Rick Pearson)
*Kirk says Duckworth a "fool": Under pressure from Democrats to say if President Barack Obama is entitled to put forward the name of a successor for Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, Republican re-election-seeking U.S. Sen. Kirk finally agreed.
In an opinion piece in the Sun-Times, Kirk said he should and would consider an Obama appointee, saying it was part of his oath for serving the country in Washington and as a member of the Navy Reserve. Kirk called on Obama to put forth a nominee who would be less ideological and reflect someone who would build bridges.
But in a different opinion piece, in the National Review, Kirk lashed out at Duckworth, calling her a "fool."
Kirk has used national security as one of his chief re-election points, calling for a moratorium on Muslim refugees from war-torn Syria to prevent possible terrorist activities. Duckworth has said such a mentality plays into the theme that the radical Islamic State is using to recruit against the West.
"Tammy Duckworth is a fool," Kirk's missive in the National Review says.
"She says I am the reason terrorists become radicalized. This is another example of how Duckworth sees the world through a delusional, partisan lens, willfully ignorant of what motivates the enemy and threatens our safety as Americans," he wrote.
For her part, Duckworth on Tuesday used Kirk's description of her to try to raise campaign donations. The email solicitation accused Kirk of using "demeaning language toward women who disagree with him" and talked about Kirk's "past sexist remarks."
Among the list was Kirk's remark last summer in which he called bachelor Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina "a bro with no ho."
Kirk has three Democrats vying to challenge him: Duckworth, former Chicago Urban League CEO Andrea Zopp and state Sen. Napoleon Harris of Harvey. (Rick Pearson)
*Obama Gitmo react: Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk on Tuesday opposed President Barack Obama's plan to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. Kirk's news release was headlined: "Gitmo Prisoners Belong in Gitmo, Not in the U.S. with Constitutional Rights."
"A bipartisan majority in Congress will stop the transfer of terrorists to the U.S. and will not allow these prisoners to gain the same legal rights as American citizens," Kirk's statement said.
Andrea Zopp, one of the Democrats seeking the party's nomination in the March 15 primary to challenge Kirk, stood with Obama. "I believe it is both a moral and strategic imperative to close Guantanamo Bay," Zopp, a former state and federal prosecutor, said in a statement.
The Duckworth campaign did not say whether the candidate supported what Obama sent to Congress on the issue, but in the past has come out in favor of closing the detention facility in Cuba.
Though a federal prison in Thomson, Ill., has long been off the table as a possible home for transferred Gitmo detainees, Obama did not specify where they would be sent. A Department of Defense plan sent to Congress lists 13 possible locations, both existing prisons and military bases, none in Illinois. (Katherine Skiba)
*Emanuel on Trump/Ricketts feud: Mayor Emanuel often gets asked to weigh in on the topic du jour in the news. And so it was on Tuesday that he was asked about Donald Trump's vague tweet about the Cubs-owning Ricketts family, which is backing a super PAC that's running ads against the Republican presidential front-runner.
The mayor's response in toto: "It sounds like Donald Trump is trying to court Chicago White Sox fans. So I have nothing else to say."
*No-parking zone outside Madigan opponent office: The powers of incumbency?
*Schneider gets Hispanic Caucus endorsement in IL-10: Democrat Brad Schneider has picked up the backing of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus' BOLD PAC in his bid for the primary nomination in the North Shore 10th Congressional District.
"BOLD PAC is proud to give Brad Schneider our endorsement," said PAC Chair Tony Cardenas. "I worked side by side with Brad in Congress and, with my fellow colleagues, I know him to be a proven leader dedicated to being a champion for issues important to the Latino community."
Schneider, of Deerfield, and Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering are vying for the Democratic nomination and the right to take on Republican U.S. Rep. Bob Dold of Kenilworth. Dold defeated then-U.S. Rep. Schneider in 2014. (Rick Pearson)
*Frerichs for Hillary: State Treasurer Mike Frerichs is backing Hillary Clinton's bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
"She's a fighter for working families and will ensure that everyone has an opportunity to achieve the American Dream," Frerichs said.
Frerichs, as an elected statewide official, is a delegate to the Democratic National Convention and can cast a vote for Clinton's nomination. (Rick Pearson)
*Sanders opens field offices: Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders opened up several campaign field offices in Illinois on Tuesday.
In addition to a Chicago South Side field office at 705 E. 75th St., Team Sanders opened offices in Joliet, Berwyn, Lombard, Batavia, Waukegan and in Springfield and Collinsville.
Follow the money
*Some well-known lawyers have lined up on different sides in the March 15 primary for Cook County state's attorney.
Kathleen Zellner, who has built a national reputation for successfully defending the wrongfully convicted in criminal and civil courts, recently gave $2,500 to State's Attorney Anita Alvarez. In late 2013, Zellner praised Alvarez for setting aside the murder conviction of her client, Lathierial Boyd, for lack of evidence.
Challenger Kim Foxx, meanwhile, received a $15,000 contribution from Arthur Loevy, whose firm, Loevy and Loevy, has filed many federal court cases alleging police misconduct. And another challenger, Donna More, received $1,000 from former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukis, who was her boss when she was a federal prosecutor. (Hal Dardick)
*More also put in an additional $80,000 of her own money to pay for direct mail and consulting from AKPD Message Media, David Axelrod's former firm.
*Grosvenor Capital Management, which is run by Emanuel ally Michael Sacks, gave $25,000 to Ald. Michelle Harris' campaign. She's running for Cook County Circuit Court clerk.
*Track campaign contribution reports in real time with this Tribune Twitter account: https://twitter.com/ILCampaignCash
Beyond Chicago
*Presidential race, Republican side: Wild West Nevada caucuses run late as pundits say Trump math on target for nomination. Trump wins Nevada.
*Presidential race, Democratic side: Sanders praises Gitmo plans, takes shot at Clinton.
*Senate GOP won't consider any Obama Supreme Court nominee.
*NYT: Putin on winning streak, but can he cash in?
