Lisa Donovan: The Spin: ‘Not on my watch’ — that’s what Lightfoot, Preckwinkle said of teachers strike on campaign trail

Oct. 17--"Not on my watch."

That was the answer then-mayoral candidates Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle gave during a March 26 debate on Fox 32, when asked about hammering out a Chicago Teacher's Union contract and, more specifically, about whether there would be a strike this fall.

But here we are, closing out day one of a walkout that saw some 25,000 teachers and support staff hit the picket lines and classes canceled for some 300,000 CPS students. While optimism was in the air, the standoff continues between the union that endorsed Preckwinkle in the mayor's race and a city led by Lightfoot who defeated her in each of the city's 50 wards.

The mayor said the union has indicated it was going to strike all along, even as she tried to hash out their differences. And today, Preckwinkle, didn't have much to say on the matter.

Elsewhere in the city, police Superintendent Eddie Johnson is calling for an internal investigation -- of himself -- after officers responding to a call found him lying down in a car last night. Tribune reporter Jeremy Gorner has the late-breaking details here.

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, says a pall has been cast over the U.S. Capitol in the wake of Maryland U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings' death, which was announced this morning. The Schaumburg lawmaker considered the fellow Democrat a friend and mentor, telling The Spin the two got to know each other better serving on the House Oversight Committee, which is playing a key role in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.

Cummings chaired the committee and, with House lawmakers vowing to expedite the inquiry, his death leaves open a vital post that will need to be filled quickly.

And the Tilt-a-Whirl that is today's political scene continues: Trump, who likes to describe Chicago as a shooting gallery, is now billing the city as a prize. To explain: We're just learning that he's using his upcoming campaign fundraiser in Chicago to lure donors with chance for free trip to the Windy City.

Welcome to The Spin.

Teachers strike

As teachers and support staff took to the picket line today, Mayor Lori Lightfoot was busy doing the rounds at community centers and local schools -- whose doors remain open despite canceled classes -- and was reading to the youngest children affected by the walkout.

But both sides conceded today some progress had been made, lending a note of optimism. The Tribune's Gregory Pratt, Hannah Leone and Jessica Villagomez have the details here.

During those heady days of the campaign, then-mayoral candidates Lightfoot and Preckwinkle were firm in stating that a strike wouldn't happen so long as they were running city.

Today, Lightfoot believes that the union was determined to walk off the job, accusing them of bringing up issues beyond compensation -- from affordable housing to class size to the addition of social workers and nurses to haggle over. The teachers union says it's all tied to how they do their job and the most important thing: children's education.

Preckwinkle hasn't held back in her criticism of Lightfoot. But the county board president had little to say about the strike this morning, saying the dispute was between the union and Chicago Board of Education and that both sides should settle a deal, the Tribune's Juan Perez Jr. reports.

"We hope and pray that will happen soon," Preckwinkle said.

Asked whether she had any advice for the negotiators, the former teacher said: "This is a challenge for the Board of Education and the CTU."

Elizabeth Warren weighs in: Count Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren in the camp supporting Chicago's striking teachers and support staff members.

"I stand with @CTULocal1 and @SEIU73 members on strike. We need to invest in all of our public school staff -- because when they succeed, our students succeed too. They need a #FairContractNow. #PutItInWriting," Warren tweeted.

The Massachusetts senator is not the first of the Democrats looking to challenge President Donald Trump in 2020 to voice their support for Chicago educators. Bernie Sanders spoke at a pre-strike rally last month.

When the Vermont senator later took the stage, he thanked the teachers union for "becoming the conscience of the United States of America." "What we are seeing is teachers standing up and fighting for justice," Sanders said at the rally. "Every problem in society -- hunger, domestic violence, poverty -- it walks into your doors, doesn't it? You see it every day and at a time when we, in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country on earth." (Juan Perez Jr.)

Chicago Tribune Editorial: Again, Mayor Lori Lightfoot: Don't yield to CTU demands Chicagoans can't afford -- Read the opinion piece here.

The Sun-Times editorial board opined before today's walkout: "The likelihood of a teachers strike looms heavily over Chicago, and no one wants that. But no responsible Chicagoan should want City Hall to buy labor peace at any price, either. Read the paper's piece here.

District 227 board votes to close Rich East High School in Park Forest as part of consolidation plan -- Ted Slowik has the details in this Daily Southtown report.

President Trump offering chance for a free trip to Chicago for his fundraiser here next month using

Trump is urging grassroots supporters to contribute to him in exchange for a chance to win an "incredible trip" to his fundraiser in the city later this month, the Tribune's Rick Pearson reports. Read the story here.

"We'll cover your flight. We'll cover your hotel. We'll cover your meal. And we can even take a photo together," Trump said in an email to supporters on Thursday.

Pearson notes: "And while the exact location of the Oct. 28 high-dollar fundraiser is only being revealed to donors, Trump left little doubt that it would be held at Trump Tower in downtown Chicago, saying he was 'hosting a lunch at a VERY NICE HOTEL.' "

Krishnamoorthi, Davis on death of U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings

The death of Cummings, who led one of the House committees conducting the impeachment probe of Trump, left his House colleagues stunned, Krishnamoorthi said. The Associated Press reported Cummings died of complications related to longstanding health problems.

"I think that he was a giant in Congress -- he had to overcome a lot of adversity in his life to get where he was and I think because of that he went out of his way to show great kindness to the vulnerable and made sure to give a voice to the voiceless," Krishnamoorthi told The Spin today as he reflected on the 68-year-old. Cummings was the son of a sharecropper and went on to be a civil rights champion and congressman.

"He treated others, on both sides of the aisle, with a lot of respect and dignity -- even when he wasn't granted that same treatment. He'll be sorely missed."

Downstate Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, took to Twitter to share his grief over Cummings' death, writing: "I'm deeply saddened by the loss of my colleague & friend. Congressman Elijah Cummings was known in the House for his passion, perseverance, & incredible sense of humor. He will be greatly missed. My thoughts & prayers are with his wife, family, and staff."

President Trump ordered flags at the White House, military bases and other federal buildings to be flown at half-staff through Friday to honor Cummings and tweeted his condolences. But earlier this year, the president referred to Cummings' black-majority district, which includes a large swath of Baltimore and more well-to-do suburbs, as a "rodent-infested mess." The comments came weeks after Trump drew bipartisan condemnation following his calls for Democratic congresswomen of color to go back to their "broken and crime-infested countries."

"He was a very good friend" and leader who organized the House Oversight Committee's work on impeachment in such a way that made the panel's work easier, Krishnamoorthi said.

Impeachment inquiry update: Krishnamoorthi granted the brief interview this morning as impeachment investigators continue closed-door interviews with would-be witnesses in the Trump-Ukraine scandal. The inquiry is being led by three House committees: Oversight, Intelligence and Judiciary. In addition to sitting on Oversight, Krishnamoorthi sits on the House Intelligence Committee.

The AP reported this afternoon that the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, sat before House investigators. Sondland said he was disappointed in, and disagreed with, Trump's instructions for him to work with the president's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, on Ukraine policy -- a directive that sidestepped the role of the State Department and the National Security Council. Sondland also said he believed it was wrong to invite a foreign government to conduct investigations to influence American elections. Read the latest here.

Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker endorses Marie Newman, who's trying to unseat U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski: Booker weighed in on the 3rd District primary, taking aim at Democrat Lipinski's anti-abortion stance, while lauding rival Newman's support of "reproductive rights," the Tribune's Bill Ruthhart reports. Newman, of La Grange, who narrowly lost to Lipinski, of Western Springs, in the midterms, is looking for a primary rematch in 2020. She got a leg up in third quarter fundraising, pulling in a reported $351,326 during the three-month period while Lipinski reported raising $177,741. The district stretches from Chicago's Southwest Side to neighboring suburbs. You can read the story here.

Former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock prevails in lawsuit over legal fees: The publication Indiana Lawyer reported that the former Republican

congressman from Peoria, who redecorated his Capitol Hill office in dramatic "Downton Abbey" style and in 2016 was indicted on federal campaign finance violations, has won a dispute over legal fees involving the Terre Haute law firm that at one point represented him. Read the story here.

Last month, as Tribune Jason Meisner and others reported, federal prosecutors in Chicago dropped all charges against Schock after he completed a probationary period and paid back $68,000 to his congressional campaign funds that he'd used for personal expenses.

Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin gets the scoop on what the $800 million-plus redevelopment, which is scheduled to wrap up next year and will be home to high-profile tenants Uber and Walgreens, offers this snapshot: "The office floors, which once hummed with conveyor belts and all manner of heavy-duty equipment, still contain corkscrewing mail chutes and other relics (like vaults and scales) that help tell the building's story. The restored main lobby, nearly as long as a football field, is so elegant that it's fit for a wedding. (Indeed, some are already scheduled.)

"In short, The Old Post Office -- an architectural sleeping giant -- has finally stirred after years of false hopes and cockamamie plans, and is beginning to make what could be a seismic impact on downtown's southwest edge."

The money: "Such pluses help justify historic preservation tax breaks that are expected to save the building's owners, New York-based 601W Cos., $100 million over the life of the project," Kamin writes.

Hey, City Hall: "Mayor Lori Lightfoot's urban planners will need to do everything in their power to ensure that the energy of The Old Post Office spills out into the now-sterile streets around it," Kamin notes. Read the full column here.

NIMBY: Long-delayed meeting on proposed Itasca drug rehab center brings suspicion, rancor but few answers -- As the Tribuune's John Keilman reports, Haymarket Center supporters welcome a treatment center to the suburbs, with DuPage County alone had nearly 100 overdose deaths in 2018, but opponents said Itasca can't afford to be home to a facility that won't pay property taxes but could quickly become costly if they use taxpayer-funded police and ambulance services. Read the story here.

How tough is the Illinois law on cancer-causing ethylene oxide? What Gov. Pritzker says, industry lobbyists put on paper differ

From the Tribune's Michael Hawthorne: "Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state lawmakers promote their newly adopted restrictions on cancer-causing ethylene oxide as the 'toughest in the nation.' Lobbyists for chemical companies and manufacturers go a step further, calling the legal limits imposed by Illinois the 'toughest in the world.'"

The big BUT: "Shortly after lawmakers close to the Pritzker administration unveiled their legislation during the spring, one of the state's top business lobbyists assured colleagues it contained the 'least concerning language to date,' according to notes from an April 30 meeting." Read the full story here.

Chicago's first recreational marijuana store just got OK'd -- but you might not be able to buy weed there on Jan. 1

From the Tribune's Ally Marotti: "Cresco Labs was awarded licenses to sell recreational marijuana from its five existing Illinois stores starting in January, but it's uncertain whether sales will begin in Chicago Jan. 1.

"Black Caucus Chairman Ald. Jason Ervin, 28th, introduced a proposed ordinance Wednesday that would push back the start of marijuana sales in the city from Jan. 1 to July 1. The proposal followed concerns from African American aldermen over a dearth of minority ownership in the potentially lucrative industry." Read her story here.

Winthrop Harbor estimates up to $100K in revenue after giving green light to marijuana sales: The far north suburb is gearing up ahead of Jan. 1, when the state legalizes recreational weed. Read the story here.

Column: An exclusive look at Chicago's Old Post Office as the nation's largest reuse project greets its first tenants this weekend

Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin gets the scoop on what the $800 million-plus redevelopment, which is scheduled to wrap up next year and will be home to high-profile tenants Uber and Walgreens, offers this snapshot: "The office floors, which once hummed with conveyor belts and all manner of heavy-duty equipment, still contain corkscrewing mail chutes and other relics (like vaults and scales) that help tell the building's story. The restored main lobby, nearly as long as a football field, is so elegant that it's fit for a wedding. (Indeed, some are already scheduled.)

"In short, The Old Post Office -- an architectural sleeping giant -- has finally stirred after years of false hopes and cockamamie plans, and is beginning to make what could be a seismic impact on downtown's southwest edge."

The money: "Such pluses help justify historic preservation tax breaks that are expected to save the building's owners, New York-based 601W Cos., $100 million over the life of the project," Kamin writes.

Hey, City Hall: "Mayor Lori Lightfoot's urban planners will need to do everything in their power to ensure that the energy of The Old Post Office spills out into the now-sterile streets around it," Kamin notes. Read the full column here.

NIMBY: Long-delayed meeting on proposed Itasca drug rehab center brings suspicion, rancor but few answers -- As the Tribuune's John Keilman reports, Haymarket Center supporters welcome a treatment center to the suburbs, with DuPage County alone had nearly 100 overdose deaths in 2018, but opponents said Itasca can't afford to be home to a facility that won't pay property taxes but could quickly become costly if they use taxpayer-funded police and ambulance services. Read the story here.

Thanks for reading The Spin, the Tribune's politics newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Have a tip? Email host Lisa Donovan at [email protected].

Twitter @byldonovan

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