OPINION: The Spin: As Congress returns to work, Mayor Lightfoot signals lawmakers in op-ed on gun control, Sen. Cruz

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Published on the eve of Congress returning to work today after summer break, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's Washington Post op-ed isn't just fanning the flames of a weeklong feud over gun control with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. No, the Democratic mayor is using a national platform as a call to action, accusing Cruz, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and their Republican colleagues in charge of the chamber of "dereliction of your duty" for failing to enact stiffer gun control laws.

In the wake of three mass shootings -- two in Texas and one in Ohio --that killed nearly 40, lawmakers are being pressured to do something. With neither party wanting to look like they're compromising, particularly ahead of a tough presidential election year, passing tighter gun control will continue to be a tug of war. And voters know it: A new USA Today poll shows Americans don't expect lawmakers to pass stricter gun laws in the wake of the mass shootings.

Sen. Dick Durbin is taking a hard line on vaping, saying the Food and Drug Administration should strictly regulate the vaping industry, which he compared to Big Tobacco in preying on youth. Meantime, the vaping industry is pushing back at the CDC's warnings about the use of e-cigarettes, saying the public health agency is "playing politics with people's health."

Democratic presidential contender Elizabeth Warren is endorsing Marie Newman in her run against U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski.

And at 86, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg recently emerged from another round of cancer treatment and found herself reassuring fans -- and by extension Democrats nervous that her exit from the bench would mean Republican President Donald Trump would have an opportunity to replace her with a conservative jurist. "I am on my way to being very well," she told a crowd at a recent event. She's stopping off at the University of Chicago this afternoon to accept an award.

Welcome to The Spin.

Lightfoot's op-ed blasts Senate Republicans and President Trump

One of the mayor's opening salvos in her Washington Post op-ed revisits how her weeklong feud with Cruz -- who argues that Chicago is Exhibit A for failed gun control policies -- began on Twitter, and without naming him, mocks President Donald Trump.

"If the past three years have taught us anything ... it's that governing and debating via social media does not solve most problems," Lightfoot writes. "So rather than hashing this out 280 characters at a time, let me expound here: Maybe Cruz will listen to what I'm trying to say."

She trots out statistics about the flow of guns into communities, the human toll gun violence takes and puts out a distress call to Congress: "We urgently need help at the federal level to stop the flow of weapons that turn conflicts lethal."

In short order, though, she returns to waving her finger at Cruz: "... don't you dare lecture us with half-truths, cherry-picked statistics and debunked rhetoric designed to score political points with your base and your donors while you, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the other Republicans in charge of the Senate sit in dereliction of your duty day after day, shooting after shooting." Read the whole opinion piece here.

Dear Sen. Cruz, come visit Chicago: Lightfoot echoed in Chicago today what she wrote in The Washington Post, publicly inviting Sen. Cruz to pay a visit to the city and walk through the neighborhoods with her to understand what's going on. Read Gregory Pratt's story here.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot says city 'can't afford' current police OT costs -- Gregory Pratt with the story here.

Who's watching? More people licensed to carry guns in Illinois are using them, but oversight is still lacking -- "The number of concealed carry license (CCL) shootings has been steadily rising over nearly six years since it became legal to carry a handgun in Illinois -- along with concerns that a lack of rigorous oversight is resulting in more shootings that are not justified," the Tribune's Annie Sweeney and Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas write. "There have been more than 60 shootings by CCL holders, 23 in just the last year, according to a database compiled by the Tribune." Read their story here.

Many marijuana businesses aren't sure they'll be ready for recreational sales Jan. 1.

"Marijuana companies say they want to play by the book, but the book hasn't been fully written as a host of administrative rules over recreational pot have yet to even be proposed," the Tribune's Ally Marotti, Dan Petrella and Jamie Munks write. Read their story by clicking here.

Deadline issue: "When Gov. J. B. Pritzker signed the legislation to legalize recreational marijuana June 25, it started a 180-day clock for various state agencies to propose and adopt administrative rules that will help regulate the nascent industry," Marotti, Petrella and Munks note. "That deadline falls just days before legal sales of weed are supposed to begin."

'Politics' of vaping?

With five people dead, including one in Illinois, from a mystery respiratory illness linked to vaping, the call from public health officials along with those who have fallen sick, to halt e-cigarette use is growing louder -- and so is the pushback from one lobbying organization.

"While this investigation is ongoing, people should consider not using e-cigarette products," Dr. Dana Meaney-Delman, who's heading up the CDC's probe into the illness, said during a Friday news conference.

The vaping industry fired back at that comment, saying public health officials are educating the public on what they believe is the culprit: THC oil and e-cigarette packs sold on the streets.

"The CDC is playing politics with people's health by not issuing clear and specific warnings about avoiding vaping illegal marijuana oil products, as several state health departments have done," Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, said in an emailed statement to The Spin. "Every day it is becoming more clear that these illnesses and deaths are being caused by THC-containing street vapes, not store-bought nicotine vaping products, yet the CDC insists on doubling down on their anti-vaping hysteria."

A New Lenox couple whose daughter fell ill is calling for Illinois lawmakers to ban vaping in Illinois. Read Tribune reporter Kate Thayer's story on that here. Statewide, more than 40 people have been hospitalized after falling ill from the vaping-related illness.

Sen. Dick Durbin in Chicago today: Vaping industry should be regulated immediately -- or the head of the FDA should resign -- Kate Thayer with the story here.

Former state lawmakers ask judge to order Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza to pay back raises they voted to reject

"Two former Democratic state senators are asking a Cook County judge to order Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza to pay back wages they and other lawmakers gave up when legislators voted repeatedly over a decade to freeze their salaries," the Tribune's Dan Petrella writes.

At issue: "Judge Franklin Valderrama ruled in July that pay freezes and furlough days approved by the General Assembly violated the Illinois Constitution's "unambiguous" prohibition on lawmakers making changes to the pay they receive in their current terms," Petrella writes.

Changing of the guard

Robert Murphy officially stepped down as Chicago's 39th Ward Democratic committeeman -- His resignation was official Saturday, months after he lost a bid for alderman in that pocket of the city's Northwest Side, according to a party official. With the retirement of Ald. Margaret Laurino, 39th, part of a family dynasty that held the post since the 1960s, candidates lined up for the open seat. The February election triggered a runoff between the two top vote-getters, with Murphy losing to Samantha "Sam" Nugent.

Freshman state Sen. Ram Villivalam is taking the reins as acting committeeman until the party's full central committee confirms him, according to Jacob Kaplan, executive director of the Cook County Democratic Party. During the March primary, Villivalam and other Democratic Ward committee members -- and any opponents -- will face election.

Reminder: Ward committeeman are responsible for appointing Democratic election judges, endorsing candidates for countywide office and, locally, turning out the vote, and also filling vacancies such as state representative and senator.

Other news: Former Gov. Bruce Rauner's one-time chief of staff Rodger Heaton has just been named a partner at McGuireWoods law firm, in Chicago's "government investigations and white collar group," according to a news release. Heaton also worked as a homeland security adviser and public safety director in Rauner's administration. Before that, he was appointed by President George W. Bush as U.S. attorney for the Central District of Illinois, leading prosecutions in financial fraud and public corruption.

Spinning ahead

U. of C. honoring RBG today -- Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is in town today to accept the University of Chicago's 2019 Harris Dean's Award "honoring an exceptional leader who has championed analytically rigorous, evidence-based approaches to policy, and who is an example for the next generation of policy leaders and scholars," according to a statement from the U. of C.

During the late-afternoon event, Dean Katherine Baicker of the Harris School of Public Policy also will host a talk with Ginsburg before a live audience. Tickets are long gone for the 4:30 event, but you can watch the livestream by clicking here.

Eye on 2020 -- "Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren is backing Marie Newman in her March primary rematch against U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, the liberal advocacy group Justice Democrats announced Monday," the Tribune's Rick Pearson writes of the contest in the 3rd Congressional District, which stretches from the Southwest Side into the suburbs. Lipinski doesn't support abortion rights -- "an issue the Massachusetts senator cited in her endorsement of Newman," Pearson notes.

Presidential candidate and California U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris will be in Chicago on Friday -- A day after she hits the debate stage Thursday in Houston, Harris will be in town for a fundraiser in the South Loop. Ticket prices range from $46 to $2,800. For details, click here.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and author and women's rights advocate Chelsea Clinton headed for a Chicago stage in October: The mother-and-daughter duo will speak at Chicago Ideas Week on Oct. 14 as part of a panel discussion titled, "Idea: Should policy have a conscience?"

They'll be promoting their newest book, "The Book of Gutsy Women," and, like other speakers, discussing the state of the union and solutions to political challenges. For information on the full lineup and tickets, click here.

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Chicago voters be on the lookout: Voter cards are going out to the city's 1.5 million registered voters with a request: Sign up to get put on the city election board's email list. The Chicago Election Board has emails for roughly 300,000, or one-fifth, of the voters, largely those who have taken advantage of online voter registration in the last five years. Inside the mailing, each voter will find a unique code to use when submitting their email address at chicagoelections.gov/email. Marisel Hernandez, Chicago Election Board chair, says email is the best way to reach voters in the event of a last-minute change at a polling place.

Uber plans to hire 2,000 more Chicago-area employees to fill its massive space at Old Post Office -- Read Ally Marotti's piece in the Tribune here.

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