The Spin: Former Obama Cabinet member Ray LaHood, of Peoria, failed to report foreign loan | Kinzinger raises $2.2M for campaign, anti-Trump PAC | Lightfoot booed at Wrigley Field

Ray LaHood, the former Republican congressman from Peoria who was transportation secretary in the Obama administration, took $50,000 from an associate of a Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire but failed to note it in federal ethics disclosures, federal prosecutors say.

He agreed to repay the money along with a $40,000 fine under the terms of a federal “non-prosecution agreement.”

At the time of the 2012 loan, LaHood was “suffering significant financial difficulties in part due to problems from home remediation and sought funds to conduct home repairs,” federal prosecutors state in the agreement made public this week.

U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger hasn’t officially tossed his hat in the ring for reelection to his 16th Congressional District seat, but he’s raised $2.2 million in the first three months of the year, the Tribune’s Rick Pearson reports. Half went to his reelection fund and half to the anti-Trump political action committee he launched in January.

U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin are pushing to designate a Chicago church where Emmett Till’s body was displayed in an open casket a National Historic Site.

The Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ building in the city’s historic Bronzeville neighborhood became a symbol of the civil rights movement after photos were published of the funeral for the 14-year-old Till, a Black Chicagoan who was tortured and murdered during a 1955 trip to Mississippi.

And in what my Tribune colleague Paul Sullivan, a sports columnist, describes as “another Chicago tradition” Mayor Lori Lightfoot was booed at Wrigley Field today. Sports fans can prove to be a tough crowd as former Mayor Rahm Emanuel can attest.

The Tribune’s Cubs beat writer Meghan Montemurro tweeted that the boos came after the mayor was introduced at the ballpark before the Cubs home opener. Lightfoot was there to hand off baseballs to Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady and Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike, who threw out the ceremonial first pitches.

The mayor, who’s been concerned about a continued uptick in COVID-19 cases, tweeted some photos from the ballpark and wrote in part “I’m thrilled for the return of baseball & fans in the stands—but the pandemic isn’t over ... Let’s play ball (with CDC requirements in mind).”

Welcome to The Spin.

Ray LaHood failed to disclose $50,000 loan, prosecutors say

Ray LaHood’s legal and financial woes came to light yesterday in a news release issued by federal prosecutors in California.

Serving as transportation secretary in President Barack Obama’s administration from 2009-13, LaHood in 2012 sought financial assistance through “Individual A,” who said they would reach out to billionaire Nigerian-Lebanese philanthropist Gilbert Chagoury, according to documents released by prosecutors. An associate of Chagoury’s delivered the $50,000 check to LaHood, with “loan” marked in the memo box, authorities say.

In June 2017, FBI agents interviewed LaHood, who initially denied receiving a loan from Chagoury associate Toufic Joseph Baaklini, who lives in Washington, D.C., federal prosecutors say. Agents showed a copy of the check to LaHood, who then acknowledged he had received it, federal prosecutors noted in a news release.

Additionally, “LaHood failed to disclose the $50,000 check on two government ethics forms as required because LaHood did not want to be associated with Chagoury,” federal prosecutors said in a statement.

LaHood also said he hadn’t repaid the money nor was he was asked to. As part of the “non-prosecution agreement” LaHood said he repaid the money and a fine to the government.

Read Tribune political reporter Rick Pearson’s story on the matter here.

Axios reports Chagoury “is at the center of a sprawling scheme of illegal foreign campaign contributions, federal prosecutors revealed Wednesday.” Read the Axios piece here.

Important point: “According to a DOJ news release, LaHood’s conduct was a ‘separate and unrelated matter’ from the campaign finance violations,” Axios notes.

The 75-year-old, who also served in Congress in a seat now held by his son, U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, did not return a message for comment.

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US Rep. Adam Kinzinger says $2.2M haul is proof that he has supporters, despite his criticism of Trump

U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Channahon Republican, told reporters that his $2.2 million first quarter haul shows a politician can “speak the truth, speak honestly, and there are people out there, a silent majority I think, that will support you for that.” The Tribune’s Pearson has the details here.

Kinzinger’s referring to the intraparty battle that has pitted supporters of former Republican President Donald Trump against Trump’s critics.

Kinzinger could have multiple challengers, including Catalina Lauf, who Pearson notes unsuccessfully sought a congressional seat in a different Illinois district last year.

Durbin, Duckworth push to make Bronzeville church where Emmett Till’s funeral was held a National Historic Site

Last month, Sens. Duckworth and Durbin introduced a bill to make the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ building, 4021 S. State St., a National Historic Site. Now they’ve penned a request to the National Park Service to conduct a reconnaissance survey of the church, a step in the process of making it a historical site in the National Park System.

“We believe Roberts Temple, which is in dire need of structural repair and rehabilitation, should be designated as a new unit of the National Park System,” the Illinois Democrats wrote in a letter to the park service, noting that Till’s mother made the “courageous” decision to hold an open-casket service so the public could see for themselves the brutality the teen suffered in his last moments.

“Roberts Temple is an ideal candidate for inclusion in the National Park System: a nationally significant cultural resource that represents a crucial part of American history, and a site that can serve as a beacon for public awareness and education about the way the Civil Rights Movement reshaped the fabric of our nation,” Duckworth and Durbin wrote.

Last year, the Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group National Trust for Historic Preservation put the church on its annual list of America’s 11 most threatened historic sites because of structural issues.

Bill that would allow Illinois board to pause hospital closures close to becoming law

The Tribune’s Lisa Schencker writes, “Hospital closures in Illinois might have to wait until after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides under a bill headed to the governor, who called it a ‘remarkable piece of legislation.’

“The measure follows controversy over the potential shuttering of Mercy Hospital in Bronzeville.

“The expansive bill, which addresses health care disparities affecting brown and Black Illinois residents, would allow the state Health Facilities and Services Review Board to put off approval of applications to close hospitals.” More details here.

Illinois records 3,526 new COVID-19 cases, highest since Feb. 5, as officials warn residents to be safe over holiday weekend, the Tribune’s Jenny Whidden reports.

Lightfoot administration still behind on court-ordered Chicago Police Department reforms

The Tribune’s Dan Hinkel writes, “Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration continues to lag behind on a legally required overhaul of the Chicago Police Department, missing 60% of its most recent deadlines to make reforms, according to a new watchdog report.”

Former federal prosecutor Maggie Hickey’s filing in federal court late Tuesday night found the city picked up its pace slightly during the first part of its second year under the consent decree, a lengthy court order requiring reforms to the troubled department.

“(T)he report shows how far the city is from satisfying a court order aimed at overhauling policy, training and discipline in a department with a decadeslong record of misconduct and excessive force against minorities,” Hinkel writes.

“Lightfoot ran for mayor as a police reform advocate and vowed during the campaign that she would ensure ‘full and swift compliance’ with the court order,” Hinkel notes. “That has not come to pass, but at an unrelated press event Wednesday, Lightfoot pointed to “real substantive progress.”

“I’m not going to be satisfied until we believe we have reached the end of a long journey, and we’re not there yet,” she said. Read the full story, which gets an assist from the Tribune’s Gregory Pratt, here.

CPD has made little progress on vow to replace gang database criticized as error-filled and racially discriminatory, city watchdog says. Hinkel has the details on that report here.

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