| | | | |  | | By Shia Kapos | TGIF, Illinois. The Democratic National Convention in Chicago is in 31 days. BREAKING: Congressman Sean Casten says it’s time for Joe Biden ‘to pass the torch,’ via an op-ed in the Tribune
|  | TOP TALKER | | | | 
Donald Trump took the stage at the Fiserv Forum to accept the nomination for president on Thursday, July 18, 2024. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | Donald Trump didn’t just accept the nomination for president on Thursday, he gave the performance of his life. Wounded by a bullet just five days earlier, Trump walked onto a Fiserv Forum stage that was built to look like a Broadway production with his name, TRUMP, in lights. His entrance followed appearances by the Hulk and Kid Rock, so the crowd was pumped. He knows how to grab them: After making a pitch for unity, saying, “the discord and division in our society must be healed,” Trump pivoted to tell a riveting story about the bullets that whizzed by his head. And then he went off script: That’s when you realized that though the shooting left a lasting impression on Trump, he's still the same guy wanting to attack his enemies, Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden. Interestingly, Trump’s prepared remarks didn’t mention Biden by name. But once off script couldn’t help himself, notes POLITICO’s Irie Sentner. Trump also made Trumpy attacks on Democratic policies, including immigration and he claimed that we’re "teetering on edge of World War III.” What he didn’t talk about: abortion, Covid-19, Jan. 6 and the national debt, reports POLITICO’s Mia McCarthy. Some moments were strange: Trump talked about his bloody ear, “Silence of the Lambs” and “The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’d love to have you for dinner.” It was a reference to “insane asylums” and “terrorists at numbers that we’ve never seen before. Bad things are going to happen.” Illinois delegates cheered the speech, in spite of the speed bumps. “It was everything I was looking for … the vision that he has for our future and going back to when we had more money in our pockets, bringing down inflation, bringing down the gas prices and making sure our country is safe,” said Illinois Assistant Minority Leader John Cabello as he stood with delegates on the floor of the arena. Congresswoman Mary Miller, who led the Republican delegation at the convention, was struck by Trump’s remarks about the shooting, saying it showed “he’s human, he’s empathetic.” Miller also was glad to hear Trump call out the “Green New Scam,” a poke at the “Green New Deal.”
|  Congresswoman Mary Miller, in foreground, and state Rep. John Cabello, right, praised Donald Trump's speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday, July 18, 2024. | Shia Kapos/POLITICO | RELATED Pritzker’s response: Gov. JB Pritzker responded to Trump’s speech, saying he “would be a disaster for America’s working families.” Here’s the full response. Money matters: Before Trump headed to the stage at Fiserv Forum, he was in the ballroom of the nearby Baird Center for a high-end fundraiser. Among the attendees: vice-presidential nominee J.D. Vance, Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi, Chicago donor Eloise Gerson, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, Trump fundraiser Kent Gray, longtime Trump associate Roger Stone and celebrity influencer Amber Rose, who spoke on Day 1 of the Republican National Convention. SPOTTED: Rod Blagojevich was in Milwaukee to tout Trump, by the Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner and Rick Pearson… And George Blakemore, the familiar public commenter at Chicago City Council meetings, was there, too. Pic! … GOP donors Liz and Dick Uihlein, via Fox’s Paris Schutz. … And George Blakemore, the familiar public commenter at Chicago City Council meetings, was there, too. Pic! An Ohio Republican pokes at Pritzker and Duckworth, by your Playbook host There was an Illinois-Trump cheesehead that was hard to forget A southern Illinois resident and his band provided the convention’s soundtrack, by WTTW’s Amanda Vinicky
| | THE BUZZ | | IN CHICAGO | Mayor Johnson’s plan to end natural gas hookups is dead after Council members balk: The mayor’s climate-fighting initiative, the Clean and Affordable Buildings Ordinance, is sitting in the Council’s Rules Committee “and doesn’t appear to be moving after at least 31 alderpersons signed on to a public statement in May opposing the plan. The statement was part of an ongoing campaign by the powerful International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150,” which sees the proposal as a job killer, by the Sun-Times’ Brett Chase. If you are Eloise Gerson, Playbook would like to hear from you. Email: skapos@politico.com
| | WHERE'S JB | | No official public events.
| | WHERE's BRANDON | | At Madison Street and North Leclaire Avenue at 4 p.m. to attend a Take Back the Block Activation event.
| | Where's Toni | | At Walsh Elementary School in Summit at 11 a.m. to mark the expansion of the Transforming Places Pilot Program. Have a tip, suggestion, birthday, new job or (heaven forbid) a complaint? Email: skapos@politico.com
| | | | CHECK OUT WHAT YOU MISSED IN MILWAUKEE! Watch the full event from the CNN-POLITICO Grill at the RNC HERE.
The program featured Bayer’s Jessica Christiansen, senior vice president and head of crop science and sustainability communications, as well as a conversation with Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), Rep. G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) and POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill for discussions about agriculture, food policy and how these issues will impact the November election. | | | | | | | | THE STATEWIDES | | | — Bill aimed at protecting domestic abuse victims from gun violence gets fresh look after high court ruling, by the Tribune’s Olivia Olander — Illinois is has already experienced over 100 tornadoes this year, double the annual average, by the Tribune’s Adriana Pérez — Outgoing Illinois GOP chair bemoans ‘loose’ voting laws, by the Daily Herald’s Christopher Placek — Markers commemorate lives lost in Chicago Race Riot of 1919: “Now, 105 years after what would be known as the Chicago Race Riot of 1919, the first five of 38 planned commemorative glass markers — one for each person killed — will be unveiled during a ceremony Saturday in Bronzeville near the Illinois Institute of Technology campus, at an intersection the Chicago Defender called at the time of the riots the ‘vortex of violence,’” by the Tribune’s Jonathan Bullington.
| | COOK COUNTY AND COLLARS | | — Highland Park massacre victims sue Illinois State Police for approving suspect's gun card: “Five lawsuits filed allege state police negligently approved Robert E. Crimo III’s gun ownership application in 2019 despite Highland Park police issuing a “clear and present danger” alert against him months earlier,” by the Sun-Times’ David Struett. — Will County Board votes against non-sanctuary designation, calling it anti-immigrant, by the Daily Southtown’s Michelle Mullins — Northwestern police arrest 4 educators, months after pro-Palestinian encampment, by WBEZ’s Lisa Kurian Philip
| | | | Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more. | | | | | | | Reader Digest | | We asked when your feet ached. Bryce Harris: “My dogs were barking at the end of my 124-mile hike of the Centennial Trail in South Dakota!” Jim Lyons: “When my plantar fasciitis acts up.” Ed Mazur: “After walking from Michigan and Chicago Avenues to Soldier Field for a Chicago Bears game that our Monsters of the Midway lost.” Patricia Ann Watson: “‘Cute’ shoes meant for perching not walking, feet hurt so badly it felt like I was walking on my ankles.” NEXT QUESTION: What do you do to get past writer's block? Email skapos@politico.com
| | DELEGATION | | — Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia is back from a trip to Mexico, where he spoke to President López Obrador and President-elect Sheinbaum “about strengthening our partnerships with Mexico to address mutual challenges of receiving migrants and asylum seekers with dignity,” according to his post on X.
| | THE NATIONAL TAKE | | — BREAKING: Global tech outage live updates: Flights grounded and offices hit as internet users face disruptions, by The Associated Press — Biden’s campaign is struggling. Donor support has plummeted, according to The New York Times. He’s being edged out by Trump in the polls, reports CBS. And The Washington Post says Barack Obama has doubts. — Kamala Harris allies prepare her defense, by POLITICO’s Eugene Daniels — Appeals court blocks Biden’s student loan repayment plan, in latest legal blow to administration, by POLITICO’s Rebecca Carballo — ‘There are no guardrails’: Supreme Court empowers cities to take tougher steps to police homelessness, by POLITICO’s Dustin Gardiner
| | IN MEMORIAM | | — Lou Dobbs, veteran cable news anchor and Trump booster, dies at 78, by CNN’s Oliver Darcy — Malcolm Woo, Chicago police officer who helped pave the way for other Asians in law enforcement, dies at 79, by the Sun-Times’ Mitch Dudek — Bob Newhart, comedic legend who grew up on Chicago's West Side, dies at 94, by the Sun-Times’ Mitch Dudek
| | Transitions | | — Welz Kauffman has been named executive director and CEO of the Old Town School of Folk Music. He’s the former longtime leader of Ravinia Festival. He left that post in 2020 and most recently had a short stint at the Tucson Festival of Books. Kauffman, who was appointed by Old Town School’s board of directors, starts Sept. 30.
| | TRIVIA | | THURSDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to Kent Gray for correctly answering that Chatham Jaycees Sweet Corn Festival was featured on Conan O’Brien’s show. The festival runs today and Saturday. Details here TODAY’s QUESTION: What was Gov. Jim Thompson’s favorite brand of automobile?
| | HAPPY BIRTHDAY | | Today: Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Cook County Judge Fredrick Bates, former U.S. Attorney Ron Safer, chief of staff to the lieutenant governor Charles Watkins, Advocate Aurora Health Government Relations VP Crystal Olsen and Illinois Channel Executive Director Terry Martin. Saturday: Former Deputy Gov. Dan Hynes, AIPAC regional director David Fox, UIC sociology professor Barbara Risman and Illinois Optometric Association CEO Leigh Ann Vanausdoll. Sunday: State Sen. Bill Cunningham, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Erika Orr, Cook County Circuit Court Judge John Mulroe, NBC 5 political reporter Mary Ann Ahern, We Are RALLY Director Sean Anderson, Law Center for Better Housing Executive Director Mark Swartz, campaign consultant Enza Raineri and PR pro Amanda Berrios. -30- | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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