| | | | |  | | By Shia Kapos | TGIF, Illinois. Expecting a “Killer” time at Lollapalooza! GREAT READ: ‘That had to be bittersweet’ — how Biden managed a historic prisoner swap as his campaign was disintegrating, via POLITICO
|  | TOP TALKER | | | | 
Gov. JB Pritzker takes part in a Democratic National Convention security briefing on July 25, 2024, in Chicago. | Erin Hooley/AP | TAKING NAMES: Top Chicago-area executives sent a letter Thursday to Kamala Harris, urging her to select Gov. JB Pritzker as her running mate. The business leaders praised Pritzker for his “ability to navigate complex challenges and deliver tangible results” and his leadership “during times of crisis,” according to the letter obtained by Playbook. The CEO pitch: “His proven track record of fiscal responsibility, job creation, and bipartisan collaboration would make him an ideal partner in the White House,” the letter continues. Who signed the letter: Amont the 42 names are GCM Grosvenor CEO Michael Sacks, who’s also heading the Democratic Convention Host Committee; Allstate CEO Tom Wilson; Chicago Bears CEO Kevin Warren; Chicago Bears Chair George McCaskey; Loop Capital CEO Jim Reynolds; Mesirow Financial CEO Richard Price; Related Midwest President Curt Bailey; Rodriguez Media CEO Eve Rodriguez; Sterling Bay Managing Partner Keating Crown; Transunion CEO Christopher Cartwright; and Ariel Investments Co-CEO John Rogers Jr., a friend of former President Barack Obama. In a separate push: Two abortion-rights groups have sent a letter to Harris’ team, too, also urging that she choose Pritzker as her running mate. It’s signed by Personal PAC CEO Sarah Garza Resnick and Men4Choice Advocacy Executive Director and Founder Oren Jacobson. The full letter is here. The Pritzker allies made the VP pitch as Harris’ team works under an accelerated timeline to vet and name a running mate. It’s expected she'll name a VP by Tuesday in time to attend a scheduled campaign rally in Philadelphia. The vetting process: The letters pushing for Pritzker were revealed amid reports that Pritzker took part in two “vetting interviews” this week. The governor has also started sending vetting materials, reports the Sun-Times’ Tina Sfondeles. Pritzker is one of at least six candidates in the mix: “All of them are around the same age as Harris, 59, or younger, and most have already stumped for the vice president on the campaign trail or in media appearances since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race,” notes NBC News. His lips sealed: The governor has side-stepped answering questions about being vetted, though he’s acknowledged during interviews that he’s talked to Harris’ campaign. Timing is everything: News that Pritzker is under consideration comes just as the governor has released a video touting the work Democrats have accomplished in Illinois — not so coincidentally under Pritzker’s leadership. Watch it here. Harris’ veepstakes races toward the finish line, by POLITICO’s politics team
| | THE BUZZ | | MAYOR-PALOOZA: It’s Lollapalooza weekend — and the biggest cheerleader might be Mayor Brandon Johnson. Who would have thought that the former organizer would be cheering for Sza, The Killers and Blink 182, all headliners this weekend in Grant Park. Earlier in the week, Johnson joined about 200 political, civic and hospitality leaders at Chicago Cut Steakhouse for a Lollapalooza kickoff party. His thinking: The mayor sees the annual event as an essential budget component for the city — big events bring jobs and people to the city to spend money, both boosting the economy. It’s the same reason Johnson supported the five-year extension of Sueños, the Latino music festival, and why he’s not dumping NASCAR (at least not yet). By the numbers: Lollapalooza employs 12,000 people working behind the stages, at the gates and serving food and drinks, according to organizers. SPOTTED at the kickoff along with the mayor were rock legend and Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell, Alds. Brian Hopkins (2nd), Lamont Robinson (4th), Matt O’Shea (19th) and Bill Conway (34th), Deputy Mayor of Business, Neighborhood and Economic Development Kenya Merritt, Chicago Park District Superintendent Rosa Escareno, the mayor’s People with Disabilities Commissioner Rachel Arfa, Chicago Budget Director Annette Guzman and Res Publica Group’s Guy Chipparoni. If you are Perry Farrell, Playbook would like to hear from you. Email: skapos@politico.com
| | WHERE'S JB | | No official public events.
| | WHERE's BRANDON | | | At the Inner City Muslim Action Network at 9 a.m. to attend the Back-to-School Mental Health Provider Convening — At McCormick Place at 9:45 a.m. for the Black Women's Expo — At 227 West Monroe Street at 3 p.m. for the Chicago Football Classic scholarship fund press conference — On Carpenter Street at 3:30 p.m. for the Take Back the Block activation event.
| | Where's Toni | | At McCormick Place at 9:40 a.m. for the Black Women's Expo — In Forest Park at 11 a.m. to announce 35 projects that will receive funding under the 2024 Invest in Cook grant program. Have a tip, suggestion, birthday, new job or (heaven forbid) a complaint? Email: skapos@politico.com
| | | | DID YOU MISS IT? On Tuesday, POLITICO and McKinsey convened three conversations in D.C. with policymakers and space experts, including NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. The discussions also featured a panel of experts, an interview with Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) and an executive conversation with McKinsey's Ryan Brukardt.
The conversations focused on the next great innovation frontier – the space industry, including deeper discussion around which sectors of the global economy see their growth arc in space and what the role of government leaders is in expanding and regulating the growing number of orbital ideas. CATCH UP AND WATCH HIGHLIGHTS HERE | | | | | | | BUSINESS OF POLITICS | | — JIM EDGAR’s VOTE: Former Republican Gov. Jim Edgar said he’ll be voting for Kamala Harris for president come November. “I just worry about [Donald Trump] getting to be president again. I think there are a lot of negative ramifications,” he told Playbook. “You have to put the country ahead of partisan politics, and to me there's no choice but to vote for somebody other than Trump.” Edgar’s decision isn’t a complete surprise. He voted for Biden in 2020, and he didn’t vote for Trump in 2016, either. — FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi hosted a fundraiser the other day for the Democratic National Convention Host Committee with Gov. JB Pritzker as the special guest and about 40 attendees. Krishnamoorthi has so far raised more than $1.1 million through this event, his folks tell us. The gathering was held at the Vermillion Restaurant in Chicago. Krishnamoorthi is a member of the Harris Victory Fund National Finance Committee. — Looking ahead: Election Day is three months away, but the Illinois Democratic Party has partnered with the Illinois Democratic County Chairs' Association on a recruitment program — for 2025. Watch for a statewide recruitment text message and “virtual tables” that will bring together community activists, labor representatives and local party folks. The Dems are also launching a channel to collect candidate interest.
| | CONVENTION ZONE | | — Another look at 1968: “While there are parallels between the political environment that surrounded the volatile ’68 convention and today, that doesn’t mean history will repeat itself,” by Robert Loerzel for WBEZ. — Plans for outside police officers to assist Chicago cops still fluid, by the Tribune’s Sam Charles — Chicago restaurants are crafting special cocktails for the convention, by the Sun-Times’ Erica Thompson
| | THE STATEWIDES | | — Sheriff Jack Campbell reiterates he won’t resign in wake of the Massey shooting: “I’m the right guy to lead us out,” Cambell told WTAX’s Dave Dahl, who asked, “You’re the top guy. It stops with you ... You got us into this mess and you’re going to get us out? How?” — Campbell says department 'betrayed' by deputy in Massey shooting, by the State Journal Register’s Steven Spearie — Illinois’ federal rental assistance dollars have run out. “As the state prepares its new program, tenants and landlords are left with less support,” by the Tribune’s Lizzie Kane
| | CHICAGO | | — HEADLINING THE HIDEOUT: Chicago mayoral Chief of Staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas said City Hall has high hopes that Kamala Harris will win the presidency in November — but that the Fifth Floor is preparing for a Donald Trump victory, too. If Harris wins, “Our agenda is going to still be the same in terms of transforming Chicago, bringing folks in communities to the center that historically have been marginalized, erased or dismissed. Right. And so I think a Harris administration is going to understand that,” said Pacione-Zayas during our Playbook Live event at the Hideout last night. If Trump is victorious, she said the mayor’s team will “think strategically about how we can make sure that if there's certain ordinances that we have to do to protect basic human rights. Those are the things that I'm going to be really working to safeguard.” — Botched Little Village smokestack implosion wasn't my fault, Chicago city official says of dust storm fiasco, by the Sun-Times’ Brett Chase. — Racing the clock, Johnson speeds up spending of federal pandemic funds, by the Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman — Wealth in Chicago’s Black and brown communities was eroded intentionally by discriminatory policies, study finds, by the Tribune’s Darcel Rockett — Poll workers needed: Thursday was National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, and Chicago needs election judges for the Nov. 5 election. FYI, Judges get paid. Apply online here, or the paper application is here.
| | COOK COUNTY AND COLLARS | | — NEW: Obama archival move: The National Archives and Records Administration is closing the Hoffman Estates facility that has temporarily housed the records and artifacts of the Barack Obama Presidential Library, according to a statement from the agency. The contents will be permanently moved to College Park, Maryland, next year. — LEGAL BATTLE: The Village of Itasca says 15 states are filing a brief supporting its case against the Justice Department. The village had voted against a plan to turn a former hotel into an addiction treatment and recovery center. The federal lawsuit says that decision is discriminatory. The village’s message is here. — Aurora City Council approves $4.1M contract as part of RiverEdge Park renovation, by the Aurora Beacon-News’ Steve Lord
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, our newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | Reader Digest | | We asked how you’d describe the month of July in politics Tom Tunney, the former longtime alderman: “Half-baked.” Matthew Beaudet: “And now for something completely different” (the opening line from Monty Python’s Flying Circus). Eli Brottman: “Calm before the storm.” James Castro: “Oy Vey!” John Engle: “An ever-widening gyre.” G. A. Finch: “Surreal and riveting.” Dennis Johnson: “Weird, for some reason.” Charles Keller: “You sit on a throne of lies. (h/t Will Ferrell’s Buddy in ‘Elf’). Jim Lyons: “Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends.” Abdon Pallasch: “Joltin’ jiltin’ jump-off-a-cliff July.” Patricia Ann Watson: “Whew, now what was that?” NEXT QUESTION: How have you started using AI? Email skapos@politico.com
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | — Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski joined Mike Carey, an Ohio Republican to introduce bipartisan, bicameral legislation to renew the Affordable Connectivity Program, a federal program that helped low-income households afford access to high-speed internet. The program ran out of funding in May — “ending assistance for over 23 million American households,” according to Budzinski’s team.
| | THE NATIONAL TAKE | | — Harris campaign rakes in $310M in July, far outpacing Trump, by POLITICO’s Elena Schneider — Trump was ‘trying to show strength’ in Chicago. He stepped on his campaign’s own talking points instead, by POLITICO’s Natalie Allison, Meredith McGraw and Alex Isenstadt — ‘He wants to take us back’: Democrats eye new strategy against Trump’s attacks on Harris, by POLITICOs Myah Ward and Megan Messerly — AT THE OLYMPICS: Simone Biles made a dig at Donald Trump’s statements about “Black jobs.” Biles posted to X this morning, a day after winning her ninth Olympic medal: “I love my black job ��”
| | | EVENTS | | | — Sept. 15: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Katanji Brown Jackson will join the Chicago Humanities Festival at the Harris Theater to talk about her memoir, “Lovely Ones,” and her thoughts “on breaking barriers and shaping history.”Tickets here
| | TRIVIA | | THURSDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to John Mark Hansen for correctly answering James Shields served terms in the U.S. Senate for three states, representing Illinois (1849–1855), Minnesota (1858–1859) and 20 years later, Missouri, for six weeks (1879). TODAY’s QUESTION: When was the first hog calling contest at the Illinois State Fair?
| | HAPPY BIRTHDAY | | Today: Former state Rep. Karen May, Harris School of Public Policy’s Clayton Harris III, Catholic Charities Government Relations Director Brendan O’Sullivan, Drug Enforcement Administration of Chicago’s Luis Agostini and OpentheBooks.com founder Adam Andrzejewski. Saturday: U.S. Ambassador to Chile Bernadette Meehan, former state Rep. Tom Demmer, EPA Regional Administrator Debra Shore, former Sen. Roland Burris, political consultant and former Flossmoor trustee Gyata Kimmons, political commentator and former aide to Bruce Rauner Matthew Foldi, Allies for Community Business CEO Brad McConnell, Conagra Chief Comms Officer Jon Harris, UCAN Marketing VP Derrick Baker, Tribune reporter Gregory Royal Pratt and podcaster and former Slate CEO Jacob Weisberg. Sunday: Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, former President Barack Obama, minister and former state Sen. James Meeks, novelist and former Cook County Judge Larry Axelrood and Chicago Public Schools Senior Comms Specialist James Malnati. -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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