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Chicago Tribune
29-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Chicago Bears, Gov. JB Pritzker have quietly hired outside consultants for stadium talks
As the Chicago Bears have waffled over the past year on where to build a new stadium, one constant has been Gov. JB Pritzker's skepticism about providing major public dollars to help fund the project. But during that time, Pritzker has spent $100,000 in taxpayer funds for an outside legal consultant to advise the state in discussions with the team and the Bears have brought on an outside adviser with close ties to Pritzker's political operation and other Illinois Democrats, records show. The maneuvers suggest talks between the two sides have gone deeper than has been portrayed publicly and shed new light on some of the behind-the-scenes positioning that has taken place during the yearslong push for public dollars or changes in state law that could help facilitate the construction of a team-owned stadium. The revelations came to light after the Bears' new adviser — a longtime political consultant who worked on local fundraising for last summer's Democratic National Convention in Chicago as well as on Pritzker's first campaign for governor in 2018 — reached out to the governor's chief of staff in a late April email sent just weeks before the Bears confirmed to the Tribune that the team was shifting focus for stadium plans back to redeveloping the former Arlington International Racecourse. 'Hope you had a great weekend in NY,' Leah Israel wrote to Pritzker's chief of staff, Anne Caprara, in an April 28 message sent to Caprara's personal email address and obtained by the Tribune through an open records request. 'As you know, I've recently started working with the Chicago Bears and I'd appreciate it if we can have a meeting to share a direct update and address your feedback about the current plan. I believe there are many benefits for the state and the plan would deliver significant wins for the administration.' The email, which was also sent to a former Pritzker staffer who is now the Bears' chief lobbyist in Springfield, indicated that, 'per instruction,' team representatives had been meeting regularly, including earlier that day, with Pritzker's outside adviser — Steve Argeris, a New York- and Washington, D.C.-based sports, media and entertainment lawyer who formerly worked for the owners of the NFL's Carolina Panthers. The meeting Israel requested with Caprara took place last week, according to the governor's office, which said the conversation largely encompassed an overview discussion of the team's renewed interest in relocating to the northwest suburbs. Amid intense interest in the Bears' stadium push, Pritzker's office has acknowledged meetings between top aides and Bears brass and even a breakfast meeting Pritzker had last summer with team President and CEO Kevin Warren. But the administration previously had not publicly discussed Argeris' role in advising the state. 'As the Chicago Bears have been discussing various stadium proposals and financing models for more than a year, the governor's office felt it was important to conduct due diligence and fully understand all the facts that could impact state taxpayers,' Pritzker spokesperson Matt Hill said in response to questions from the Tribune. 'Our office retained outside counsel with deep knowledge and expertise in professional sports team finances and the regulations of national leagues to ensure we could independently analyze and understand any potential impacts on taxpayers and the state.' The state's yearlong contract, set to expire in mid-June, was signed with Argeris' previous employer, international law firm Hogan Lovells. Argeris, who did not respond to requests for comment, moved earlier this year to Weil, Gotshal & Manges, where he is a partner in the firm's private equity practice, according to a news release. While Argeris has continued to engage with Bears officials about the team's stadium plans, the state has not made any additional payments to Argeris or his new firm, according to the governor's office. Argeris' role has involved meeting with Bears representatives, analyzing the team's proposals and breaking down how they would affect Illinois taxpayers, according to the Pritzker administration. He also has advised the governor's office on how the state could potentially generate revenue from a stadium project. The governor's office did not provide specifics on the frequency of Argeris' meetings with the Bears or with state officials. The Bears, meanwhile, declined to discuss specifics about the team's meetings with the state and Argeris. 'Over the last few months, we have made significant progress with the leaders in Arlington Heights, and look forward to continuing to work with state and local leaders on making a transformative economic development project for the region a reality,' team spokesperson Scott Hagel said last week in an emailed statement. The team also declined to answer questions about why it retained Israel's firm, Lilette Advisors, in its negotiations with the state or what the company's duties have entailed. A team source said the firm was retained because of its experience with mixed-use development projects across the country, though the company doesn't detail any such experience on its website. Instead, the company describes itself as 'a boutique, full-service strategic advisory firm deeply rooted in the intersection of government, media, and politics.' 'We specialize in developing strategies and messages to help our clients win, no matter the challenge,' Lilette's website says. Aside from reaching out to Pritzker's chief of staff, Israel's role in working with the Bears remains unclear. She declined to comment through a spokesperson. Neither Lilette Advisors as a firm nor Israel as an individual was registered to lobby state officials in Illinois until May 22, after the Tribune inquired about their role in the team's discussions with the Pritzker administration. The firm, which previously was registered to lobby on Capitol Hill on behalf of clients including spirits-maker Pernod Ricard and North America's Building Trades Unions, registered in Springfield to lobby only Pritzker and his office on behalf of a single client: CBFC Development — the Bears' development arm. Although light on experience in the sports world, Israel's résumé shows deep ties to Illinois Democrats. Pritzker, in a news release last year, praised Israel by name for her role in the Chicago DNC's $94 million fundraising effort, and his senior political adviser called her 'the very best in the biz' in a social media post sharing a news story on the host committee's record-setting haul. In 2018, Pritzker's first campaign for governor paid a prior Israel firm more than $70,000 for fundraising consulting, state campaign finance records show. And his campaign fund last year paid another firm of Israel's about $1,500 for 'event production,' records show. Israel also was national finance director for U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth's campaigns from 2011 to 2019 and chief development officer for the 2020 DNC host committee in Milwaukee, which went largely virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It remains to be seen whether the Bears' new hire or the Pritzker administration's work with an outside adviser will lead to any major movement in Springfield on legislation to help the team with its stadium plans. The moves follow a pendulum swing by the Bears in which the team is turning its attention back to building a stadium complex and mixed-use development on the former racecourse it owns in northwest suburban Arlington Heights a year after pitching a plan to build in the shadow of Soldier Field. The change comes because the team and Mayor Brandon Johnson failed to get any significant backing for last spring's plan to construct a $5 billion domed stadium development on a revamped lakefront. With the focus now back on the 326 acres the Bears own in Arlington Heights, the team has indicated it's looking for approval of a measure that would allow for negotiations with local governments over property tax bills for large-scale developments. But with the legislature facing a shaky budget picture and other major challenges ahead of its scheduled Saturday adjournment, winning support for such a plan — which is sure to be met with stiff opposition from Chicago lawmakers — is no guarantee.
Politico
24-02-2025
- Business
- Politico
How Pritzker's speech was written
Happy Monday, Illinois. Savor the sunshine. TOP TALKER FIGURE OF SPEECH: Gov. JB Pritzker's highly talked-about State of the State and Budget Address last week was written much the same way as his previous six speeches were penned. Anne Caprara, the governor's chief of staff, wrote the speech working with the governor to decide on the message he wants to deliver. About the process: 'It starts with asking, 'What's the major element of the budget?' 'What story do we have to tell about the budget?'' explained Caprara in an interview with Playbook. Pritzker's team knew in late summer that 'this was going to be a challenging year,' Caprara said. 'But as the governor noted and addressed, the projections changed, even as we were getting close to the speech.' The message was simple: Spending this year needs to be kept in check because there are so many unknowns about the ripple effect of the federal government's cuts. Pritzker is worried about President Donald Trump's executive orders possibly jeopardizing federal funds going to Illinois. And Caprara said, 'We felt pretty strongly that we had to address that.' But these speeches are also meant to engage Illinois residents about why the budget matters. 'There's always some story that we try to put into the speech — something that's relevant to the time,' Caprara said, recalling a speech during the Covid years in which Pritzker talked about hospitals in Springfield during the Spanish flu. This year, the focus was Trump's efforts to 'dismantle government,' Caprara said. 'JB has said to me continually that he is really concerned about the parallels between what's happening right now and what Germany experienced,' she said, recalling her first meeting with Pritzker and learning that he was a student of the Holocaust after helping establish the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. Since Trump's inauguration, the governor 'has been really alarmed' about how Trump and Elon Musk 'are approaching the executive orders and the degree to which they're rooting out words and people.' Pritzker talked with Caprara, saying he wanted to address the warning signs. 'I don't think I can go into the speech and not talk about what's happening,' Caprara recalled him saying. There was no push-back within Pritzker's team about comparing the Trump administration and the Nazi era, something that Republicans have criticized. 'There was a lot of conversation about it, like 'How do we do this, and how do we do it the right way?' But I wouldn't say that there was any hesitation,' Caprara said. 'This is the moment and the message that we need to deliver and if it gets a lot of attention, we feel like people need to hear it.' Getting the message across: 'We are very careful with the language,' Caprara said. 'But I don't think I'm being hyperbolic when I say that the people around me working in government and others who email me are extremely alarmed [about what's happening in Washington]. They're texting and emailing asking 'What should I be doing and why isn't somebody saying something about how bad it is?'' Over the past two weeks, the speech was passed back and forth to Pritzker and his top aides, including the governor's speech writer, Joe Miller, Deputy Governor Andy Manar and Budget Director Alexis Sturm for fact-checking, tweaks and edits. The speech was written by the time former House Speaker Michael Madigan was convicted on corruption charges, so a reference to him was added later. Caprara dismissed critics who say the speech was an effort to promote Pritzker's political stature. Not so, she said. The governor 'feels a moral obligation and also he thinks it's the right thing to do.' MORE ON THE SPEECH: Pritzker turned heads by comparing Trump administration to Nazi Germany. But will voters be moved? by the Tribune's Rick Pearson RELATED Pritzker sits down with Psaki: 'Yes, the system is rigged' against the working class, Pritzker said in a wide-ranging interview on 'The Blueprint with Jen Psaki,' a new MSNBC podcast. The governor said fellow Democrats 'need to be really clear, really clear, focusing on the things that really matter.' Pritzker said raising the federal minimum wage should have been an issue during the 2024 presidential campaign. 'The minimum wage, federally, is $7.25. You can't live on that — $14, 000 a year. Here in Illinois, we raised the minimum wage to $15. But federally, it's $7.25. Republicans want to keep it at $7.25. ... We should have been talking about that. Why was that not on the campaign trail?' Listen to the interview here. THE BUZZ A TRUMP VISIT: Lara Trump, the former co-chair of the Republican National Committee and daughter-in-law of the president, visited Illinois on Friday making a bold statement that Illinois could turn red in 2028 — and she revealed some insight about President Donald Trump's executive moves. She had stats: 'Donald Trump in 2016 got 38 percent of the vote here. In 2020, 40 percent of the vote. In 2024, he got 45 percent of the vote in the state of Illinois. I want you guys to understand something. We are about to turn the state of Illinois in the next presidential election to a red state,' Trump told a crowd of 500 at Venuti's Italian restaurant in Addison. The event was a fundraiser for McHenry County GOPAC. Lara Trump also offered a glimpse into the thinking of the president's recent executive actions. During his first term, she said, the president was told repeatedly, 'You need to fit into this specific mold. And so he tried to fit into that mold, and he got a lot of great things accomplished.' That changed in his second term: He's 'looking at things differently,' Lara Trump said. The president 'isn't trying to fit in that mold anymore. He said, 'You know what? I'm going to come into this White House, and I'm going to do things my way this time.'' ABC 7's Liz Nagy has more. SPOTTED: Illinois GOP Chair Kathy Salvi, House Republican Leader Tony McCombie and Republican state Reps. Martin McLaughlin, John Cabello, Jed Davis, Regan Deering, Bradley Fritts, Amy Grant, Jeff Keicher, Patrick Sheehan, Dennis Tipsword, Dan Ugaste and Tom Weber. Also in the room: Former state Sen. Darren Bailey, who's mulling a run for office again. 'Stay tuned,' he says. If you are Jen Psaki, Playbook would like to hear from you! Email: skapos@ WHERE'S JB No official public events WHERE's BRANDON No official public events Where's Toni No official public events Have a tip, suggestion, birthday, new job or a complaint? Email skapos@ BUSINESS OF POLITICS — FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: A new poll is offering a hypothetical race for Chicago mayor. The primary is two years away on Feb. 23, 2027. The survey includes 11 potential candidates whose names have been batted about, and it also highlights the priority issues for voters. The poll was conducted by M3 Strategies and commissioned and paid for by Urban Center, a C-4 nonprofit organization that's headed by Juan Rangel. M3 did polling for Paul Vallas during his 2023 mayoral campaign, and Rangel also endorsed Vallas that year. The poll surveyed 696 likely Chicago voters Feb. 20-21 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.71 percentage points. The results: The poll shows Mayor Brandon Johnson's support at 8.2 percent with a 79.9 percent unfavorable rating — trailing Vallas, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias and State Comptroller Susana Mendoza. The full polling memo is here. THE STATEWIDES — Financial impacts of federal action stir anxiety for Illinois farmers, by Ashley Soriano and the Medill Illinois News Bureau — Lawmakers weigh whether to legalize 'medical aid in dying,' by Capitol News' Andrew Adams — Black and brown veterans call on Gov. Pritzker for pardons to avoid deportations, by The Triibe's Tonia Hill — In Chicago, City touts mission to target employee ties to hate groups; community demands police be the priority, by the Tribune's Alice Yin and Adriana Pérez COOK COUNTY AND COLLARS — SCOOP: Liz Nicholson, the Democratic fundraiser who for years worked for the Illinois Senate Democrats, is throwing her hat in the ring to run for office. She's filed paperwork to run for Cook County Board of Review. Nicholson is talking to potential donors and looking for endorsements. She hopes to win the seat of incumbent Commissioner Samantha Steele, who's come under scrutiny for a wrongful termination case that the county had to settle and for being caught on tape in a drunken-driving case. — In Cicero: Esteban Rodriguez is receiving high-profile endorsements in his bid for town president. Congressman Jonathan Jackson (IL-01) and New York Congressman Adriano Espaillat, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, are both backing Rodriguez in his bid to unseat Larry Dominick. — In Dolton: Embattled Mayor Tiffany Henyard faces election challenge from one of her 'Dream Team' members: 'Trustee Jason House is trying to oust her from her post,' by the Sun-Times' Violet Miller. DAY IN COURT — Highland Park mass shooting survivors hope for justice, resolution as trial begins Monday: 'The trial is expected to be a particularly emotional one: Lake County prosecutors have said they intend to call as witnesses many of the 48 people who were wounded on July 4, 2022,' by the Tribune's Angie Leventis Lourgos. — Trial set to start Monday for Plainfield landlord charged with killing 6-year-old Palestinian American boy, by the Sun-Times' Sophie Sherry. Reader Digest We asked what sport builds political character. Jeremy Coster: 'Cross country and track and field. The events are individual and generally grueling, but your individual contribution affects the team's score in the end.' Graham Grady: 'Mud Wrestling, obviously!' Charles Keller: 'A golf outing scramble because you know the winners are cheating but you feel ok about it because you won a skin.' Ed Mazur: 'Tackle football. It emphasizes teamwork and getting knocked down and resuming the path.' Gail Morse: 'Baseball: patience to play small ball, power to be exerted when needed and strategy, strategy, strategy!' Jeff Nathan: 'Golf. It's the only sport that is totally up to you to enforce the rules. With a hat tip to John Cleese: 'A man who would cheat at golf will cheat at anything.'' Kathy Posner: 'Curling. It's strategic teamwork, precise execution and a lot of yelling at people sweeping.' Andy Shaw: 'Bowling. It requires a proficient use of big balls.' Judith Weinstein: 'Fencing. It's as much a psychological sport as a physical one. You've got to be nimble, stay on guard and remain in your strip [lane]. Trash talking gets you banned. And the odds of head trauma are practically zero.' Next question: Is it necessary to learn cursive writing? Email skapos@ KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION — Congressman Sean Casten is among Democratic lawmakers speaking out against Elon Musk for telling federal employees to explain their work — or be let go. 'This is a good opportunity for mass civil disobedience,' Casten wrote on X. — Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Congressman Jesús 'Chuy' García (IL-4) were among elected officials joining Chicago hospitality and restaurant industry leaders over lunch Sunday to discuss how Trump's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation raids were affecting business. THE NATIONAL TAKE — What Germany's election means for America — and the world, by POLITICO's Nahal Toosi — Email starts power clash between Musk and agency leaders — even the Trump loyalists, by POLITICO's Irie Sentner — Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills tells Trump she will see him in court over transgender rights, by POLITICO's Eugene Daniels IN MEMORIAM — Jerry Butler dead at 85; singer known as 'Iceman' also had a long career in Cook County politics, by the Sun-Times' Maureen O'Donnell. TRIVIA FRIDAY's ANSWER: Congrats to Robert Christie and Matthew Beaudet for correctly answering that George H.W. Bush was the last Republican presidential candidate to win Illinois when he defeated Democrat Michael Dukakis in 1988. TODAY's QUESTION: What do John Belushi and Bob Woodward have in common? Email skapos@ HAPPY BIRTHDAY Former Gov. George Ryan, former state Rep. Mark Batinick, adviser to the Cook County sheriff David Feller, Ravinia Festival CFO Peggy Papaioannou and Skillman Foundation CEO Angelique Williams-Power -30-
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Behind-the-scenes staff acrimony mirrors public tension between Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker
Hours before Gov. JB Pritzker suffered a rare defeat in Springfield over a hemp bill opposed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, the governor's chief of staff withdrew from a short-lived effort to convene with Chicago and Cook County counterparts to plan for President Donald Trump's second term. On Jan. 6, Anne Caprara sent a curt email informing the chiefs of staff to the mayor and Cook County Board president that she was opting out of their 'scenario planning' meetings organized shortly after Trump's November win. 'I won't be participating in these meetings going forward,' Caprara wrote in the exchange obtained by the Tribune via an open records request, adding that she intended to later 'catch up separately' with County Board President Toni Preckwinkle's chief of staff. The three chiefs of staff had met twice in December, the emails indicate, and were planning their next session for mid-January until Caprara's email appeared to cut out Johnson's chief of staff, former state Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas. About two hours later, Springfield's lame-duck session adjourned with no action taken on the Pritzker-backed legislation to crack down on hemp sales, effectively killing it. Caprara's note serves not only as another indication Pritzker was chapped at Johnson for working against the governor's hemp tax proposal, but also portends that conflict could persist between the two Democratic leaders as they try to repel the Republican president's agenda and tackle other issues facing both the city and state. At the time of Caprara's email, the strained relationship between the governor and mayor was hardly a secret, but public criticism was restrained. That changed the next day when the governor slammed Johnson, suggesting the mayor's opposition to the hemp bill was a symptom of broader issues, including poor communication. 'He doesn't call very often,' Pritzker said of Johnson. 'Maybe in the time that he's been mayor, he's called me, perhaps, five times?' The three chiefs of staff declined to comment about the dustup. Sources in each of the three offices downplayed the import of the Trump planning sessions, suggesting the meeting was preliminary and that other departmental staff — including those responding to federal actions regarding immigration — are still in regular communication. The mayor did call the governor on Jan. 19 for his birthday, a city source close to the mayor said, but a follow-up meeting between all three chiefs has not been rescheduled. The uneasiness between the two-term billionaire governor with rumored presidential ambitions who refers to himself as a 'pragmatic progressive' and the rookie mayor who is the face of Chicago's more left-wing progressive movement highlights some of the inherent tension among Democrats. Uncomfortably caught in the middle is Preckwinkle, the seasoned boss of the Cook County Democrats who prefers to hash out conflicts privately. By all accounts, she and her chief of staff, Lanetta Haynes Turner, maintain solid working relationships with both teams. Ego matches between Chicago mayors and Illinois governors are so endemic 'it's almost a cliche,' said John Shaw, the director of Southern Illinois University's Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, who has authored books on diplomacy. Chicago's longest-serving mayor, Richard M. Daley, often had challenging relationships with Illinois governors, even dubbing Republican Gov. Jim Edgar 'Governor No' as the two fought over the future of Meigs Field, which is now Northerly Island, the construction of a domed stadium for the Chicago Bears and the Chicago Public Schools. In more recent history, Mayor Lori Lightfoot's failure to make nice with Pritzker dealt her a critical blow when state legislators voted for an elected school board bill that permanently stripped the mayor of control over Chicago Public Schools. But given Illinois' status as a Democratic stronghold, Shaw said Illinois is 'likely to be at the epicenter' of federal disruption from the Trump administration. The most recent example came on Thursday, when Trump's Department of Justice sued the state, Chicago and Cook County over their sanctuary policies limiting the ability of state and local police to assist federal law enforcement on immigration-related matters. And in a legislative session that already promises to be challenging thanks to the state's projected budget deficit, the conflict also complicates Johnson's efforts to secure more state funding for his own budget and for CPS, as well as finding a shared solution to local transit agencies' looming fiscal cliff — a key priority for Preckwinkle as well. 'The moment is too big, the challenges are too great for any of these leaders to harbor personal grudges or have personal acrimony or have some of their tense feelings filter down to the staff level,' Shaw said. 'I mean, no one expects the governor and mayor to become lifelong friends or close political allies, but it's imperative for the future of Illinois that they find ways to have a productive working relationship.' Johnson allies have warned of political repercussions too, that the governor would be vulnerable in a Democratic presidential primary if he doesn't repair his rocky relationship with Chicago's Black mayor. But Pritzker's people see little upside in engaging with a struggling mayor whose closest allies have been openly hostile to him, sources said. Tension between the two leaders first bubbled up publicly during the migrant crisis. Under pressure to house thousands of people before the harsh Chicago winter, with busloads more arriving by the day, mayoral allies faulted the Pritzker administration for what they said was a lack of structural and financial help. As demand for beds in the shelter system peaked in the fall of 2023, Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, then Johnson's handpicked floor leader, accused Pritzker's press shop of propagating a 'bold-faced lie' about state efforts to provide shelter. 'I know why our mayor hasn't gone out there and called the governor out,' the 35th Ward alderman said during an explosive City Council hearing. 'But I will.' In December 2023, the state nixed Johnson's plan for a base camp for migrants in Brighton Park after the city declared it environmentally safe, with the two leaders pointing fingers over safety standards and communication. When Johnson announced plans to put the brakes on creating new shelters the following month, Pritzker said he was 'deeply concerned.' In February 2024, Johnson was cut out of a joint county-state news release pledging more than $250 million in additional funds for Chicago's migrant response. Sources said the mayor had backed off from providing a remaining $70 million. By the summer, migrant traffic had slowed. But a new source of tension emerged: the Democratic National Convention in August. The governor and mayor wrestled for control and credit before and after the blockbuster event, with Pritzker and allies winning out in a tiff over host committee leadership, and the two claiming credit for the event's success when worries about out-of-control protests did not come to pass. The enmity is partially driven by perception troubles, according to city, county and state sources. Pritzker and his staff's ambitions for higher office have contributed to self-importance and a hypersensitivity to criticism, some sources have said. Meanwhile, other sources have pointed to the belief that Johnson's background in progressive organizing repels him from anything that looks like kowtowing. Combined with frequent personnel turnover, the sources claim that makes the mayor's team disorganized and at times difficult to work with. The dynamic between city and state under Johnson is also intertwined with the mayor's close ties to the Chicago Teachers Union. After gaining momentum during the 2012 teachers strike and emerging as the progressive vanguard of the city, the labor organization primed Johnson to eventually win the mayor's seat after decades of being shut out of City Hall's fifth floor. But so far having a friend on the inside has not made the CTU's road to securing its next contract any easier. Breaking with their old playbook of challenging the mayor, union leaders last summer zeroed in on Pritzker, demanding he boost state funding for CPS and suggesting a bill on school closures that Pritzker supported was racist. He pushed back, doubling down in support of the bill and saying it is not the state's job to 'rescue' districts that burned through federal pandemic dollars. Johnson's team took to Springfield in early January to lobby against the hemp bill Pritzker publicly backed in December. The legislation sought to cap the amount of THC that hemp-derived products could contain and crack down on advertising that critics say was aimed at kids. While sharing his concerns about child safety, the mayor's team saw it as an attempt to regulate hemp as aggressively as marijuana — hobbling smaller stores that sell hemp-derived products — and make an end-run around Chicago's authority to tax the product itself. 'Our communities require legislation that addresses concerns related to minor consumption, as well as opportunities for regulation that support entrepreneurs and municipalities,' Johnson later said in a release. Johnson personally made calls to legislators to share his position, which was uncommon. Though the bill died after the city's lobbying effort, Springfield insiders — and the governor— said the mayor shouldn't claim full credit for tanking it. Several House Democrats were already dissatisfied with the way social equity protections had played out for marijuana and shared Johnson's concerns about the impact on small businesses. But the hemp defeat did drive Caprara's email, city and state sources told the Tribune, as well as Pritzker's airing of broader frustrations about the city's communication style and organizational disarray. 'With regard to his budget, literally, the last call that we got from them was in September, and then once in December, we, by the way, scheduled calls, and then they didn't show up,' Pritzker said on Jan. 7. City sources countered that budget officials did meet regularly, and Johnson pushed back hard against the suggestion he doesn't work well with state officials. 'This notion that somehow I don't have relationships in Springfield, well, they should actually go look at the true record,' Johnson shot back at a panel later that week. 'I did not show up as mayor of Chicago, then had to build relationships. I built relationships to make it possible for me to become mayor of Chicago.'
Chicago Tribune
09-02-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Behind-the-scenes staff acrimony mirrors public tension between Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker
Hours before Gov. JB Pritzker suffered a rare defeat in Springfield over a hemp bill opposed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, the governor's chief of staff withdrew from a short-lived effort to convene with Chicago and Cook County counterparts to plan for President Donald Trump's second term. On Jan. 6, Anne Caprara sent a curt email informing the chiefs of staff to the mayor and Cook County Board president that she was opting out of their 'scenario planning' meetings organized shortly after Trump's November win. 'I won't be participating in these meetings going forward,' Caprara wrote in the exchange obtained by the Tribune via an open records request, adding that she intended to later 'catch up separately' with County Board President Toni Preckwinkle's chief of staff. The three chiefs of staff had met twice in December, the emails indicate, and were planning their next session for mid-January until Caprara's email appeared to cut out Johnson's chief of staff, former state Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas. About two hours later, Springfield's lame-duck session adjourned with no action taken on the Pritzker-backed legislation to crack down on hemp sales, effectively killing it. Caprara's note serves not only as another indication Pritzker was chapped at Johnson for working against the governor's hemp tax proposal, but also portends that conflict could persist between the two Democratic leaders as they try to repel the Republican president's agenda and tackle other issues facing both the city and state. At the time of Caprara's email, the strained relationship between the governor and mayor was hardly a secret, but public criticism was restrained. That changed the next day when the governor slammed Johnson, suggesting the mayor's opposition to the hemp bill was a symptom of broader issues, including poor communication. 'He doesn't call very often,' Pritzker said of Johnson. 'Maybe in the time that he's been mayor, he's called me, perhaps, five times?' The three chiefs of staff declined to comment about the dustup. Sources in each of the three offices downplayed the import of the Trump planning sessions, suggesting the meeting was preliminary and that other departmental staff — including those responding to federal actions regarding immigration — are still in regular communication. The mayor did call the governor on Jan. 19 for his birthday, a city source close to the mayor said, but a follow-up meeting between all three chiefs has not been rescheduled. The uneasiness between the two-term billionaire governor with rumored presidential ambitions who refers to himself as a 'pragmatic progressive' and the rookie mayor who is the face of Chicago's more left-wing progressive movement highlights some of the inherent tension among Democrats. Uncomfortably caught in the middle is Preckwinkle, the seasoned boss of the Cook County Democrats who prefers to hash out conflicts privately. By all accounts, she and her chief of staff, Lanetta Haynes Turner, maintain solid working relationships with both teams. Ego matches between Chicago mayors and Illinois governors are so endemic 'it's almost a cliche,' said John Shaw, the director of Southern Illinois University's Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, who has authored books on diplomacy. Chicago's longest-serving mayor, Richard M. Daley, often had challenging relationships with Illinois governors, even dubbing Republican Gov. Jim Edgar 'Governor No' as the two fought over the future of Meigs Field, which is now Northerly Island, the construction of a domed stadium for the Chicago Bears and the Chicago Public Schools. In more recent history, Mayor Lori Lightfoot's failure to make nice with Pritzker dealt her a critical blow when state legislators voted for an elected school board bill that permanently stripped the mayor of control over Chicago Public Schools. But given Illinois' status as a Democratic stronghold, Shaw said Illinois is 'likely to be at the epicenter' of federal disruption from the Trump administration. The most recent example came on Thursday, when Trump's Department of Justice sued the state, Chicago and Cook County over their sanctuary policies limiting the ability of state and local police to assist federal law enforcement on immigration-related matters. And in a legislative session that already promises to be challenging thanks to the state's projected budget deficit, the conflict also complicates Johnson's efforts to secure more state funding for his own budget and for CPS, as well as finding a shared solution to local transit agencies' looming fiscal cliff — a key priority for Preckwinkle as well. 'The moment is too big, the challenges are too great for any of these leaders to harbor personal grudges or have personal acrimony or have some of their tense feelings filter down to the staff level,' Shaw said. 'I mean, no one expects the governor and mayor to become lifelong friends or close political allies, but it's imperative for the future of Illinois that they find ways to have a productive working relationship.' Johnson allies have warned of political repercussions too, that the governor would be vulnerable in a Democratic presidential primary if he doesn't repair his rocky relationship with Chicago's Black mayor. But Pritzker's people see little upside in engaging with a struggling mayor whose closest allies have been openly hostile to him, sources said. Tension between the two leaders first bubbled up publicly during the migrant crisis. Under pressure to house thousands of people before the harsh Chicago winter, with busloads more arriving by the day, mayoral allies faulted the Pritzker administration for what they said was a lack of structural and financial help. As demand for beds in the shelter system peaked in the fall of 2023, Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, then Johnson's handpicked floor leader, accused Pritzker's press shop of propagating a 'bold-faced lie' about state efforts to provide shelter. 'I know why our mayor hasn't gone out there and called the governor out,' the 35th Ward alderman said during an explosive City Council hearing. 'But I will.' In December 2023, the state nixed Johnson's plan for a base camp for migrants in Brighton Park after the city declared it environmentally safe, with the two leaders pointing fingers over safety standards and communication. When Johnson announced plans to put the brakes on creating new shelters the following month, Pritzker said he was 'deeply concerned.' In February 2024, Johnson was cut out of a joint county-state news release pledging more than $250 million in additional funds for Chicago's migrant response. Sources said the mayor had backed off from providing a remaining $70 million. By the summer, migrant traffic had slowed. But a new source of tension emerged: the Democratic National Convention in August. The governor and mayor wrestled for control and credit before and after the blockbuster event, with Pritzker and allies winning out in a tiff over host committee leadership, and the two claiming credit for the event's success when worries about out-of-control protests did not come to pass. The enmity is partially driven by perception troubles, according to city, county and state sources. Pritzker and his staff's ambitions for higher office have contributed to self-importance and a hypersensitivity to criticism, some sources have said. Meanwhile, other sources have pointed to the belief that Johnson's background in progressive organizing repels him from anything that looks like kowtowing. Combined with frequent personnel turnover, the sources claim that makes the mayor's team disorganized and at times difficult to work with. The dynamic between city and state under Johnson is also intertwined with the mayor's close ties to the Chicago Teachers Union. After gaining momentum during the 2012 teachers strike and emerging as the progressive vanguard of the city, the labor organization primed Johnson to eventually win the mayor's seat after decades of being shut out of City Hall's fifth floor. But so far having a friend on the inside has not made the CTU's road to securing its next contract any easier. Breaking with their old playbook of challenging the mayor, union leaders last summer zeroed in on Pritzker, demanding he boost state funding for CPS and suggesting a bill on school closures that Pritzker supported was racist. He pushed back, doubling down in support of the bill and saying it is not the state's job to 'rescue' districts that burned through federal pandemic dollars. Johnson's team took to Springfield in early January to lobby against the hemp bill Pritzker publicly backed in December. The legislation sought to cap the amount of THC that hemp-derived products could contain and crack down on advertising that critics say was aimed at kids. While sharing his concerns about child safety, the mayor's team saw it as an attempt to regulate hemp as aggressively as marijuana — hobbling smaller stores that sell hemp-derived products — and make an end-run around Chicago's authority to tax the product itself. 'Our communities require legislation that addresses concerns related to minor consumption, as well as opportunities for regulation that support entrepreneurs and municipalities,' Johnson later said in a release. Johnson personally made calls to legislators to share his position, which was uncommon. Though the bill died after the city's lobbying effort, Springfield insiders — and the governor— said the mayor shouldn't claim full credit for tanking it. Several House Democrats were already dissatisfied with the way social equity protections had played out for marijuana and shared Johnson's concerns about the impact on small businesses. But the hemp defeat did drive Caprara's email, city and state sources told the Tribune, as well as Pritzker's airing of broader frustrations about the city's communication style and organizational disarray. 'With regard to his budget, literally, the last call that we got from them was in September, and then once in December, we, by the way, scheduled calls, and then they didn't show up,' Pritzker said on Jan. 7. City sources countered that budget officials did meet regularly, and Johnson pushed back hard against the suggestion he doesn't work well with state officials. 'This notion that somehow I don't have relationships in Springfield, well, they should actually go look at the true record,' Johnson shot back at a panel later that week. 'I did not show up as mayor of Chicago, then had to build relationships. I built relationships to make it possible for me to become mayor of Chicago.'
