* Now that Arne Duncan has said he won’t run for mayor of Chicago, Rep. Kam Buckner is even more actively floating his own name. From Fran Spielman at the Sun-Times…

“You’re gonna see a whole new generation kind of step up here because a lot of the old stand-bys are just not there anymore,” [political strategist Pete Giangreco] said.

“Is it somebody like a [Illinois state Rep.] Kam Buckner? Is it somebody who’s been around the block like [U.S. Rep.] Mike Quigley? Those are two names that are gonna get a lot of talk because they’re both people who are focused on getting things done and not so much on getting their name in the paper.”

Buckner told the Sun-Times he is “strongly considering” a 2023 mayoral run.

“Being the mayor of Chicago is the greatest job in American politics. It requires some real intentional thought for those of us who are undertaking that process,” Buckner said.

“Arne did that. Arne arrived at his decision. I’m going through the same process that he did. He would have made a formidable candidate, and so there may be a lane there. … I don’t know that it makes me more likely to run, but it does change the political calculations for many folks.”

And since somebody always asks in comments whenever Rep. Buckner’s name is mentioned in a post, his 2019 DUI bust is set for a status hearing on March 25th.

* Sen. Darren Bailey yesterday…

The truth is Richard Irvin is a career Democrat who won’t say where he stands on major issues like the Second Amendment, life and more. That’s because he isn’t a conservative. He’s a liberal being handled by the same deceptive campaign team that helped deliver taxpayer-funded abortion and that made Illinois a sanctuary state. I want you to think about that a minute. Friends, we can’t afford another four years of JB Pritzker. And even worse, we can’t afford more liberal, much less successful version of Rauner.

While true that several of Irvin’s team members got Rauner elected in 2014, they had either quit or were fired by the time the taxpayer-funded abortion and the misnamed “sanctuary state” bills were signed into law.

Mark Harris was brought in as the Rauner campaign’s general consultant in August of 2017.

The same day the Harris hire was announced, Rauner signed the Illinois TRUST Act into law. A month after the Harris hiring was announced, Rauner signed the taxpayer-funded abortion bill into law. Harris then worked for Rauner’s campaign through the November 2018 election.

Wanna guess who Harris’ firm works for now? Why, it’s Darren Bailey, of course.

* Speaking of Bailey, this doesn’t mean a whole lot if it’s not on broadcast TV…

We’re punching back on career Democrat Irvin’s lying campaign. While he was ‘passionately’ standing with BLM, enforcing mandates and praising Pritzker. I was standing up and fighting for YOU. And the only one in this race to raise taxes in Springfield is his running mate. #twill pic.twitter.com/RQUC76kO5D

— Darren Bailey for Governor (@DarrenBaileyIL) March 1, 2022

* DPI…

Weeks have passed since Richard Irvin flunked his first and only set of interviews. Despite promising members of the media and voters alike that he would be available soon, he continues to leave questions unanswered about his record.

Irvin has gone back into hiding so he doesn’t have to face his fellow GOP candidates and explain his flip flops on everything from COVID-19 mitigations to his support of Gov. JB Pritzker.

He doesn’t want to talk about his history of profiting off of keeping violent abusers out of jail, and can’t explain why he accepted $20 million from Ken Griffin after learning Griffin has millions invested in the gun manufacturing companies that are responsible for one out of every four guns recovered from Chicago homicides in the past five years.

As the head of the Rauner Reboot slate, Irvin is charged with leading the ticket that would drag our state back to the devastation and disinvestment of the Rauner years. So why Irvin so scared of facing voters or reporters?

Where is Richard Irvin and when will he come out of hiding again?

* Press release…

Today, Nikki Budzinski, candidate for Congress in Illinois’ 13th Congressional District, joined 22 Governors of both parties in calling for the immediate passage of the Creating Helpful Incentives for the Production of Semiconductors for America Act, or CHIPS Act. This bipartisan legislation that garnered 68 votes in the Senate last year would help to boost US manufacturing capabilities of semiconductors, alleviate supply chain issues and decrease our dependence on foreign adversaries like China.

Illinois is an optimal location for semiconductor manufacturing. The state has convenient access to the needed natural resources, is an ideal manufacturing location in the center of the country, and has a highly trained and educated workforce. There is a bipartisan bill going through Congress now that would offer incentives for manufacturers to begin producing semiconductors in Illinois.

Nikki Budzinski made the following statement: “We need to start making more things in America again. One of the ways to attack the overseas supply chain issue and our increasing reliance on Chinese imports is to start manufacturing semiconductor chips right here in Illinois with funding from the CHIPS Act. We’ve been gradually shipping good, American jobs out of the United States for too long. Now we’re paying the price as Illinoisans have been squeezed by the impact of manufacturing and supply chains offshored to China. My campaign is about creating good paying jobs for working families right here in Central and Southern Illinois. In Congress, I’ll fight every single day to increase American manufacturing, solve our global supply chain issues, and decrease our reliance on Chinese imports.”

* Press release…

In the immediate aftermath of President Biden’s first State of the Union address, the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) announced a second round of endorsements in the 2022 midterm election cycle: 17 House incumbents who embody Jewish and Democratic values and are well-deserving of another term in Congress. These endorsements bring JDCA’s total 2022 endorsements to 30, on top of its 13 Senate endorsements announced late last year. Additional JDCA endorsements are to follow.

This latest round of endorsements includes candidates in competitive primary races in the 2022 election cycle: Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) and Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV). Building off of the organization’s successful efforts in 2018, 2020 and 2021 to reach, engage and activate Jewish voters around the country, JDCA and JDCA PAC will support endorsees with targeted digital advertising efforts and will deploy its national network of volunteers in phone banks and other events to underscore the importance of electing Democrats who align with the priorities of Jewish voters.

No surprise on Casten, considering his opponent.

They also endorsed US Rep. Lauren Underwood.

* Back to Bailey…

Not one but two Illinois gubernatorial candidates made a stop in Quincy on Tuesday.

Republicans Darren Bailey and Gary Rabine met up with voters at a bar on the riverfront where they answered questions.

WGEM spoke with the state senator and the businessman about their campaigns and what they hope to do for the state if elected governor.

“Get involved. Join the grass roots movement. I believe that we have a grass roots movement here in Illinois that has countered to President Trump’s movement in 2016,” Bailey said. “It’s the common people, it’s the businesses, it’s the communities like Quincy that have been forgotten and left behind.”

The event was sponsored by the Quincy Tea Party.

* Ken Griffin responds to a recent Sun-Times editorial…

The Sun-Times recommends that we divest ourselves of any company that manufactures guns, hoping it will impair their future financial prospects. What the Sun-Times neglects to report is that about 40% of American households own a gun. My grandmother wrote about how she and her husband loved to go bird-hunting together. In a much more depressing vein, people living in crime-ridden communities purchase guns for self-defense. Unlike the Sun Times, I won’t paint with a broad brush every gun owner or company that sells guns.

I will not embrace today’s cancel culture nor engage in amateurish virtue-signaling based on blind ideology. I prefer to engage on thoughtful policies that will make a difference in the lives of our citizens. I have consistently voiced my concerns about Chicago and Citadel’s long-term place here, in order to push our political leaders to improve the quality of life for Chicagoans. I care deeply about our city and state.

Chicago continues to be engulfed in senseless and rampant violence. The number of people murdered in 2021 was the highest in 25 years, and concern over the government’s inability to keep people safe drove record gun sales. The violence destroying our city is not the result of these legal gun purchases, but rather a failure to prosecute criminals, a lack of support for police and progressive left legislation that prioritizes criminals ahead of law-abiding citizens — policies perpetuated by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Instead of deliberately misconstruing our role in the marketplace to parrot sloppy political opposition research from the governor, the Sun-Times should shine a light on his failures and politics-first mentality. Shaming our governor into addressing our crime pandemic will save lives and return Chicago to being a city we can all be proud of. Now, that is journalism that really would advance the public interest.

And yet he still hasn’t said word one about the mayor’s role in local crime-fighting. And maybe if he sat for an actual interview instead of getting kiss-up softballs tossed at him by the BGA, he might be asked about things like this…

The Office of Inspector General found “strong evidence” of “race-based disparities” in an analysis of Chicago Police Department stops and use-of-force incidents.

The inspector general’s office announced in a news release Tuesday that it found these disparities after looking at incidents from Oct. 17, 2017, through Feb. 8, 2020. The office found that Black people were consistently at a disadvantage and white people were consistently at an advantage when faced with such policing scenarios.

You can support the police while also making sure the police do a much better job.

…Adding… I didn’t notice this before. The News-Gazette asked the Republican gubernatorial candidates some gun and violence-related questions. “Have you personally been impacted by gun violence?” was one question. Sen. Bailey’s full response: “No.”