* When just 5.5 percent of the voting public is watching, the expectation game is almost completely irrelevant…

Bailey generally outperformed low expectations in the first debate of the two on Oct. 6 at Illinois State University in Normal, a chippy affair in which each labeled the other as a liar, the two repeatedly interrupted each other and both accused the other of hypocrisy.

* Latest Personal PAC mailer uses not-so-subtle coat hanger imagery…

* Jason Meisner and Ray Long take a look at the US Attorney’s election timing in the latest Madigan-related charges…

In May, Attorney General Merrick Garland sent a memo to Department of Justice employees that was nearly identical to one sent out by his predecessors in previous election cycles, in both Democratic and Republican administrations.

The two-page memo, which was made public over the summer, said “partisan politics must play no role in the decisions of federal investigators or prosecutors regarding any investigations or criminal charges.” […]

The memo directed DOJ employees to reach out to the department’s Public Integrity Section if there were any questions about the appearances of any investigation or announcements “near the time of a primary or general election.”

Legal experts who spoke to the Tribune noted that the memo says nothing specific about how long before an election the policy takes effect, or what exactly would constitute a violation.

“There is no hard and fast rule here at all,” said Renato Mariotti, a legal affairs expert and former federal prosecutor in Chicago. “It’s merely guidance regarding the need to be concerned about any potential appearance of the Justice Department being involved in the political process.”

* Tribune…

Amid questions at a town hall meeting from residents about inflation, potential nuclear attacks in Ukraine and gun violence, U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, received a visit from his Republican opponent — Joe Severino of Lake Forest — in the Nov. 8 election.

Severino wanted to debate Schneider on the spot about the issues, but the congressman said he cannot engage in political discourse when he is participating in an event in his official capacity as the representative of the 10th Congressional District of Illinois. […]

“Joe, you’re welcome to stay,” Schneider said. “You’re welcome to have a seat. You’re welcome to stay. If you’re disruptive, I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

Severino eventually left the room.

Severino has been posting tweets lately about a bizarre conspiracy theory, which I can’t make head nor tails of.

* Politico…

— In suburban congressional races, Dems clobbering Republicans in fundraising — except in IL-17: Republican Esther Joy King of East Moline has nearly $1.4 million cash on hand to Democrat Eric Sorensen’s nearly $295,000, according to the latest Federal Election Commission reports. Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet has all the numbers. […]

— Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and Democrats for the Illinois House closed the quarter reporting $14.1 million raised and $17 million cash on hand.

— Judge Elizabeth Rochford is being endorsed by the Illinois Education Association in her campaign for the Supreme Court’s Second District.

— Republican Erica Harriss has been endorsed by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois National Federation of Independent Business’ political action committee in her bid for the 56th District state Senate seat.

— Democrat Maria Peterson has been endorsed by the Illinois Senate Latino Caucus, Citizen Action/Illinois and the Latino Victory Fund in her bid for the 26th District state Senate seat.

Harriss is running against appointed Sen. Kris Tharp. Peterson is running against Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie.

* Chicago early vote totals…

The most up-to-date Early Vote and Vote By Mail totals in Chicago, night of Monday, October 17, 2022.

The Early Vote total stands at 2,308 ballots cast.

Additionally, 14,147 Vote By Mail ballots have been returned to the Board – total VBM applications stands at 182,898.

The grand total is 16,455 ballots cast so far in Chicago for the November 8th General Election.

* Roundup from Isabel…

* Final gubernatorial debate to air on WSIL : Governor JB Pritzker and Sen. Darren Bailey will face off one last time October 18 at 7 p.m. The entire debate will air on WSIL, following News 3 at 6:30. […] Gov. Pritzker and Sen. Bailey faced off on October 6 in their first debate. They both used the hour-long debate to find different ways to to call each other “liar.”

* Democratic House candidates tout Reproductive Health Act while Republicans call for reinstating Parental Notification Act for abortions: While Republican candidates stated they are anti-abortion and Democratic candidates said they are pro-abortion rights, the majority of candidates said they supported allowing abortion in cases of rape or incest or if the mother’s life is in danger, but did not specify at what term in pregnancy.

* Media biz chatter over pro-Bailey TV spots spills over onto Twitter: A back-and-forth brewed between former WLS sportscaster Mark Giangreco and former ABC 7 political reporter Charles Thomas when Giangreco tweeted, “sellout shill Charles Thomas’ campaign ads for Darren Bailey “trump” the ridiculous NewsNation promos.” The comment prompted Thomas to fire back at Giangreco, mentioning his brother, Pete Giangreco, who is a political consultant: “Other consultants, like your Dem hack brother (Pete), get paid a LOT more. You could probably use a few extra bucks. How long has it been?”

* Pritzker, Bailey skirt pension specifics ahead of election e: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Republican challenger Darren Bailey have largely avoided specifics regarding plans to address the state’s growing pension burden ahead of the Nov. 8 election. […] Both Pritzker and Bailey, a state senator from Xenia, provided few details about how they plan to tackle the problem during the first gubernatorial debate this month.

* Civic Federation supports passage of forest preserve district of Cook Country property tax referendum: The Civic Federation supports passage of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s (FPDCC) property tax extension limitation law (PTELL) referendum. The referendum asks the voters of Cook County whether the District’s property tax limiting rate should by increased by 0.025% in property tax levy year 2022, which would generate approximately $40 million in additional property tax revenue for the District annually, or about $20 more annually for the owner of a $300,000 home.

* Budzinski out raising, out spending Deering in Illinois 13th Congressional District race: Filed with the Federal Election Commission, the reports as of Sept. 30 show Budzinski, a former chief of staff in the Biden administration’s Office of Management and Budget, has raised $3.1 million mostly in individual contributions. In a statement from her campaign office, Budzinski said she was “blown away” with the backing as Democrats look to flip the district held by Republicans for the entire millennium before it was redrawn.

* Heather Brown: 2022 candidate for Illinois Senate District 25: “As a homeschooling mother of 2 since 2020, I am very unhappy with the educational funding. Our schools have not been updated other than front offices for the faculty and we still do not have air conditioning for elementary schools. Our grades have a 10% ESL and Math grade from 2021-2022 school years. I believe holding funding from schools that do not teach the current bill SB818 is a deep concern,” Brown said.

* Endorsements…

* The Tribune endorses Frerichs for treasurer and Mendoza for comptroller

* Daily Herald endorses Janor for Illinois House in 41st District

* Daily Herald endorses Ellman for Illinois Senate in the 21st District

* Daily Herald endorses Gillespie for Senate Dist. 27

* Daily Herald endorses Canty for House Dist. 54

* Daily Herald endorses Walker for House Dist. 53

* From the bird app…

Tune in and watch. Out-of-touch J.B. had been locked in his basement for about 10 days prepping with his highly paid advisors after he couldn’t name a single song, or change he would make to the SAFE-T Act during the last debate. #twill https://t.co/BYcqe9Jeyt

— Darren Bailey for Governor (@DarrenBaileyIL) October 18, 2022

Dem JB Pritzker campaign makes quite a statement given the sordid history of Illinois governors: “There's no doubt about it: Darren Bailey is the most dangerous person ever nominated for Governor of Illinois.” Do you folks on twitter agree?

— Ray Long (@RayLong) October 17, 2022