* The Tribune reports on a recent $415,000 loan made by the Chicago Teachers Union’s operating fund to its campaign funds…

“The loan to the CTU’s Political Action funds simply moves money from when we collect it (after the 2023 municipal election) to the time we need it (during the 2023 municipal election),” said an email bulletin to members Feb. 12. “The loans will be repaid with political funds we collect between the end of February and the end of June.”

Campaign finance records show the transfers aren’t without precedent. The CTU contributed around $323,000 in 2015 to the CTU-led Chicagoans United for Economic Security super PAC, which is a committee allowed to raise and spend unlimited funds advocating for or against certain candidates. The union separately gave around $570,000 that same year to then-Cook County Commissioner Jesús “Chuy” García’s unsuccessful campaign for mayor. […]

Boyle and Alison Eichhorn, a fellow delegate and former union trustee, claim that only a fraction of the money the union transferred in 2015 — to help a candidate it’s no longer endorsing — has been repaid. Four years later in 2019, the Chicagoans United for Economic Security super PAC transferred around $72,000 back to the union, campaign finance data show. Boyle said a repayment plan for the remainder of the loan was included in the CTU budget that year, but that no budget since then has reflected any payments.

* The CTU’s Brandon Johnson had a weekly radio show, and the archives are likely chock full of opposition research possibilities. On this particular episode, Johnson said of “our” move to “redirect and defund” the amount of money that is spent on policing: “I don’t look at it as a slogan. It’s actually, it’s an actual real political goal”…

Brandon Johnson will not keep our city safe. He’s already said he’d slash the CPD budget and put fewer officers on our streets.

It’s simple: Chicagoans do not want a mayor who will defund the police. pic.twitter.com/I9RbRbjGUs

— Lori Lightfoot (@LoriLightfoot) February 17, 2023

* New García ad…

I almost lost my son to gangs.

I’m running for Mayor because we can’t lose one more kid.

Let’s build a safer, stronger Chicago — together. pic.twitter.com/MwdRfWxFgZ

— Jesús “Chuy” García (@ChuyChicago) February 21, 2023

* Bit of payback perhaps?…

2023 Chicago mayoral candidate Jesús “Chuy” García endorsed Samie Martinez, a challenger to incumbent Ald. Rossana Rodriguez (33rd Ward), a spokesperson for the campaign confirmed on Feb. 18. The endorsement puts García in bed with allies of former Mayor Harold Washington’s fiercest enemies, including former 33rd Ward Ald. Dick Mell. García was once an ally in the City Council to Washington and frequently refers to that legacy as proof of his own progressive bona fides.

Rodriguez is a member of the Socialist, Progressive Reform and Latino Caucuses. She was among a wave of progressives who were elected to City Council in 2019. She won the seat after defeating Deb Mell, who had been appointed to replace her father Dick Mell, who was the 33rd Ward alder from 1975 to 2013. Laith Shaban, an investment advisor and housing developer, is also challenging Rodriguez.

Along with progressive incumbent alders such as Daniel La Spata (1st Ward), Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th Ward), Jeanette Taylor (20th Ward) and Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward), Rodriguez has endorsed Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson for mayor.

* Money…

Campaign money raised by Chicago mayor #chimayor23 candidates since January 1st: 💰#twill

Paul Vallas @PaulVallas: $3.6M
Brandon Johnson @Brandon4Chicago: $1.9M
Lori Lightfoot @LoriLightfoot: $1.6M
Chuy Garcia @ChuyChicago: $1.3M
Sophia King @aldsophiaking: $375K pic.twitter.com/Dzyl8X8jWa

— Frank Calabrese (@FrankCalabrese) February 20, 2023

* Ben Joravsky…

Vallas has certainly won Chicago’s MAGA vote—as well he should. He’s been courting it for the last few years, showing up at an Awake Illinois fundraiser, hanging out with John Catanzara, the controversial Trump-loving president of the Fraternal Order of Police, and appearing on the Jeanne Ives podcast.

Ives is the far-right, anti-abortion zealot who ran against former Governor Bruce Rauner in the 2018 Republican primary because he, Rauner, wasn’t conservative enough. And there was Vallas on her show, sounding like Ron DeSantis, going on and on about masked mandates, evil teachers unions, wokeness, etc.

Vallas has a MAGA-style hatred for the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). His voucher proposal to use millions in TIF dollars to subsidize private, non-union schools has the potential to do what even Rauner couldn’t accomplish—destroy CTU and public education in Chicago.

* As a reminder, Darren Bailey said “take back our state” a whole lot during the last campaign. Vallas is not another Bailey, but he does use a lot of the same rhetorical devices and hangs out with some of the same people…

Lightfoot is referencing comments Paul Vallas made at campaign stop in Garfield Ridge on the SW Side late January. Some say they were a dog whistle, Vallas camp disputes that. But here were all the mentions (which we get into and more in this story: https://t.co/oLuBEjcwnF) https://t.co/gwHmYpolys pic.twitter.com/cZtO2bcdHm

— Alice Yin (@byaliceyin) February 20, 2023

* Paul Vallas talked about Critical Race Theory on a Wirepoints podcast in 2021…

Vallas: When you introduce a curriculum that is not only divisive, but a curriculum that further undermines the relationship of children with their parents, with their families, that’s a dangerous thing. And for White parents, I mean, how are you going to discipline your child when your child comes home and your child has basically been told, you know, that their generation, their race, their parents, their grandparents they have discriminated against others and they have somehow victimized another person’s race. Or for that matter, if you are a Black child, how do you go home and and listen to your parent when your parent has failed to be successful in addressing these historically racist institutional obstacles that have denied them a chance at equal opportunity> So I think it’s detracting from our need to focus on our core subject areas. It’s allowing us to avoid accountability in terms of the quality of our teaching the quality of our schools, and I think it’s not only divisive, but I think it does damage between the children and their own and their own parents, their own family and within their own families.

Wirepoints: Yeah, Paul, I often wonder if you’re a Black kid, why wouldn’t you become a criminal if you’re hearing this stuff in school? It’s everybody with white skin is an oppressor if you have black skin, you’re the oppressed. That makes it pretty easy to justify pretty bad conduct in my opinion.

Vallas: You’re absolutely right. But what you’re also doing, you know, you’re giving people an excuse for bad behavior.

The professional suburban victim and the only White mayoral candidate are oh so worried that Black kids could be convinced by CRT (which is not taught in any K-12 schools here) to become criminals? Great.

* CBS 2…

Vallas also wants to stop the exodus of Chicago residents. He has proposed a property tax cap of 3% per assessment cycle, to keep people from being taxed out of their homes.

The people who will benefit the most from that will be people who live in affluent neighborhoods with rising property values. Guess who they’re voting for? Everyone else will have to pick up the slack.

* Buckner campaign…

Many candidates have talked about their plans to reform City Hall, but no other candidate has offered concrete steps the next Mayor can take to make city government more responsive to residents and representative of the 77 neighborhoods that make up Chicago.

“Today I’m committing to a reform agenda for City Council to make it operate like a true legislative body and not a feudal system governed by arcane traditions,” said candidate for mayor Kam Buckner.

“First and foremost Chicago should have a City Charter. Every other big city in America has one, but here we’ve only ever had ‘the Chicago way.’ City Council shouldn’t be a rubber stamp for the mayor, it should be able to elect its own leadership and be governed by rules that prevent unilateral action by the mayor, which Lori Lightfoot took to an extreme during COVID.”

Buckner’s plan also calls for a better process to enable more resident-lead ordinances, removes the selection of Committee chairs from the Mayor’s purview, sets stricter standards of transparency for the Office of the Inspector General and eliminates Rule 41, which gives the Mayor too much power to shape how the Council conducts its business.

“I am also calling for a community-facing ward map redistricting process ahead of the next census,” said Buckner. “The machine politics of old nearly tore the Council apart this year. While Mayor Lightfoot stood back and let it happen, the next Mayor must start right away together with the Council and community organizations to devise a better, more transparent process.”

Full plan is available on Buckner’s website

* On to other campaigns. Press release…

Today, Alderman Gilbert Villegas received the endorsement of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker for his re-election in Chicago’s 36th Ward.

“As Alderman of the 36th Ward, Gilbert Villegas has made expanding access to city services and increasing public safety his top priorities. Alderman Villegas is a voice for his community, a fearless champion for justice, and a trusted leader on the City Council. We need him re-elected for all of Chicago & I’m proud to endorse him for 36th Ward Alderman,” Governor Pritzker said.

Governor Pritzker’s endorsement only further strengthens Gilbert’s robust list of endorsements, which also include Senator Tammy Duckworth, Congressman Mike Quigley, Congressman Danny Davis, Congressman Chuy Garcia, Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Federation of Labor, Better Streets Chicago, Illinois Nurses Association, UNITE HERE Local 1, AFSCME, UFCW Local 881, IUOE Local 150, Chicago Firefighters Local 2, and more.

* And a campaign committee called People For Rogers Park is not set up as an independent expenditure committee, yet the PAC just reported an independent expenditure opposing Chicago Ald. Maria Hadden. Odd.

* Isabel’s roundup…

* ABC Chicago | Mayor Lightfoot: ‘I misspoke’ when telling voters who don’t vote for her not to vote at all: “If I said anything other than everybody everywhere needs to vote then I misspoke in the heat of a campaign rally,” she said. “But I’ve been very consistent all along saying everybody everywhere needs to step up, and they need to vote just as I said today.”

* Tribune | Chuy García gets personal in latest Chicago mayor campaign ad: ‘I nearly lost my son to the gangs’: “I’ve lost friends and neighbors to gun violence. I nearly lost my son to the gangs. We can’t afford to lose one more kid. So I won’t stand for a failed mayor so desperate, all she can do is run a false smear campaign against me,” Garcia says in the ad, while sitting at a table.

* Sun-Times | Where the money’s come from in Chicago’s mayoral race: Campaigns aren’t required to report the names of contributors giving less than $150 per quarter but must report the totals received. Campaigns also can benefit from money collected by outside political action committees — so called “dark money” funds that don’t have to disclose who makes contributions but also aren’t allowed to work with any campaigns directly.

* WTTW | Political Funds Backed by Business Leaders Challenge Push by Progressives to Expand Power at City Hall: The Get Stuff Done PAC — an independent expenditure committee chaired by Michael Ruemmler, an adviser to former Mayor Rahm Emanuel — has raised $1.74 million since early December, including $1 million from Michael Sacks, of Grosvenor Capital Management, one of Chicago’s richest men and a frequent donor and adviser to Emanuel.

* Tribune | City Council members appointed by Mayor Lightfoot find ties to her are a double-edged sword: Though Ramirez had already announced her intention to run for the Southwest Side 12th Ward seat and knew being appointed would give her a three-month head start, Ramirez said she didn’t want Lightfoot’s political baggage.

* CBS Chicago | GoodKids MadCity to host youth-led Chicago mayoral town hall: Leaders of GoodKids MadCity announced Monday they are hosting a mayoral town hall on Wednesday at Northwestern Law School. They are also calling for the City Council to pass the so-called Peace Book Ordinance they created to stop the violence in the city. The group also wants to lower the voting age to 16.

* Block Club | Ranked Choice Voting In Chicago? System Would Save City Money And Be More Democratic, Alderman Says: Ald. Matt Martin (47th) introduced a resolution to City Council last week calling for a hearing to discuss an increasingly popular idea: ranked choice voting.

* Tribune | South Loop high school proposed for former public housing site should be built elsewhere, elected officials and activists argue: At the time of the vote, detractors argued the plans to build the new school were rushed and the expensive project — expected to cost $120 million — meant existing schools wouldn’t get funding. However, Chinatown leaders argued the school is desperately needed in the growing area.

* Block Club | Ald. Jason Ervin No Longer Running Unopposed After 28th Ward Challenger Added Back To Ballot — For Now: Voters who live in the 28th Ward won’t be able to pick up ballots until they can be reprinted to include Walker, who was originally kicked off the ballot because election authorities determined he didn’t submit enough signatures to run. The Illinois Appellate Court ruled Friday that Walker has more than enough valid signatures to run for alderperson and his name should be put back on the ballot, according to court documents.

* The Crusader | 21st Ward candidate fabricated Morehouse academic credentials: A Crusader investigation of Mosley’s academic credentials revealed that the ambitious 31-year-old community organizer never graduated from Morehouse College. He fabricated his academic credentials and got a job as a political advisor with Gov. Pritzker’s office despite having just a high school diploma.

* ABC Chicago | Some say vacant industrial land would be better site for new Near South CPS high school: “Use the land you already have, don’t spend the 10 million of CPS to buy a piece of land, it could go to underfunded schools,” said Roderick Wilson of Lugenia Burns Hope Center.

* Block Club | Ald. Matt O’Shea Declines Multiple Invitations To Debate His 19th Ward Challengers, Frustrating Some Residents: O’Shea’s refusal to participate in political debates is not new to this election cycle. In 2019, he declined an invitation to participate in a Southwest Side GOP forum with challenger David Dewar, citing a scheduling conflict.

* Center for Illinois Politics | Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia Runs for Chicago Mayor Inspired by Harold Washington’s Legacy: ‍“I’m just delighted and feel some major backup in the fact that I was awarded with the Punch 9 ballot position,” laughs Garcia – the same ballot position that Washington drew in his history-making 1987 mayoral race.

* Block Club | Softball Leagues That Called Grant Park Home For Decades Get Booted Due To NASCAR Deal, Big Music Fests: “It looks almost impossible to run a consistent Softball League down at Grant Park this Spring/Summer,” a park supervisor for Grant Park wrote in an email Lally provided to Block Club Chicago. “I know you are aware of the events that are being held in Grant Park this year. We may have a couple windows of time that we could host a quick tournament or a couple games. A full season does not seem doable.”