* Here’s a factoid I hadn’t yet seen or forgot seeing it if I did: Lori Lightfoot received fewer votes in the first round this year than she received in the first round four years earlier.

In the first round of the 2019 Chicago mayoral race, candidate Lori Lightfoot received 97,667 votes. She went on to win the runoff with 386,039 votes, or 73.7 percent, against Toni Preckwinkle.

Four years later during 2023’s first round, Mayor Lightfoot received 94,890 votes. That’s 2,777 fewer votes than four years prior and 291,149 less votes than she got in the 2019 runoff.

Whew.

* Shaw Local…

A Republican businessman and philanthropist from Galesburg will challenge the 17th District’s freshman congressman in November 2024.

Rafael “Ray” Estrada, 56, said he plans to tackle U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Moline, a former TV weatherman who took over the seat formerly held by fellow Democrat Cheri Bustos after beating GOP challenger Esther Joy King in 2022.

Earlier this month, the National Republican Campaign Committee announced its plans to put a bullseye on Sorensen and 36 other “vulnerable” Democrats […]

Estrada, whose family fled civil war Nicaragua 44 years ago when he was 12, is president of the nonprofit Estrada Global Foundation, “which provides aid to refugees and displaced citizens through direct assistance that helps provide for their basic needs and safety.” according to the release.

* The Strategy group won several Pollies…

Direct Mail - Candidate Division
For Governor - Democrat [Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers]
Gold: Don’t Run. We Are Tracking You
Silver: Alleged “Miscarriage”

For U.S. Senate - Democrat [US Sen. Tammy Duckworth]
Silver: Relentless

Best Use of Targeting
Bronze: Don’t Run. We Are Tracking you [Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers]

Collateral
Most Original/Innovative Collateral Material - Democrat [Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson]
Bronze: Mayor Rex

Regional - Overall Division
Direct Mail - For Local/Municipal/Mayoral - AAPC West [Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass]
First place: Way Out of No Way

They also won some Reed Awards.

* Uber press release…

Yesterday, the City of Chicago released an independent study commissioned on behalf of the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) that revealed Transportation Network Providers (TNP) chauffeurs, also known as rideshare drivers, are making over $1,000 weekly on average. Additionally, 25% of drivers earn between $28.90 - $37.90 per hour after expenses, while 65% of drivers make $18.90 - $27.90 per hour after expenses. The study, conducted by Crowe LLP, evaluated drivers who complete more than 30 hours of driving per week.

The study found that including all time online on an app, <24% of drivers work >30 hours per week and 25% of all rideshare drivers worked on multiple apps. Based on the findings, no full-time Uber or Lyft drivers earned < $21 a hour over the study period (all the way back to 2017) and only 0.4% of part time drivers did after expenses. Even including all online time (including duplicated time), >80% of full-time rideshare drivers and >55% of part-time rideshare drivers earned more than $20 an hour after expenses, dating back to 2017.

The study is here.

* From the City of Chicago…

• The City is currently housing 2,702 migrants
• 3,936 clients have arrived on buses from the border and have been taken to shelters since September of 2022
• An additional 3,144 clients have been placed into shelters through the 311 system since September of 2022
• Catholic Charities has provided Outmigration Services for over 705 clients […]

Country of Origin
Venezuela - 3589
Colombia – 336
Nicaragua – 186
Ecuador – 84
Peru – 37
Honduras – 16
Mexico – 11
Cuba – 10

* Isabel’s roundup…

* Crain’s | Illinois delegation asks Congress for $75M to pay for 2024 DNC: In a letter to the chairs and ranking members of the Senate and House appropriations subcommittees on commerce, the Illinoisans are asking that a total of $150 million be appropriated, half to Chicago and half to Milwaukee, where the Republicans are due to meet.

* Crain’s | Report allegedly reveals how Dan Proft’s news sausage gets made: What makes the Post’s story notable — beyond exposing the process and that operatives for Donald Trump are interested in the platform — is the ongoing investigation by the Illinois State Board of Elections into alleged illegal coordination between Proft’s People Who Play By The Rules PAC and Bailey’s campaign during last year’s election. As an independent expenditure group, the PAC is forbidden from collaborating, either directly or indirectly, with a candidate for office.

* Crain’s | A ‘ComEd Four’ prosecutor finally explains why some executives weren’t charged: As part of his final address to jurors, lead prosecutor Amarjeet Bhachu provided an answer: No one at the utility or its parent, except Pramaggiore, had the full view of the pile of favors being done for Madigan. … In a slide shown to jurors as Bhachu discussed the issue, the names of the three were shown with this comment: “1. ‘The question is whether the defendants had corrupt intent — not someone else.’” “None of those folks had the full picture,” Bhachu said.

* Fox Chicago | Family of Illinois man fatally struck by ambulance hopes measure will save lives: The measure would require ambulance drivers to slow down and use both lights and sirens before proceeding through red lights or stop signs, and would expand training on situations warranting the use of lights and sirens.

* Daily Herald | ‘We’re the envy of what most cities want to be’: Outgoing Naperville mayor reflects on his two terms: During his tenure, Chirico, 63, guided the city through an era of strong economic development and financial stability. He also dealt with unexpected setbacks caused by the pandemic, civil unrest and a devastating tornado.

* Herald-Whig | Eyler kicks off campaign for Adams County state’s attorney: A Republican, Eyler has served as first assistant state’s attorney in Adams County since December 2016 when State’s Attorney Gary Farha took office. Eyler said no matter what changes lawmakers in Springfield make to criminal law in Illinois, the state’s attorney’s office will continue to prosecute crime.

* Casino | Circa Sports Approved for Illinois Betting License, Eyes August Launch: Circa applied for an Illinois sports wagering license nearly a year ago. From here, the operator must make a written request to the IGB to start accepting bets in the state. Upon approval, Circa will be the eighth gaming company to offer mobile sports betting in the sixth-largest state.

* Tribune | A decade into the work, Chicago is finally taking out toxic lead pipes when it replaces water mains: On every one of the 792 miles dug up, crews hired by the Department of Water Management connected new cast-iron water mains to old lead pipes known as service lines that bring water into single-family homes and two-flats.

* Sun-Times | Noose found on tree at Naperville middle school: Naperville police are investigating after a noose was found on the grounds of an Indian Prairie Unit District 204 middle school. The noose was found Thursday in a tree at Scullen Middle School, according to Lisa Barry, the district’s spokesman.

* SJ-R | Springfield, Logan County receive grant money for Route 66 projects: The state announced Thursday that Springfield would be receiving $623,000 from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s Route 66 Grant Program to help in the construction of 12 murals connecting the city and other cities and villages in central Illinois to other murals in the Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor – located in the Chicago area – and the Great Rivers & Routes area in the Metro East suburbs of St. Louis.

* AP | Iowa flooding: Cities work to keep out Mississippi River floodwaters: The Upper Mississippi River will rise to near record-high levels as it flows through Wisconsin and Iowa, but officials said they expected to hold back floodwaters with a combination of flood walls, temporary barriers and wetlands, especially if dry weather continues.

* Sun-Times | 4-year-old, 2 adults hospitalized after SUV crashes into day care center in Chatham. ‘My heart dropped instantly.’: A man, 34, was driving with his 4-year-old to the center when he accidentally accelerated and drove through the front window, according to the day care center’s owner, Raekwon Neighbors, and Chicago police.

* Fox News Poll | Voters favor gun limits over arming citizens to reduce gun violence: After a series of mass shootings this spring, including the killing of several students at a private Christian school in Tennessee, voters would prefer focusing on specific gun control measures rather than arming citizens to reduce gun violence.

* Tribune | ‘Put it on me,’ White Sox GM says of team’s worst start since 1986: “Put it on me,” Hahn continued. “I’ll tell you this, let’s make this real clear, it sure as heck isn’t on (manager) Pedro (Grifol) and his coaching staff. They are doing everything in their power to prepare, focus on what’s controllable, what’s fixable, addressing the problems as they arise. And are really doing everything in their power to get this thing right. It’s absolutely not on the manager and the coaches.

* STLPD | Elvis is in the building during Illinois Elvis Festival in Collinsville: Elvis tribute artists take to the stage to the delight of Elvis fans during the Illinois Elvis Festival at the Gateway Convention Center in Collinsville. The festival continues on Friday and Saturday with two shows each day. ETA Festivals, the organizers of the event, said they expect 6-8,000 people to attend the shows over the weekend. The event features 12 different Elvis tribute artists, including Bill Cherry and 14-year-old Finley Watkins from Bernie, Mo.

* CNN | Twitter’s former CEO has a new app that looks a lot like Twitter: But under the hood, Bluesky, developed by Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, is vastly different. The app, which launched in a closed beta on iOS in February and on Android this month, runs on a decentralized network which provides users with more control over how the service is run, data is stored, and content is moderated.