* NBC…

Mayor Lori Lightfoot is calling out a conservative super PAC over a new attack ad aimed at Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, accusing the group of using “racist tropes” to create a scary image of Black Chicago and altering her skin to appear darker in the ad.

The ad opens with Lightfoot, who is Black, saying, “This will be the summer of joy in Chicago.” It then cuts to sounds of gunshots, screams and scenes of shadowy figures in the streets shooting. The words “Chicago violence is coming to the suburbs” appear on the screen. The clip of Lightfoot, a fellow Democrat, is from a speech she gave to the City Club of Chicago in April. Her skin color appears noticeably darker in the ad compared to the original video.

“News flash. I’m Black and I’m proud. Everyone knows it. No need to use cheap tricks to darken my skin and try to scare voters with false narratives about Chicago,” Lightfoot said in a statement to NBC News.

The ad was run by the People Who Play By the Rules super PAC, which is fronted by longtime Illinois conservative operative Dan Proft and largely funded by billionaire GOP financier Richard Uihlein. The PAC supports Pritzker’s Republican opponent, Darren Bailey, for governor in this fall’s election. Uihlein, who did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment, has given the PAC at least $26 million so far this year. The ad is filled with scenes of live shooting, sometimes prompting a warning on YouTube before it can be viewed. Three unaffiliated political ad makers — two who work mainly with Democrats, one who works with Republicans — who reviewed the ad after being contacted by NBC News said the mayor’s skin appeared noticeably darker than in the original video.

* The video was pulled from Lightfoot’s City Club of Chicago speech, here is a side-by-side comparison of both videos…

* Since the ad debuted Aug. 15, the People Who Play By The Rules PAC has reported spending more than $1 million on TV ads according to state campaign finance records. The video is age restricted on YouTube so click here for the link.

* The Sun Times…

Pritzker’s campaign said GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey should demand that “his allies” take the ad off the air.

“It is disappointing but unsurprising to see Republicans relying on dangerous dog whistles to deflect from their own miserable records,” Pritzker spokeswoman Natalie Edelstein said. “Instead of insulting elected officials and Illinois’ economic engine, members of the GOP ought to figure out why they have to keep apologizing for everything that comes out of their mouths.” […]

Lightfoot accused “Bailey and his ilk” of using “dog-whistle tactics.”

“Darren Bailey says he wants to represent the whole state? Well then, enough of these dog-whistle tactics,” Lightfoot said in a statement. “He cannot be the governor of this great state by using racist tropes against Black Chicago. Real leadership addresses the root causes of violence and proposes solutions that bring people together. Darren Bailey and his ilk have proven once again he’s not the man for the job.”

* President of People Who Play By The Rules PAC Dan Proft’s official statement in response to Lightfoot…

“The assertions by Pritzker and Lightfoot as to Lightfoot’s presentation in the ad are insane–and par for the course from inveterate race hustlers like Lightfoot and Pritzker who are trying to misdirect attention away from the fact that she has turned the city over to repeat, violent predators and he aims to do the same statewide with his elimination of cash bail.

How are people enjoying Lightfoot’s ‘Summer of Joy’ so far? 1186 shot. 213 murdered. Most of the victims? Black residents of Chicago.

We did nothing to Lightfoot’s pigmentation in the ad just as we did nothing to the pigmentation of our pasty blowhard of a governor. The video of Lightfoot was pulled from the web from her City Club speech.

We are not ’scaring’ suburbanites. Are suburban prosecutors like Jim Glasgow and Bob Berlin also ’scaring’ suburbanites?

In fact, we are warning them about what is to come if they don’t make changes to the leadership of the city and state.

The two of them, Pritzker and Lightfoot, are two of the worst human beings on the planet who together have accomplished nothing other than to abdicate their collective, primary responsibility to provide for the physical safety of law-abiding families.”

* The Chicago Tribune…

Uihlein gave the PAC $8 million during the Republican primary, much of which was spent aiding Bailey by attacking the GOP credentials of Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, one of Bailey’s top opponents in the six-man race. While the PAC is prohibited from coordinating directly with any candidate, Uihlein also gave more than $9 million directly to Bailey’s campaign.

Since the primary, the Uline packaging supplies founder has given $20 million to Proft’s committee but nothing to Bailey’s campaign, state records show.

Despite the committee supporting Bailey’s candidacy, his campaign noted in a statement Tuesday that it has “no communication with or control” over the PAC.

Bailey spokesman Joe DeBose said Pritzker and Lightfoot have control over crime afflicting Chicago “and they should be more concerned with the people being killed and set on fire in the city.” […]

According to the ad, criminal suspects will be “set free” if they’re charged with myriad violent offenses, including kidnapping and robbery. But proponents of that provision say the ad’s claim is “patently not true.”