Topspin The three Democrats heading up a panel appointed by House Speaker Michael Madigan on the future of women in the party said the group will be independent of the state party organization that the longtime speaker chairs. State Comptroller Susana Mendoza, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos of Moline and state Rep. Carol Ammons of Urbana also said they expect "the full cooperation of the Democratic Party of Illinois in working to implement our recommendations." Madigan appointed the panel this month amid questions about his handling of harassment complaints in his political organization. "After discussing the scope of this project, we have determined that, for the sake of maintaining the integrity of our work, this panel must be completely independent from any oversight beyond the three of us as equal co-chairs," the three said in a statement. "We believe that achieving the level of independence we are committed to requires us to fund this effort ourselves," the three said. "To that end, we will establish an independent funding mechanism to pay for the staff, research, legal and human resources expertise necessary to develop an effective and fact-based set of recommendations. We will hire our own staff without input from the Democratic Party of Illinois." Meanwhile, the Illinois Republican Party has announced the creation of a task force on sexual harassment policies and prevention. Party officials said the group will enact guidelines for reporting sexual harassment complaints, increase awareness among candidates, staff and volunteers, and offer counsel to GOP groups and campaigns. The task force ultimately will make recommendations to the full Republican State Central Committee. The state party said it views the work as a collaborative effort involving Gov. Bruce Rauner's campaign, state House and Senate GOP campaign organizations and other Republican groups. (Rick Pearson) What's on tap *Mayor Rahm Emanuel will make a CTA announcement. *Gov. Rauner will tour a business in Decatur, and first lady Diana Rauner will talk about renovations at the governor's mansion during an event in Chicago. *The Illinois House and Senate are in session. Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson is planning a trip to Springfield to testify about gun control. *Two City Council committees meet. *Chicago Urban League President Shari Runner will speak at the City Club of Chicago. From the notebook *Kennedy proposes sexual harassment policy: Democratic governor candidate Chris Kennedy is proposing a policy to combat what he called "the rampant sexual harassment in political campaigns." "Only now, under pressure from the media and the #MeToo movement is Speaker Madigan caving and agreeing to an investigation," Kennedy said in a statement. "The problem is we can't allow politicians to investigate themselves," he said in a statement. "We need an independent committee to ensure the safety of staff in the political workplace. My plan will provide a true statewide policy for all political campaigns and an independent investigator to stop wrong doing." Kennedy's proposal would create a bipartisan independent committee within the State Board of Elections to investigate claims of sexual and workplace harassment, including requiring lobbyists to register as agents of a campaign. The committee would have 30 days to investigate complaints. It also would require all campaigns to publicly post and provide employees with information on how to file a complaint. All employees and interns would be required to receive outside sexual harassment training, sign a statement acknowledging they understand campaign policies and will not engage in sexual harassment. (Rick Pearson) *Pritzker compiles mini-attacks on Biss into new ad: Democratic governor candidate J.B. Pritzker has combined a series of small ads into a larger one that criticizes state Sen. Daniel Biss of Evanston. The ad frequently injects shots of Biss saying, "I'm running on my record," as narrators in the ad point to several issues, including his sponsorship of controversial pension legislation. "Biss wrote the law that slashed pension benefits owed to teachers, nurses and state workers. The court ruled it unconstitutional," a narrator says in the ad. Biss has said he made a mistake in moving forward with the pension proposal and has learned from the experience. (Rick Pearson) *Rauner on Obama center: In Washington on Monday, Gov. Rauner said he would work with the Illinois General Assembly to obtain funding for millions of dollars in infrastructure improvements surrounding the future Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Chicago's South Side. He said it was a "very, very important opportunity for the people of Illinois" and said the center would be a "great tourist draw" and "great economic engine." It was revealed last week that proposed roadwork and underpass construction for the planned Obama Presidential Center will cost about $175 million. (Katherine Skiba) *Quick spin: The city's Ethics Board didn't discuss its look into whether longtime Ald. Ed Burke, 14th, violated ethics rules when he sidelined an effort to increase the property taxes paid by the owners of two buildings his law firm represents. Not enough board members showed up to its Monday meeting. Board Chairman William Conlon said he hoped to schedule another one soon. ... The Latino Victory Fund, a national political organization that supports Latino candidates, is endorsing Jesse Ruiz in the Democratic primary for attorney general. What we're writing *Emanuel starts sales pitch on "once in a lifetime" O'Hare expansion. *5 things to watch for in the proposed O'Hare expansion. *Rauner heads to U.S. Supreme Court for union case, calls it battle against "conflicts of interest, corruption." Read about the oral arguments here. *Emanuel wants state gun control approved, including new bill named for slain Cmdr. Bauer. *$20M settlement advances in Chicago cop's deadly DUI, despite concerns over liability for off-duty behavior. *Preckwinkle says data don't back up Dart's concerns on release of gun suspects on monitors. *U. of I. graduate student employees go on strike. *Man shot by Chicago cops on decision not to fire them: "I'm sickened by it." *Metra is losing riders but gaining locomotives. What we're reading *Monica Lewinsky reflects on Clinton affair, #MeToo in Vanity Fair essay. *"American Idol's" Haley Reinhart found guilty of hitting bouncer during Palatine bar fight. *Anheuser-Busch goes after Whole Foods set with organic Michelob. Follow the money *A $5,000 contribution from Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman is among $76,000 reported by Rauner challenger Jeanne Ives. *State Sen. Ira Silverstein reports the Illinois Senate Democratic Victory Fund controlled by Senate President John Cullerton paid $50,000 for media production. *Track Illinois campaign contributions in real time here and here. Beyond Chicago *Supreme Court doesn't take "Dreamers" case. *Trump said he would have gone into school to stop shooter. *Missouri House leaders start Greitens investigation days after indictment. *No cease-fire in Syria. | 
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