Here's the headline we woke up to today: Another procession to the morgue, this time after 2 Chicago officers struck and killed by train. The law enforcement procession has become as ceremonial as a funeral. Police cars, blue lights flashing, escorted the ambulances carrying the bodies of a Chicago police Officers Eduardo Marmolejo, 36, and Conrad Gary, 31, to the Cook County medical examiner's office on the city's West Side to determine the cause and manner of death. They are among four Chicago police officers who have died in the line of duty this year, including Officer Samuel Jimenez, 28, who was killed last month in a mass shooting at Mercy Hospital & Medical Center on the Near South Side. And in February, Cmdr. Paul Bauer, 53, was fatally shot while chasing a suspect to a stairwell outside the Thompson Center in the Loop.While we're told that crime is down, the waves and ripples of violence in this city keep coming. Marmolejo and Gary were struck by a train as they investigated a report of gunshots in the area. Welcome to The Spin. |
 As she made her campaign rounds this week, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza was pressed by reporter Carol Marin about why voters shouldn't feel played by politicians who run for one elected office and win — and then pivot immediately to another race. Mendoza had barely finished a re-election victory lap in November before joining the crowded race for Chicago mayor. Her response? She's not alone. "We'll No. 1, we've got multiple candidates in that same position, right? We've got a state representative running at the same time he was re-elected. We have the county president who was also (just) sworn in," she said of Rep. LaShawn Ford and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, respectively during an interview that aired Monday on WTTW's "Chicago Tonight." Asked how she does the comptroller's job, which involves writing checks to pay state bills and some investments, and run for mayor? "I stay in touch constantly with my office, I go to the office, I was in Springfield just a couple days ago. I'll be there again — a couple of times over the next few weeks. I'm still traveling the state. We know how to get things done as women. We do it everyday, we know how to multitask. Women, frankly, know how to chew gum, walk and blow bubbles at the same time." Marin zinged, "And run for two offices." "I'm not the first one to do it. You know what? The boys have done it in the past. That's how Mayor Daley got elected … mayor," referring to him holding the job of Cook County's top prosecutor when he made a run for mayor. "Why should we have a different bar that we have to abide by than the men? I think that I present the best qualifications and the best opportunity for a bright future for Chicago. And I think I could be of even greater service." See the full interview here. About those school buildings: The mayoral candidate was back at it again Tuesday, telling a breakfast crowd of politicos and business types that she would seek to add day care and job training programs at dozens of underenrolled Chicago schools as a way to try to keep the schools open instead of overseeing another unpopular round of school closings. Read John Byrne's story in the Tribune here. |   |
 Self-described progressives, the two mayoral candidates have been trying to knock down claims they're part of the still humming Democratic machine in Chicago. They both say they'll be donating campaign contributions they've received from embattled Chicago Ald. Ed Burke, who's been under intense scrutiny after the FBI raided the powerful alderman's government offices. Read more here. | |
 It appears the federal government shutdown is no longer looming at the end of the week, after the White House suggested it wouldn't hold up budget bills over funding for a border wall. Thousands of federal workers face furloughs if there's no agreement by midnight Friday, days before Christmas. Still, many people might not have noticed. Last-minute packages would continue to move through the mail. Airport security workers at O'Hare and Midway airports would be inspecting holiday travelers as usual, though not getting paid for it. Pullman National Monument on the South Side already has shut down its programming for the season. And federal courts would stay open. Also noteworthy, given the time of year, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, a defense program known for tracking Santa Claus' flight on Christmas Eve, would not be affected by a shutdown. The agency plans to continue operations as usual, according to Capt. Cameron Hillier. "That includes, of course, our special mission on Dec. 24," he said. (Mike Riopell) | |
 Chicago, pay attention: Elon Musk is set to open his test tunnel today in California, and Bloomberg News took a look at what that means for those operating businesses in the area. Bloomberg's snapshot: "This year, Los Vegas Kitchen Cabinets in Hawthorne, Calif., got a surprise letter: The property where they had conducted business for roughly 20 years had been sold, and the new landlord wanted them out. The twist? The new landlord was an entity connected to Elon Musk's Boring Co., and the cabinet business needed to make way for a test tunnel." Read here. In June, Chicago tapped Musk and his unproven tunneling technology for an express transit line that would would whisk people between downtown Chicago and O'Hare International Airport in a matter of minutes. | |
 Aaron Lawlor, a young rising political star in suburban GOP politics, started to pull the plug on public life this past summer — first with a leave of absence for addiction treatment and then an announcement he wouldn't run for re-election. Lawlor, who worked for former U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, re-emerged in a recent TEDx Talk, where he looked in the rearview mirror and assessed the damage of his life: "I was a gay Republican in the suburbs for heaven's sake, and if you look up self-loathing in the dictionary it should read 'gay Republican,' " he said, eliciting laughs from the crowd. "So the story I told was that I was a lonely, alcohol- and drug-addicted, HIV positive, gay, elected official, Republican in the suburbs. I was an egomaniac with a raging inferiority complex." In August, the Tribune-owned Lake County News-Sun reported on Lake County State's Attorney Michael Nerheim's announcement of an independent investigation into Lawlor's use of a county-issued credit card. Read the full story here and watch the Ted Talk here. | |
 Your tax dollars at work, friends. From the Tribune's John Keilman: The game, scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Friday, was the least-watched bowl last year and features two teams this year that don't exactly have huge Chicago-area followings: the University of Toledo and Florida International University. Village Mayor Craig Johnson said when he came up with the idea his wife said, 'You're (bleeping) nuts,' and other elected leaders kind of scratched their heads. But the idea was backed by the village board and Johnson is doing his own little dance in the end zone, saying the publicity the unusual sponsorship has stirred up, including write-ups in newspapers across the country and even overseas, has already made the payout worthwhile. Read the full story here. Hinsdale District 86 cuts football, swim teams, marching bands: The school board said the painful decisions were necessary so the school district could afford pressing infrastructure improvements. Read more here. | |
 Rat, garbage tracker: Chicago residents can keep tabs on tree trimming, rat poisoning and garbage bin replacement requests through a mobile app via the updated 311 system City Hall launched Tuesday. Read the story here. Supreme Court challenge: Opponents of abortion rights have asked the Illinois Supreme Court to hear a case challenging a state law that expanded access to the use of taxpayer money to fund abortions. Gov. Bruce Rauner angered conservatives in 2017 when he signed a bill expanding abortion access for women covered by Medicaid and state employee insurance. The nonprofit religious liberty law firm Thomas More Society challenged the law in court, contending lawmakers didn't follow a process of adopting a revenue estimate when they made a budget, so spending money on the procedures is unconstitutional. The group lost in appeals court. "We're asking the Illinois Supreme Court to interpret and enforce the constitution and protect taxpayers against future unbalanced budget spending, including the unfunded spending for elective abortions required by House Bill 40," Republican state Rep. Peter Breen of Lombard, a Thomas More Society attorney, said. (Mike Riopell) Legislative watchdog: An ethics expert and former Downstate judge is set to be the Illinois General Assembly's next top watchdog, filling a role that came under increased scrutiny amid a flood of sexual harassment complaints at the state Capitol since late last year, the Tribune's Riopell reports. Former judge and Menard County State's Attorney Carol Pope will take the reins from former federal prosecutor Julie Porter in March, officials announced Tuesday. Read more here. | |
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