Here are the text messages I traded this morning with my spouse, who is somewhere slightly warmer today: Me "-35 according to the deck thermometer." Spouse: "That's almost as cold as a politician's heart." The cold means early voting in Chicago is canceled again Thursday, election officials said. Meanwhile, amid reports that he allegedly traded sex and Viagra for favors at City Hall, Chicago Ald. Danny Solis is stepping down as the powerful head of City Council's Zoning Committee, where he had his hands in just about every major development in the city. It was the latest development since the FBI raided his colleague Ald. Edward Burke's City Hall and ward offices and federal prosecutors charged Burke in what seems to be a growing influence-peddling scheme. The Tribune found Solis borrowed thousands from a ward campaign fund — despite his six-figure City Hall salary — and got involved in a lucrative real estate deal with a campaign donor in his ward. And we explain more about how House Speaker Michael Madigan has operated for years. And Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn is reconsidering its plans for a southeast Wisconsin plant amid escalating tension between the U.S. and China over trade. Indeed, President Donald Trump saw the plant as a feather in his cap, even attending the groundbreaking event last year. Welcome to The Spin. |
 From the Tribune's John Byrne: "Ald. Daniel Solis will step down from his post as the powerful chairman of the City Council Zoning Committee, according to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, amid reports Solis wore a wire and recorded conversations with a City Council colleague while cooperating with a federal investigation. "Alderman Danny Solis has recognized that he cannot effectively preside over the matters before the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, and he has communicated with my office his intent to resign as chairman," Emanuel said in a statement. "I commend him for making the right decision for the City Council and the city of Chicago." Read the story here. Ald. Burke, who was charged with attempted extortion after Solis recorded their conversations on behalf of the FBI, previously relinquished his powerful post as the council's Finance Committee Chair. Murky personal finances: "As a longtime alderman, Daniel Solis makes a salary many Chicago residents would envy — nearly $119,000 a year after the latest pay boost," the Tribune's Hal Dardick, Jason Meisner and David Heinzmann report. "But despite his income, Solis' financial picture has been murky. In recent years, the bank that held the mortgage on his West Side home filed for foreclosure, according to court records. He's taken tens of thousands of dollars in loans from a 25th Ward campaign fund that he chairs, state election records show." Read the full story here. Pilsen developer leaning hard on Solis From Byrne: "The City Hall corruption scandal involving Ald. Daniel Solis wearing an undercover wire for the FBI is now bleeding into a court case over a proposed giant housing development that's been a flash point in the fight over gentrification in Pilsen." Read here. Ald. O'Shea: My code of silence comments were poor attempt at humor: Ald Matt. O'Shea, 19th, one of several Chicago aldermen who seemingly criticized Solis for wearing a wire on behalf of the feds is trying to clean up his comments now. Here's what he had to say after news broke that Solis wired up and recorded conversations with at least Burke: "Where I come from, if you wear a wire someone's going to kick your ass." O'Shea, who represents the Beverly and Mount Greenwood neighborhoods where a lot of police officers live, wasn't the only alderman to make such comments, prompting outrage and questions about whether the code of silence — a practice in the criminal world, law enforcement and elsewhere — extends to the ranks of Chicago aldermen. City Hall watchdog Joseph Ferguson penned an op-ed for the Tribune blasting the comments. O'Shea's now written a letter of "regret" over the comments that's been published in the Tribune. He states in part: "It was an ill-advised and poorly timed attempt at humor during a conversation I had with reporters" and that "I regret that my comment did not convey the seriousness of the situation." Read the entire letter here. The alderman is running for re-election this year against businessman David Dewar. |   |
 From the Tribune's Ally Marotti: "Foxconn Technology Group is reconsidering its plans for its first U.S. plant, a project that promised a $10 billion investment and up to 13,000 jobs in southeast Wisconsin. The Taiwanese electronics giant, which supplies Apple, said Wednesday that it is considering doing research and development at the facility it originally said would be a manufacturing plant." Read the full story here. The promise, the vagueness: In a statement, Foxconn says it's still committed to the creation of 13,000 jobs and its long-term investment in Wisconsin, but a spokeswoman declined to give more details on how its plans had changed. The criticism: "Since the project was announced in 2017, it has faced criticism over the $3 billion in taxpayer-funded initiatives and Foxconn's history of not following through on ambitious U.S. factory announcements," Marotti writes. | |
 They're not voting on anything yet, and details are still being negotiated, but the Illinois Senate's Labor Committee held a hearing Wednesday morning on the idea of gradually raising the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour. Lawmakers passed a bill in 2017 that would have raised Illinois' minimum wage to $15 over a five-year period, but then-Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed it. Gov. J.B. Pritzker is a proponent of raising the minimum wage to that level. Critics argue that raising the minimum wage would hurt small businesses and could cost low-wage workers their jobs. (Dan Petrella) | |
 From the Tribune's Gregory Pratt: "A prominent Logan Square developer is suing Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, alleging that at least $96,251 in unpaid rent is owed on his ward office. Ramirez-Rosa, meanwhile, said the lawsuit is a politically motivated attack from a controversial developer who he has opposed amid a wave of gentrification in the Northwest Side ward." Read the full story here. Ramirez-Rosa is facing a challenger, Amanda Yu Dieterich, in the upcoming municipal election. Reminder: Cook County property taxes due March 1 — and it's going to hurt: Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, figuring we're all stuck inside, says it's just as good a day as any to double check your first-installment tax bill due March 1 on the county's website (click here) and make sure you're taking advantage of money-saving exemptions. "You're freezing your ass off … you don't have anything else to do," Pappas, known for twirling a baton at area parades and other events told The Spin on Wednesday. The treasurer's offices were closed because of the weather. Pappas, however, showed up at the city-county building with her toy poodle, joking that bringing pets into a public building will likely get her in trouble and trigger an investigation by the Cook County inspector general. Brown endorsement: Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown, whose mayoral ambitions ended when election officials determined she didn't have enough valid voter signatures on petitions needed to get on the ballot, will make an endorsement Thursday. With several prominent African-Americans in the race, there are questions about whether the coveted black vote will be divided up so much that no African-American candidate will rise to the top. Could her endorsement send some voters another candidate's way? Whoever accepts it gets the controversy that comes along, including a five-year federal probe of pay-to-play allegations in her elected office and criticism of her office. 'Ready for Fioretti' ad launches: Former Chicago Ald. Bob Fioretti, who's in the crowded race for mayor, released his first ad of the campaign this week, with the help of the $500,000 donation from blues legend Buddy Guy, staff says. You can watch the ad, which includes the catchphrase "Ready for Fioretti, here. ldonovan@chicagotribune.com Twitter @byldonovan | |
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