The downtown Chicago event to mark the renaming of a street for civil rights leader, journalist and suffragist Ida B. Wells-Barnett got a little political when Chaz Ebert signaled that Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is her choice in the mayor's race. Voters like Ebert who've made up their minds now can cast a ballot in city neighborhoods after early voting sites opened in all 50 wards on Monday. Preckwinkle likes to talk about her teaching career, including a recent campaign ad that states "hundreds" of Chicago Public Schools students knew her as "Mrs. Preckwinkle." And she won the endorsement of the powerful Chicago Teachers Union, whose vice president invoked the ad and told the Tribune: "she basically said she's our tribe." Learn more about her short stint at CPS below. And Attorney General Kwame Raoul petitioned the state Supreme Court to challenge the sentence of former Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, convicted of shooting and killing teen Laquan McDonald. Welcome to The Spin. |
 At a downtown ceremony Monday to rename Congress Parkway as Ida B. Wells Drive, Chaz Ebert pointed to Preckwinkle and said: "I hope I see the future mayor here. This is the time for the rise of a feminist" consciousness, according to the Tribune's Lolly Bowean. Wells is the first African-American woman to have a downtown street named after her. Read the full story here. A history lesson: From another Bowean story: "From her base on the South Side, Ida B. Wells-Barnett crusaded against the racist lynching of black men, pushed for women's right to vote and started numerous organizations to help African-Americans gain economic and political power in Chicago and the country. She's known for having created the first kindergarten for black children and she worked tirelessly to get Chicago's first black alderman elected." Read that story here. Early voting: There are now 51 sites citywide where you can vote early, including a downtown "super site" and polling places in each of the city's 50 wards. Chicagoans can cast a ballot at any of the early voting sites in the city, no matter where they live. Check out my nifty guide on everything from registering to vote to early voting sites here. |   |
 From the Tribune's Megan Crepeau: "Special prosecutors and the Illinois attorney general's office are challenging former Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke's prison sentence before the state's highest court." The sentence: Van Dyke was convicted of one count of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery in the on-duty shooting of Laquan McDonald. He was sentenced last month to nearly seven years in prison. The legal issue: Judge Vincent Gaughan "sentenced Van Dyke only on the second-degree murder conviction, ruling it was the more serious offense and the aggravated battery counts should 'merge' into it for purposes of sentencing," Crepeau explains. "But the petition argues that the state Supreme Court should order Gaughan to resentence the ex-patrol officer on the 16 counts of aggravated battery because, under state law, it is considered the more serious offense. An aggravated battery with a firearm conviction carries a sentence of six to 30 years in prison." Read the full story here. Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday signed an executive order creating a new criminal justice reform initiative: The effort, to be led by Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, is called the Justice, Equity and Opportunity Initiative. Working with state agencies and other organizations across Illinois, the initiative will conduct research, create pilot programs and advocate for legislation with a "restorative justice" approach, prioritizing rehabilitation over incarceration. There also will be a focus on creating educational and economic opportunities in areas with high crime and incarceration rates. During the campaign, Pritzker promised to create an Office of Criminal Justice Reform and Economic Opportunity under Stratton's supervision, but the initiative announced Monday, which will have a full-time staff of three, takes its place, spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said. Also on Monday, the governor appointed leaders for two task forces charged with addressing issues facing Illinois' public pension system. One will study consolidating local police and firefighter pensions into a statewide system, and the other will look at selling or transferring state assets to help shore up the underfunded pension plans for state workers. Among those named to the panels is Christine Radogno, the former Republican leader in the Illinois Senate. (Dan Petrella) Coming soon? The Illinois House could vote as soon as Thursday to raise the state's $8.25-per-hour minimum wage to $9.25 on Jan. 1 and to $15 by 2025. House Speaker Michael Madigan and Pritzker have voiced support for the bill, which the Senate approved last week. Meanwhile, a group of downstate business owners, rallied by the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, held a news conference at the Capitol on Monday to continue calling for a lower minimum wage outside Chicago. (Dan Petrella) | |
 By now we know Preckwinkle won the powerful (and coveted) Chicago Teacher's Union endorsement. The Tribune's Juan Perez Jr. takes a look at how the organization representing rank-and-file Chicago Public Schools teachers could sway the election from urging its considerable membership — city dwellers — to the polls to bringing in the money to help a candidate cover the cost of getting an ad on TV. Read the story here. Teaching career: In a recent campaign ad focusing on her teaching career, Preckwinkle is seen smiling and greeting children as they walk through a doorway with a narrator saying: "Before she was alderman or county board president, to hundreds of CPS students she was Mrs. Preckwinkle." Asked about her time in the classroom, her campaign staff sketched out a resume showing she worked about a decade as a teacher, largely in Catholic and Montessori schools. She worked part-time during the 1970-71 school year at CPS' Calumet High School where she taught history, said Preckwinkle spokeswoman Monica Trevino. Asked how she came to interact with "hundreds" of students during a single school year, Trevino wrote in an email: "We're not really sure what you're getting at here, but any insinuation that Toni Preckwinkle wasn't a teacher or didn't dedicate her time and energy to improving the lives of students is misguided and wrong. Toni taught and interacted with hundreds of CPS students while she was a teacher, both during the day and during after-school activities." BGA: Preckwinkle misrepresents Mendoza's death penalty stand: One of Preckwinkle's campaign ads implies fellow mayoral Susana Mendoza opposed ending the death penalty as a state lawmaker. In 2011 Mendoza voted to abolish the death penalty. Read the Better Government Association's piece here. Ald. George Cardenas apologizes for promoting CTU endorsement he did not receive: "I have alerted the leadership of CTU," Cardenas said Sunday. "I apologize if anybody is offended. … We're not going to use any endorsement if we don't earn it," Cardenas said Sunday. Read Elyssa Cherney's story here. | |
 From the Tribune's Hal Dardick: "Embattled Ald. Edward Burke got property tax breaks on his home and office building last year that the newly elected Cook County assessor says he can't explain. The breaks, which saved the 14th Ward alderman more than $1,500 on his property tax bills, came as Burke was under federal investigation for suspicion of using the considerable powers of his office and Finance Committee chairmanship to leverage business for Klafter & Burke, his property tax appeals firm." Read the full story here. The tax break was signed off on during Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios' tenure. He denies given Burke favorable treatment. Berrios lost re-election to Fritz Kaegi, who "won the assessor's office after pledging to fix an assessment system that a Tribune investigation — 'The Tax Divide' — found undervalued more costly homes and over-assessed less expensive ones, which tended to shift the property tax burden to the less affluent," Dardick writes. | |
 During the contentious Democratic primary for governor, now-U.S. Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia was an ever-present supporter for businessman Chris Kennedy over the rest of a field that included Pritzker and Ald. Ameya Pawar, 47th. Pawar dropped out more than a year before the 2018 general election citing a lack of funds. Last October, he announced his bid for city treasurer. So it was interesting on Sunday morning that anyone at the downtown Billy Goat Tavern was confronted with the unusual scene of five TV cameras and a news conference featuring Garcia backing Pawar for treasurer. Asked by a reporter if his endorsement meant Pawar was better suited for city treasurer than Illinois' chief executive, Garcia said he had made an early commitment to Kennedy in the 2018 race but that in the primary campaign for governor, "Ald. Pawar won my heart." "I was quite moved by his vision, by his ability to move everywhere in Illinois — and especially because of his concern for inequality, for bringing greater equity. I think this office can play a key role in producing outcomes that lead us toward equity," Garcia said. "So, it's a different race. It's a different time. And I think he's the person for the job," he explained. Also running for city treasurer are state Rep. Melissa Conyears-Ervin, D-Chicago, and accountant Peter Gariepy. (Rick Pearson) | |
 Condolences to U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, whose father died over the weekend. From the Tribune's Pearson: "Difficult times in Bill Quigley's life instilled in him an ethic to be productive, to work hard, to seek to do the right thing and believe in the potential of success — all things he passed along to his children. William 'Bill' Earl Quigley, an orphan adopted during the Great Depression and a military veteran who went on to become a supervising engineer with AT&T, died Saturday from Parkinson's disease." Read the obituary here. ldonovan@chicagotribune.com Twitter @byldonovan | |
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