OLYMPIC VINDICATION — RAPINOE, PRITZKER and equal pay — JUICE in the 3rd District Presented by Facebook

Good Monday morning, Illinois. After a restful holiday weekend, we’re ready to dig in to the next political season.

TOP TALKER

One of the officials tasked with Chicago's ill-fated attempt to secure the 2016 Olympic Games for the city feels vindicated after a former Brazilian politician told a judge late last week that some International Olympic Committee members were bribed into giving Rio de Janeiro the Games.

There was “suspicion,” Chicago's chief bid officer John Murray told Playbook. “But we obviously didn’t have any proof.” Now, he says, “We didn’t lose out on the merits of our bid — but because of unfair activity.”

Rio’s jailed former governor, Sergio Cabral, told a judge Thursday that he was part of a scheme that paid $2 million to as many as nine IOC members, including Russian Alexander Popov and Ukrainian Sergey Bubka, to cast their first-round votes for Rio. Bubka and Popov are denying the claims. Cabral is already serving a nearly 200-year prison sentence for corruption and money laundering.

Rio’s strategy was smart “even though it was illegal,” Murray said. Chicago had focused on surviving the first round and then securing support from cities who didn't make it to help propel the Windy City through the next vote. “We’d have a good competitive fight in the final round against Rio. They knew they had to get Chicago out the first round. It was the most dangerous round for them.”

Murray adds: “This is further vindication…that Chicago had one of the best technical and operational Games plans ever.”

Murray, former Mayor Richard M. Daley and civic leader Pat Ryan, who headed the bid, saw the Games as a way to boost the city’s image and create thousands of jobs in struggling neighborhoods.

Critics worried that the nearly $5 billion effort was a big risk — even though much of the cost would have been carried by private donations.

The irony playing out now on Twitter is that Chicago — a city familiar with corruption — was beaten at its own game .

Murray takes offense at the thought, saying Ryan “made it crystal clear, early and often, that we would have a zero tolerance policy” for unethical practices in the bid effort.”

THE BUZZ

THE U.S. MEN'S SOCCER TEAM LOST 1-0 to Mexico Sunday night during a sold-out crowd at Soldier Field for the Gold Cup final. But the real news is about Megan Rapinoe and her U.S. women’s soccer teammates who won the World Cup earlier in the day and now are fueling the debate about equal pay.

It’s an issue that’s top of mind in Illinois, where the General Assembly passed a bill that restricts employers from asking about a job applicant’s pay history. The goal is to prevent companies from perpetuating pay disparities, and thus narrow the wage gap. Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to sign the bill.

In the case of soccer, the pay disparity is wide. Consider this: The women’s team will be awarded $30 million in prize money from Fifa, while the men’s team last year was awarded $400 million. It’s no wonder the women are suing for gender discrimination.

Chants during World Cup watch parties included “Go U-S-A” and “Equal Pay.” And at a Lincoln Park event, attendees wore “Equal Pay” T-shirts, according to the Tribune’s Patrick O’Connell.

In some ways, Rapinoe will become synonymous with the fight for pay equality similar to how former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick used his public platform to protest racism.

RELATED: Woman, 23, plunges 40 feet from Soldier Field upper level in accidental fall after Gold Cup final, by Tribune’s Alice Yin.

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WHERE'S LORI

In City Hall for her weekly meeting with Chicago Police top brass.

No official public events.

SPOTTED

— MICHELLE OBAMA headlined the 2019 Essence Festival held in New Orleans over the weekend. She sat down with Gayle King for a one-on-one interview that addressed, among other things, how she dealt with the “angry black woman” perception. Chicagoans spotted at the event: Valerie Jarrett, a top adviser to President Barack Obama; Yusef Jackson, a son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson; Les Coney of Mesirow Financial; Robbie Robinson, a partner at BDT & Co., and his wife, entrepreneur D'Rita Robinson; advertising legend Tom Burrell; Sandy Matthews, a former U.S. Department of Education exec; and public-affairs and PR pro Lamell McMorris.

— Bill Conway, who’s eyeing a run for the Democratic nomination for the Cook County state’s attorney job, was spotted shaking hands at July 4th parades in Des Plaines and Evanston.

THE JUICE

Marie Newman, a Democratic candidate for the state’s 3rd District, has raised $328,478 for Q2, putting her at $539,826 for the 2020 cycle. Her average contribution is $45. Newman hopes to unseat 13-year conservative Democratic incumbent Rep. Dan Lipinski.





CHICAGO

— HOLIDAY VIOLENCE: Mayor Lori Lightfoot will address the weekend of violence in City Hall later today. She’ll have a lot to cover. Just days after news that Chicago saw a four-year low in shootings in the first half of 2019, the weekend crime tally was striking. At least six people were killed and 62 injured in shootings. NBC/5 details the incidents, including one in which a 44-year-old man was shot in the back of the neck while lying in bed. In addition to gunfire, there was a stampede at Navy Pier as crowds gathered for the July 4th fireworks display. Police reported "approximately 13" people who fell or were trampled during the ruckus, according to the AP. “The stampede started when a private security officer shouted for bystanders to take cover, according to police… The rush of people occurred shortly after a brawl that resulted in at least two stabbings.”

— Chicago’s immigrant families, businesses coping with fears of possible raids: “Last month, officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 45 immigrants in Illinois. In total, 140 immigrants were arrested in a five-day ‘enforcement surge’ conducted in six Midwestern states, according to a department press release,” by WBEZ’s Maria Ines Zamudio.

— Chicago’s pension debt overshadows improvements, by Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman: “Increased balances in the city’s operating funds and savings from refinancing expensive long-term debt are important to bond-rating agencies, city’s CFO says.”

— Lightfoot says Chicago teachers contract will strengthen school staffing: “Mayor Lori Lightfoot repeated on Thursday that she wants what the Chicago Teachers Union wants when it comes to putting more librarians, counselors and support staff in schools, but she did not detail a specific contract offer. ‘We are not going to have a contract that doesn’t include a lot of the things that we also believe in,’ she said. ‘We believe in strengthening our classroom experience.’” By WBEZ’s Sarah Karp.

— What's in a name? In Illinois politics, a lot, writes Crain’s Greg Hinz. “The recent changing of the legislative guard on the Northwest Side of the city and adjacent suburbs went down as smoothly as a precinct captain's palm card, with Rosemont Mayor Brad Stephens appointed to fill the term of resigned state Rep. Mike McAuliffe and committeemen tapping state Rep. Rob Martwick to succeed state Sen. John Mulroe, who resigned to take a Cook County judgeship... . What was especially interesting was that we've known those names before, because three of the four merely were moving up or on in the family business—Brad Stephens having succeeded his father, Don Stephens, as mayor; Mike McAuliffe vacating the seat his father, Roger McAuliffe, long held; and Martwick learning politics at the knee of longtime Cook County Schools Superintendent Richard Martwick.”

— Chicago’s drone law pits residents’ privacy concerns against hobbyists looking for a place to fly: “Residents are concerned about spying and annoyed by hovering drones. Operators say the city’s law is regularly misapplied, leading to harassment and no place to fly,” by Sun-Times’ Matthew Hendrickson.

— City cites four electric scooter companies over distribution issue, by Tribune’s Mary Wisniewski: “The city of Chicago has cited four electric scooter vendors for failing to properly spread the devices around the pilot area. Under the city’s pilot program for shared electric scooters, vendors must keep scooters within a 50-square-mile pilot area located west of Halsted Street and east of the city’s western border, south of Irving Park Road and north of the South Branch of the Chicago River….The four vendors cited are Bird, Bolt, JUMP and Sherpa.”

STATE

— Suburban watchdog: $1.2 million in pension income in 10 years of retirement: “The average retired Illinois judge left the bench a little more than 10 years ago and has received more than $1.2 million in pension payments during that time. Meanwhile, the average Social Security recipient in the U.S. has been retired for more than 17 years and has received less than $250,000 over that period,” by Daily Herald’s Jake Griffin.

— Ex-funeral home owner pleads guilty to looting pre-need funds. A funeral home director in downstate Sparta plead guilty to pocketing funds customers paid for pre-need funeral accounts. Comptroller Susana Mendoza's office worked with Sparta police and the Randolph County State's Attorney's office on the case, according to The Southern.

— Judge rules state legislators violated Constitution by voting to freeze their pay, by Tribune’s Dan Petrella: Former state Sen. Mike Noland can proceed with his suit to recover all the cost-of-living raises he voted to decline as a state senator. "Mendoza ... said the lawsuit is Noland’s 'disgraceful and selfish attempt to vacuum up taxpayer money ... Noland’s case perfectly illustrates why voters don't trust politicians. His legislative pension, combined with his new judicial salary and pension, should more than suffice. This is another sad week for Illinois taxpayers.’”





DOWNSTATE

Metropolis mayor: A casino is overall positive for the community: “‘We were able to do a lot of infrastructure and things like that that we actually paid in cash. We built a new fire station and police station, remodeled our library, redid a substation,’ Mayor Billy McDaniel said, adding that they also paved and widened roadways, paved alleys and completed several other projects over the years. They also had scholarships for local high school students.” By Danville Commercial-News’ Jennifer Bailey

As Illinois determines whether to limit potency of legalized pot, drug gets increased scrutiny after link to psychosis: “As Illinois prepares to legalize marijuana next year, one key aspect of public health that regulators will consider is whether and how to limit the amount of THC — the chief component of cannabis that determines how high users get. The new law signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker last month to legalize sales Jan. 1 states that the Department of Agriculture will oversee cannabis growers, including ‘establishing limits on potency or serving size.’” By Tribune’s Robert McCoppin.





NATION

— Trump wants to talk. Iran isn’t interested, by POLITICO’s Nahal Toosi.

— College entrance testers fail to police proctors, by POLITICO’s Benjamin Wermund.

— Biden apologizes for remarks about segregationists, defends civil rights record, by POLITICO’s Christian Vasquez.

— The Purell presidency: Trump aides learn the president’s real red line, by POLITICO’s Daniel Lippman.

TAKING NAMES

A Wheaton College grad will hear suit over Trump’s taxes: “The federal judge assigned to the case, Trevor McFadden in Washington, last month rejected a request by House Democrats for an order blocking the president’s plan to pay for construction of his southern U.S. border wall with about $6.1 billion Congress had allocated for other purposes, saying he lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. His ruling is being appealed.”

WHAT WE'RE READING

Mayor Lori Lightfoot tells POLITICO what she’s reading: “At the top of my list is Bluebird, Bluebird of the Highway 59 series. I like mysteries, especially if they deal with complicated issues around intersections of race and class. My guilty pleasure/fun reading is the magazine the Week .”

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx shares her list too. At the top is More Than Enough , by Elaine Welteroth, at the top of her list. “I strongly relate to Elaine’s notion that when you are identified as a first, you have the responsibility to bring your best self, especially to those who challenge your right to be in the space you deserve to be. Also on my list is Charged , by Emily Bazelon. InStyle Magazine is my guilty pleasure.”

MEDIA MATTERS

Chicago Defender to stop print publication: “The Chicago Defender will cease print operations, ending a storied 114-year newspaper legacy that included driving the Great Migration of African Americans to Chicago from the South and bolstering the black electorate as a key constituency in national politics. Wednesday marks the final physical edition from the Defender’s Bronzeville newsroom, its executives announced Friday, with the outlet switching to a digital-only platform on Thursday,” by Sun Times’ Mitchell Armentrout.

TRANSITIONS

— Longtime director of Chicago’s Jewish federation hands empire over to his son: “As 40-year head of the Jewish United Fund, Steve Nasatir helped bring in $8 billion from the city’s 300,000 Jews,” via Israel Times.

— Juliet Sorensen, the Northwestern University law professor and former federal prosecutor, has been named executive director of Injustice Watch, the Chicago-based nonprofit newsroom. Sorenson has spent the past nine years as a professor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

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CELEBRATIONS

ENGAGED: Katie Pudwill, director at Purple Strategies and a POLITICO alum, got engaged to Drew Wills, learning sales leader at LinkedIn in Chicago. Pic ... Another pic

WEEKEND WEDDING: Jennifer Haberkorn, a reporter covering Congress for the L.A. Times and a POLITICO alum, married Andrew Founds, a cybersecurity engineer with the MITRE Corp. Pool report: "The couple met two years ago in Arlington and were married Saturday in Jen's hometown of Chicago." Pic

IN MEMORIAM

Facets co-founder Milos Stehlik dies at 70: “In the days before you could watch movies on YouTube or your phone, Milos Stehlik was bringing gorgeous, thought-provoking films to Chicago from Senegal to the Soviet Union. In 1975, he co-founded the nonprofit cinema center known as Facets on the North Side. One of its first locations was at a former church – Grace Lutheran at 555 W. Belden – ‘a true temple of film,’ said Chaz Ebert, the wife of Mr. Stehlik’s friend Roger Ebert, the late Sun-Times movie critic,” by Sun-Times Maureen O’Donnell.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Keith Kelleher, a founder and former president of SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana; Michael Lufrano, the Cubs’ community affairs VP; WBEZ political reporter Dave McKinney; and Doug Belkin, higher-education reporter for the Wall Street Journal.

Sunday: Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th); former Ald. Rey Colon (35th); lobbyist and former Rep. Jerry Weller; city Senior Assistant Corporation Counsel Steven McKenzie; former Cook County Judge Travis Richardson; and Harvest Public Media reporter Madelyn Beck.

Saturday: Pam Capitanini, marketing and outreach director for Italian Village; writer extraordinaire Robert Loerzel; and public affairs strategist Jill Zuckman (h/t Hilary Rosen).

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