Former Illinois Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh is “taking the steps to run” for president, one of his political advisers told me today. And his decision is imminent. The controversial politico-turned-conservative radio show host’s near-constant bashing of President Donald Trump on Twitter and elsewhere in recent days sure signals he’s ready to rumble somehow.
Dan K. Webb, a distinguished Chicago lawyer who’s been in the mix on some of the most high-profile trials in the local and national political scene — but famously declined to represent Trump — will serve as the special prosecutor in the Jussie Smollett case. He’ll examine the widely criticized decision by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office to dismiss charges alleging the “Empire” actor staged his own homophobic and racist attack on a downtown Chicago street.
The probe is sure to be an issue for Foxx, who’s running for reelection next year as the county’s top prosecutor, and her challengers.
Embattled Chicago Ald. Ed Burke is no longer a partner in the law firm that bears his family name.
And Mayor Lori Lightfoot is putting up the “not hiring” sign at the city, her team announced today. The city government hiring freeze comes days before her “State of the City” address in which she’ll lay out the city’s budget woes.
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Walsh’s baby steps toward running against Trump
By the time the weekend’s out, we may know whether Joe Walsh will make a run against Trump in 2020. It’s a long shot: He’ll have to first try to win the Republican nomination, but Trump is expected to easily win the party’s nod.
He’s been inching toward it, and today one of his political advisers told The Spin that he is “taking steps” toward running for president and will appear on a national Sunday morning politics show. He could use it as a stage to make his announcement. Read my story on the latest in “Joe Walsh watch” here.
If he does make a formal announcement on Stephanopoulos’ show, it’s an interesting stage, politically, to do it on. Stephanopoulos has ties to both Democratic President Bill Clinton and Former First Lady Hillary Clinton – frequent targets of Walsh’s criticism. Walsh now says he was never a fan of Trump back in 2016 – even though he publicly supported him – he just didn’t want to see Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton win.
A former U.S. attorney, Dan K. Webb spearheaded the groundbreaking Operation Greylord probe that brought down a long line of Cook County judges, defense attorneys and law enforcement officers over bribery and case-fixing in the 1980s. Webb also was tapped to be special counsel in the Iran-Contra case, famously cross-examining Oliver North, taking a deposition from former President Ronald Reagan and winning a conviction against Reagan’s national security adviser John Poindexter; that conviction was later overturned.
As a defense attorney, he’s represented a line of powerful politicians on both sides of the aisle, including former powerhouse Democratic Illinois U.S. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski and, later, Republican Illinois Gov. George Ryan, who were both marched off to prison in separate public corruption cases.
In the wake of his appointment to investigate the Smollett case, the Tribune’s Jason Meisner digs in to the respected trial attorney’s background. Click here to read his story.
Burke out as partner in downtown law firm that bears his family name
From the Tribune’s John Byrne and Todd Lighty: “Embattled Ald. Edward Burke is no longer a partner at the downtown law firm where he did property tax appeal work for a long list of influential businesses and where federal authorities allege he tried to strong-arm people into becoming clients in exchange for help at City Hall, records show.” Read the story here.
Lightfoot’s team declaring hiring freeze lets taxpayers know: Government doing its part too
Yes, the mayor must close a massive budget hole next year, so the prudent thing is to declare a hiring freeze. But the announcement comes just before she takes her message to the public about the state of the city and its precarious financial situation. Lightfoot has to ensure that if she’s going to raise taxes or fees that she can fend off angry arguments about bloated government bureaucracy.
Some 3,000 jobs will sit vacant, the Tribune’s Gregory Pratt and Jeremy Gorner report. Read their story by clicking here. And you can read the memo Lightfoot’s Budget Director Susie Park sent to staff about the freeze by clicking here.
Democrats will meet in Milwaukee to name a presidential nominee next year, but nearly half of the delegations will stay in Illinois hotels, the Tribune’s Rick Pearson reports. Read the full story here.
He writes: “On Thursday, the DNC released its housing assignments for the 57 state, district and international delegations that will be attending the convention. Twenty-six of them will be staying at Illinois hotels, providing a significant economic impact to Wisconsin’s southern neighbor.”
More math: From Pearson: “Nearly 3,000 hotel rooms are being assigned to delegates staying in Wisconsin while about 2,850 are being reserved for delegates in Illinois, a DNC list showed. In total, DNC officials said they are holding 17,000 rooms for the convention.”
Billionaire David Koch, who plowed cash into conservative politics with his brother, has died
“A chemical engineer by training, Koch was an executive in the family-run conglomerate, the Libertarian Party’s vice-presidential candidate in 1980 and a major benefactor of educational, medical and cultural organizations,” The Associated Press writes.
Koch and older brother Charles “invested heavily in fighting President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul; they fought to bring conservative voices to college campuses; and they developed a nationwide grassroots network pushing conservative causes and candidates at the state and national levels,” according to the AP.
Not Trump, though: “The Kochs refused to endorse Trump in 2016, warning that his protectionist trade policies, among other priorities, weren’t sufficiently conservative,” the AP notes.
‘Sunday Spin’: Chicago Tribune political reporter Rick Pearson’s guests on this week’s show are Dina Rollman of Green Thumb Industries on startup issues ahead of Illinois legalizing recreational marijuana use on Jan. 1; state Rep. Lamont Robinson, D-Chicago, on his first legislative session and being the first LGBTQ black member of the legislature; and Juan Perez Jr., Chicago Tribune reporter, on Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s budget issues, which she’ll talk about as part of a Thursday prime-time address to the public. The “Sunday Spin” airs from 7 to 9 a.m. on WGN-AM 720.
Thanks for reading The Spin, the Tribune’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Have a tip? Email host Lisa Donovan at ldonovan@chicagotribune.com.
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