By Shia Kapos

TGIF, Illinois. The forecast is sunshine for Saturday’s Bud Billiken Parade.

VP Kamala Harris, first gentleman Doug Emhoff and Bruce Springsteen are all in Chicago today, Aug. 11, 2023. | AP file photos and Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP at Wrigley Field.

The outcome of an Illinois Supreme Court ruling expected today could determine how Vice President Kamala Harris approaches her remarks when she appears at the Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund gathering this afternoon in Chicago.

There’s high interest in the state high court ruling on the legislation known as the Protect Illinois Communities Act. It was passed in January and signed by Gov. JB Pritzker in wake of last year’s mass shooting during the Highland Park Fourth of July Parade. The new law bans high-powered guns and high-capacity magazines.

Opposition from the start: Lawsuits by the National Association for Gun Rights and a Naperville firearms store owner claim the state law and a similar local law violate their Second Amendment rights.

Harris’ remarks will be welcomed no matter what happens with the decision. She and President Joe Biden were endorsed this week by a coalition of gun safety groups including: Brady, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and GIFFORDS, among others.

Harris’ remarks will be live-streamed on Facebook and on the @Everytown handle on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This is Harris’ third trip in four weeks to Chicago. She squeezed in a fundraising visit last month. This time, it’s First Gentleman Doug Emhoff who will be doing the glad-handing.

Emhoff is in Chicago today, too, headlining a Biden Victory Fund event billed as a pre-concert reception ahead of Bruce Springsteen’s show at Wrigley Field. A big donation gets you a ticket to see The Boss.

The party is co-hosted by Cubs co-owner Laura Rickets, tech guru Tamar Newberger and former U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic Andy Schapiro.

On brand: Emhoff is a Springsteen fan and will be in a skybox with Chicago friends. He’s in good company. The VP won’t be there. She leaves Chicago before the party starts, according to her scheduling team.

CNN's Laura Coates talks with Rod Blagojevich about the legal charges against Donald Trump. | Screen shot

DOUBLE-TAKE: Rod Blagojevich appeared on CNN the other day with his hair returned to its signature dark shade and his energy high for Donald Trump.

He’s not on the campaign: The former governor was introduced as being a surrogate for the Trump campaign, but Blagojevich told Playbook he has no official role to stump for Trump. Blagojevich says he can relate to Trump’s troubles given his own legal history.

Blago’s take: “I have no doubt that this is the biggest political hit job in American political history, …They’re weaponizing the legal process,” Blagojevich spouted in our interview, referring to prosecutors who have charged Trump. “I know they’re doing this to Trump because I lived it myself.”

His back story: Blagojevich served time for federal corruption charges before his sentence was commuted by Trump. “I have a personal desire to help this man who ended a terrible wrong to me and my family,” the former governor said.

About Jan. 6: Blagojevich defends Trump’s participation at a rally on Jan. 6, 2021 as a matter of free speech and that others, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, had an obligation to protect the Capitol, he says.

On politics: Blagojevich still aligns with issues backed by the Democratic Party, including “a woman’s right to choose, LGBTQ rights, sensible gun control, health care being a human right. I haven’t changed on that,” he said.

But he’s no Democrat — and not a Republican, either. “I’m a ‘Trumpocrat,’” he said, repeating a line he used when he was released from prison.

On the president’s race: If Trump doesn’t win the GOP nomination, Blagojevich says he’ll back Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or independent Cornel West because they’re the kind of candidates who can “break up” what he sees as “the political industrial complex” that’s controlled by mainstream politicians.

RELATED

— Special counsel proposes Jan. 2, 2024, trial for Trump on election charges, by POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney

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— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Public health and LGBTQ+ rights advocate José “Che-Che” Wilson is adding his name to the list of candidates seeking to fill the vacancy in the 5th state Senate District.

Today’s the deadline to apply. Democratic leaders whose wards fall within the district will meet Tuesday at 1 p.m. at Plumbers Local 130 Union Hall to make the appointment, according to Austin Weekly News. The position opened up when state Sen. Patricia Van Pelt stepped down last month.

On the List: Wilson joins state Rep. Lakesia Collins (9th) and state Rep. Jawaharial “Omar” Williams (10th) in applying for the post. We wrote about that here in a piece called Progressives v. The Chicago Way.

— Paul Ducat of Iroquois wants to run for the 53rd state Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Thomas Bennett, via Times Republic

— How Illinois’ safety net to protect the elderly from financial exploitation is falling short: “Cases are near an all-time high, while arrests and prosecutions have plummeted. Meanwhile, many older adults, like 91-year-old Paul Borik, are losing their life savings as social service caseworkers watch from the sidelines,” writes David Jackson for Injustice Watch.

— Years after being ticketed at school for a theft she said never happened, former student prevails in court: “Amara Harris declined plea deals and ultimately won a legal fight that dates back to 2019,” by ProPublica’s Jodi S. Cohen and Jennifer Smith Richards.

— New caucus: State Rep. Eva Dina Delgado and state Sen. Patrick Joyce have started the Sustainable Fuels Caucus in the Illinois General Assembly. “It’s designed to tackle the health and environment problems facing communities across the state with actionable policy changes today,” they said in a statement. Also in the caucus: State Reps. Dave Vella, Ann Williams, Dagmara Avelar and Terra Costa Howard.

— 500+ bills signed, and more are still on the governor’s desk, by Springfield State Journal-Register’s Patrick Keck

— ICYMI: Pritzker signed a bill establishing the ‘Farm to Foodbank’ program, by KWQC staff and Haley Marzorati

— Health Board asks Mayor Brandon Johnson to keep Commissioner Allison Arwady in her job: ‘It’s not political,’ they say: Seven of the nine members present at Thursday’s meeting “pledged their support for Arwady, who to some was known for her unflappable assurances as Chicago’s Covid czar. But others have said she was too hasty in loosening pandemic restrictions, especially reopening public schools,” reports Tribune’s Alice Yin.

— Striking Loretto Hospital workers hail tentative pact with management, by Sun-Times’ Allison Novelo

— In prison 20 years for murder though 6 witnesses said he didn’t do it. His lawyers allege police misconduct, by Tribune’s Gregory Royal Pratt

— Lobster-like crustaceans invading the Chicago River, by Laura Pavin for WBEZ

— A fond farewell: The who’s who of Chicago’s Greek American political world came out Thursday for the funeral of Leo Louchios, a behind-the-scenes player in government and politics. Back in the day, he might have been called, “a fixer.” At his funeral, His Eminence Metropolitan Nathanael of Chicago praised Louchios as a man who “got things done.” The metropolitan drew chuckles from the elected officials when he admitted to calling Louchios about getting his license renewed. In the crowd at St. George Greek Orthodox Church: Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, former Secretary of State Jesse White, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, Ald. Walter Burnett Jr., Ald. Bill Conway, Judge Tom Sianis, Judge Anna Helen Demacopoulos, Water Board Commissioner Mariyana Spyropoulos and Deputy Secretary of State Hanah Jubeh.

Also spotted: Cinespace Chicago founder Alex Pissios, Chicago Federation of Labor’s Bob Reiter, LIUNA’s Terry Healy, III FFC’s Marc Poulos, Hellenic American Leadership Council's Endy Zemenides, Mark IV Realty Group’s George Marks, McGuireWoods’ Elias Mossos, state rep’s chief of staff Dean Alonistiotis, All-Circo’s John Kelly, restaurateur Peter O’Brien, WBEZ’s Dan Mihalopoulos and David Druker, who worked for years with Louchios at the Secretary of State’s Office.

— A new lawsuit against Northwestern alleges inaction on report of sexual assault, by Crain’s Brandon Dupré

— Fentanyl drives Cook County to opioid overdose record in 2022, by WTTW’s Paris Schutz

— Lawsuit over ‘sham’ Waukegan casino selection process could delay construction, developer says, by Sun-Times’ Mitchell Armentrout

— Radio Flyer to open first retail store at Woodfield Mall in November, by Daily Herald’s Eric Peterson

— State Rep. Bob Rita takes witness stand at perjury trial of Madigan ‘gatekeeper’ Tim Mapes: Rita said Mapes “ran the House, he kept the trains on time, he kept a lot of moving parts moving.” Tribune’s Megan Crepeau and Ray Long report.

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

We asked what makes a machine politician.

Janice Anderson: “Blind loyalty to the party.”

Brian Bernardoni: "Leveraging relationships so they can deliver services, jobs and resources."

Ashvin Lad: “Getting someone a job with one phone call.”

Kevin Lampe: “The Machine is on its last gasps. Now, it is just alliances that may only last an election cycle. Kinda like a pop-up store.”

Brent Pruim: “They’re a ‘political boss’ or they work for one. They rely on patronage, favors and/or a spoils system.”

Andy Shaw: “Caring more about jobs, contracts and perks for friends, family and themselves than about serving taxpayers.”

John Straus: “They’re more loyal to party than the people who elected them.”

Patricia Ann Watson: “They behave spinelessly, seek to be fed/funded, cowardly bend to the will of another and forget it’s not about self.”

Stephen Yoshida: “Receiving political support from voters in exchange for patronage in the form of government jobs and preferential access.”

Lawmakers, how do you decide on legislation to pursue? Email [email protected]

— Biden world sees the making of a wider path to victory in 2024, by POLITICO’s Holly Otterbein and Jonathan Lemire

— Black leaders decry Florida’s African American history standards, by POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury

— White House sends hackers against the most powerful AIs, by POLITICO’s Mohar Chatterjee

Noureen Hashim, executive VP of the Young Democrats of Illinois, and Faiz Jiwani, internal medicine physician at Erie Family Health Center, were married Aug. 5 at the Ismaili Jamatkhana and Center in Houston. Attendees included Former Texas Secretary of State Geoff Connor, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of the Islamic Conference Sada Cumber and several Democratic Party friends. Pic and pic!

THURSDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to Patricia Provenzano for correctly answering that Chicago police horses are named for fallen officers. Most recently one was named in honor of Ella French. Provenzano should know, she runs CPD’s Mounted Unit.

 TODAY’s QUESTION: Which Chicago sports venue was originally called Weeghman Park? (Taking the fifth person to get it right.) Email [email protected]

Today: Appellate Court Judge Mathias Delort, former state Rep. Rosemary Kurtz, state Rep. Kim du Buclet’s Community Relations Director Richard Greenfield, Cor Strategies’ Rich Carter, broadcaster and U. of I. constituent engagement director Andrea Darlas, TV host and content creator Catie Keogh, 2Civility’s social media specialist Marin McCall and Burke Burns & Pinelli President Mary Pat Burns.

Saturday: Circuit Court Judge Joanne Rosado, political consultant Jose Durbin, political consultant and State Revenue Alliance Legislative Director Erika Wozniak, former U.S. Civil Rights Commission Chair Marty Castro and English teacher and Chicago native Carita Gardiner.

Sunday: State Sen. Ann Gillespie, former state Sen. Carole Pankau, SEIU Local 1 President Emeritus Tom Balanoff, LBH Chicago political fundraiser Liz Houlihan, attorney Tom Skallas, America’s Voice comms director Doug Rivlin and journalist Michael Miner.

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