By Shia Kapos

TGIF, Illinois. D.C. lawmakers wrapped up early for the week, even though a government shutdown looms. Sure. Ok. Why worry?

NEW: There's a Chicago entourage headed to the White House to hear President Joe Biden’s address today on gun-violence prevention.

Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin talked to ABC 7's Craig Wall about questions raised about ethics in her Office. | Screen shot

CITY HALL SCOOPS: Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin is going on the offensive after being accused of possible ethics violations.

She’s hired a veteran City Hall administrator to lead a revamped office staff — and she’s speaking publicly for the first time about allegations she sent an assistant to run personal errands, including grocery shopping and planning her daughter's birthday party.

"This allegation is absurd," Conyears-Ervin told ABC 7’s Craig Wall, referring to the claims of two former employees that prompted an ethics investigation by the Chicago inspector general. In the interview, she hedged when pressed whether the employees did her errands on personal time.

Conyears-Ervin is revamping her team nonetheless, hiring City Hall pros to help assure the office is being run professionally.

Matt McGrath, a veteran staffer to Mayors Rahm Emanuel and Lori Lightfoot, has been named first deputy city treasurer and chief of staff in the Treasurer’s Office. He'll handle day-to-day operations. From 2019 to 2021, McGrath was deputy commissioner for comms and external affairs at the city’s Department of Aviation. Prior to that, he was Emanuel’s press secretary. The past two years he’s been a VP at Edelman, counseling corporate, nonprofit and government clients.

Joseph Ponsetto is now assistant city treasurer, general counsel and chief ethics officer. He’s a veteran prosecutor from the offices of the Cook County state’s attorney, the Illinois attorney general and Village of Maywood. (Some readers might remember him playing on DePaul University’s famed 1970s basketball team.)

In a statement to Playbook, Conyears-Ervin said she’s put in place an “experienced team” that will “continue to place the ethical stewardship of taxpayer dollars at the center of everything we do. ... Residents can trust that our office is leading with transparency and accountability."

Also on her team: April S. Williams-Luster is director of government affairs. She worked in Lightfoot’s community engagement team. Amanda Brown remains as assistant city treasurer and director of human resources. And senior leaders: Deputy Chief of Staff James Ramos, Chief Investment Officer Craig Slack and Director of Accounting Wanda Rivera.

SEEING RED: Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration is criticizing a move by D.C. Republicans to conduct a review of Gotion, the battery company that will be building a plant in Illinois. Gotion is the U.S. subsidiary of a Chinese EV battery maker.

Red letter: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is among lawmakers who sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, urging the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to review Gotion's ties to China's Communist Party, according to Reuters. The EV battery maker has selected Illinois as the site of a new $2 billion EV lithium battery plant, which is expected to create 2,600 jobs.

Don't they have something better to do?: “MAGA Republicans have made themselves so irrelevant that they have to rely on xenophobia to gin up controversy for their base,” Pritzker's office said in a statement to Playbook. “Maybe if Republicans in Washington focused on doing their jobs the government wouldn’t be on the verge of a shutdown.”

If you are Matt McGrath, Playbook would like to hear from you. Email [email protected]

No official public events.

In D.C. at 2:45 p.m. ET for the president’s address on gun-violence prevention and for the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference.

In D.C. for the president’s address.

WBEZ’s ultimate Fall Bucket List is out, so crack open the pumpkin spice and email: [email protected]

GO INSIDE THE CAPITOL DOME: From the outset, POLITICO has been your eyes and ears on Capitol Hill, providing the most thorough Congress coverage — from political characters and emerging leaders to leadership squabbles and policy nuggets during committee markups and hearings. We're stepping up our game to ensure you’re fully informed on every key detail inside the Capitol Dome, all day, every day. Start your day with Playbook AM, refuel at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report and enrich your evening discussions with Huddle. Plus, stay updated with real-time buzz all day through our brand new Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here.

— Pritzker’s signature climate law has seen slow progress on clean energy, green jobs promises: “The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act set a timeline for phasing out fossil-fuel energy sources by 2050,” by Sun-Times’ Brett Chase and Dan Gearino.

— Illinois Police Pension Fund plans to start investing in loans and private credit, by Bloomberg’s Shruti Singh

— Queer youth seek acceptance at state’s first foster home for LGBTQ+ teens, by Michael Gerstein for WBEZ

— Trial over Illinois abortion referral law begins in Rockford, by WIFR’s Jim Hagerty

— Johnson administration defends contract with private defense firm to prop up migrant ‘base camps’: “The private security firm has been the subject of allegations of abusive labor practices and treatment of workers. Past allegations and lack of experience in sheltering migrants contributed to Denver deciding not to move forward with hiring the firm to shelter migrants, The Denver Post reported,” via WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel and Tessa Weinberg.

— Chicago Plan Commission approves Fulton Market apartment tower that will reserve 30 percent of its units as affordable, by Tribune’s Brian J. Rogal

— Mayor Brandon Johnson’s team will scrap INVEST South/West name, but not its aims, by WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel

— McHenry County Board votes to raise gas tax by 3.3 cents per gallon, by Shaw Local’s Claire O’Brien

— Evanston looks to assets amid soaring expenses: “But answers won’t come in time to resolve 2024 budget crunch,” by Evanston Now’s Bill Smith.

— Lake Forest poised to ban e-scooters, e-bikes in central business district, by Lake County New-Sun’s Daniel I. Dorfman

— Illinois Racing Board approves 78 thoroughbred dates At Hawthorne In 2024, via Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association

— Indicted Orland Park pastor requests to have case severed from Trump, other defendants: “The Rev. Stephen Cliffgard Lee was named last month along with 18 others in a criminal indictment that includes former President Donald Trump,” by Daily Southtown’s Hank Sanders.

— In IL-11, small-business owner Jerry Evans is running as a Republican for the congressional seat now held by Democratic Congressman Bill Foster. "The government has been intruding in our schools, our homes, our wallets and our places of worship,” Evans, a self-described “Christian, husband, father and political outsider,” said in a statement. The 11th District is made up of McHenry and Kane counties and parts of Boone, Lake, DeKalb, DuPage, Cook and Will counties.

— Maria Peterson, a Democratic candidate for the Illinois House in the 52nd District, has been endorsed by Congressmembers Mike Quigley (IL-05), Sean Casten (IL-06), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Brad Schneider (IL-10) and Bill Foster (IL-11).

Anne Caprara, left, the chief of staff to Gov. JB Pritzker, joined American University President Sylvia Burwell in Chicago for a university fundraiser Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. | POLITICO's Shia Kapos

— CAPRARA’s LESSON: Anne Caprara, chief of staff to Gov. JB Pritzker, revealed she once ran for election and lost. It was in college at American University in Washington, D.C., and the experience has guided her through her political career as a campaign adviser.

Caprara ran for a student confederation office, similar to a student council. “I had a [campaign] staff of about 15, a budget of $500 and a 14-page policy book,” she told a crowd of AU alumni and supporters gathered in Chicago on Thursday for a fundraising event for the school. “I lost to the guy who knocked on every door on campus.”

“It was probably the most important loss of my career,” she said, acknowledging she also worked on Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016. “I learned that if you want to be successful in campaigns, you better spend more time listening to the voices of voters than your own.”

Enter the “room where it happens”, where global power players shape policy and politics, with Power Play. POLITICO’s brand-new podcast will host conversations with the leaders and power players shaping the biggest ideas and driving the global conversations, moderated by award-winning journalist Anne McElvoy. Sign up today to be notified of the first episodes in September – click here.

We asked if you’ve been told to tone it down on social media.

Lisa Brasch: “No, but I got blocked on Twitter by Jonathan Capehart because he didn't believe me that the FCC doesn't regulate cable TV.”

Eric Herman, an attorney: “I hope the people who thought I was being too harsh to Donald Trump and his enablers after the 2020 election tuned in to the Jan. 6 hearings.”

Michael Lieber: "When I run certain potential posts by my wife, she always says, 'If you have to ask me, you can't post it!'"

Donovan Pepper: “While my wife has said that I post too much, she has never told me to ‘tone it down’!”

 Mark Rosenberg: “I’ve been told that by my kids.” (Can relate.)

What’s your view on the cost of airport meals? Email [email protected]

— House GOP erupts as McCarthy fails to move Pentagon bill, by POLITICO’s Sarah Ferris and Jordain Carney

— ‘Waiting for him to drop out’: DeSantis’ influence nosedives in Florida, by POLITICO’s Gary Fineout and Kimberly Leonard

— The biggest donor group in Democratic politics privately moves against No Labels, by POLITICO’s Holly Otterbein

— Charise Williams is senior program officer at Circle of Service. She was head of public policy at the Cook County Board of Review.

— Jennifer “Jen” DePriest is managing partner of Reed Smith law firm in Chicago, succeeding Jim Hultquist. A veteran litigator, DePriest has been a member of the firm’s intellectual property practice.

THURSDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to Kristin DiCenso for correctly answering that Bertha Palmer of Palmer House fame came up with the idea of the ultimate dessert: brownies.

TODAY’s QUESTION: What was the first elected office held by Deputy Gov. Andy Manar? Email [email protected]

TODAY: Former Congressman Bill Enyart, former state Rep. Denyse Wang Stoneback, attorney Steve Kim, political consultant Mary Datcher, criminal justice researcher Golnar Teimouri, Instituto del Progreso Latino CEO Karina Ayala-Bermejo, Penn National Gaming government affairs exec Martin McAlpin, Loud Interactive CEO Brent Payne, Albany Theater Project Associate Director Devika Ranjan, retired Eastern Illinois U. exec John Schmitt, comms exec Marguerite Murer Tortorello, Ascent Media Agency partner James Slepian, legal publicist Christine Saba and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Federal Affairs Manager Rebecca Lauer.

Saturday: Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts, Corn Growers Association public policy director Brad Stotler, deputy assistant secretary in U.S. Treasury’s Office of Legislative Affairs Corey Tellez, National Urban League Economic Policy Director Julius Niyonsaba, lieutenant governor’s fiscal director Jessica Allen and Rotary International comms specialist Dan Conley.

Sunday: Will County Board member Jackie Traynere, N’Digo Publisher Hermene Hartman, election attorney Michael Kreloff, former Cook County Recorder of Deeds Ed Moody and political insider Fred Moody (They’re twins!), attorney John Munger, People’s Gas senior engineer Tanya Patino, JD candidate and former speechwriter Darby Hopper and radio broadcaster Bill Cameron.

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