Frank Calabrese

@FrankCalabrese • 11,091 subscribers

It's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses. DMs are open #electiontwitter

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Frank Calabrese

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Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas is giving away 100,000 bars of soap stamped: “Maria Pappas Mayor: Clean Up Chicago.”

Think Big, an AI industry super PAC, is running a Jesse Jackson Jr. spot touting work in civil rights. A FEC filing shows Think Big spent $1.1 million on ads to boost Jackson Jesse. Tech heavyweights Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen have contributed $25 million to the super PAC

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Former IL09 rivals Dan Biss and Kat Abughazaleh team up for a Jurassic Park themed collab video promoting Niles Township’s “People’s Prairie.”

This story on the fraud in Minnesota reminds me of my time at the Cook County Board of Review. 40 employees work for Commissioner Samantha Steele, most earning six figures. But at 10:15am on a Tuesday (April 16, 2024), not an employee in sight. The office is still all remote.

Mary Ann Ahern lands the exclusive interview with Alexi Giannoulias for his announcement for mayor, here she asks him about Chicago schools with low enrollment and whether some should be closed.

AIPAC is running a new digital attack ad in IL09 claiming Kat Abughazaleh is “to the right of Donald Trump."

John Kelly is filming political commercials inside Chicago fire stations and fire trucks. Ald. Nick Sposato was previously cited by the Chicago Board of Ethics over a single Facebook photo featuring a city fire truck. The fine can be up to $5,000 per violation.

Cop: So exit the vehicle Samantha Steele: No, I’m not leaving the vehicle Cop: Ma’am, if you don’t exit the vehicle, I’m going to help you to exit, and you don’t want that Steele: YOU don’t want that, I’m an elected official! Cop: elected official of what? Steele: Cook County

NEW: Justice Democrats Justice Democrats launched a new anti-Melissa Bean ad in IL08, casting Bean as a Wall Street-aligned establishment politician who voted with Republicans for ICE, higher premiums and billionaire tax cuts, while boosting Junaid Ahmed as a progressive fighter.

Lobbyist John Kelly is positioning himself as the conservative, Trump-friendly candidate for Chicago mayor. In his first TV interview, WGN’s Tahman Bradley asked if he would stand up to Trump. Kelly replied: “I don’t think the job of mayor of Chicago is to battle the president.”

Maria Pappas sent texts to Richard Boykin blasting him after he sent Chicago mayor candidate Willie Wilson’s campaign release that attacked her. Called him an “ungrateful asshole” and “You have no character maybe it’s how you were raised boy how stupid am I to have bet on you."

Tahman Bradley pressed Alexi Giannoulias on WGN about big loses in the Bright Start college fund during his time as state treasurer and the collapse of his family’s Broadway Bank. Giannoulias framed both as Great Recession challenges and highlighted recovery efforts.

Chicago Ald. William Hall is backing Mayor Brandon Johnson for reelection, but he’s not holding back on the mayor’s staff. Hall tells Sabha Abour that some of Johnson’s staff are “clowns” and “incompetent,” singling out the mayor’s communications operation.

Alexi Giannoulias begins airing Chicago mayor ads today. Cut from his kickoff speech, the spot shows union supporters behind him as he says Chicago’s “greatest days are still ahead” and calls for universal pre-K, higher wages and affordable housing. Ald. Michelle Harris appears.

FOX 32 Chicago’s Anita Blanton presses Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Samantha Steele on her DUI arrest. Steele denies being drunk, says Chicago Police Department bodycam was edited, and claims she’s a victim of “deep fakes."

AIPAC’s dark money group, “Chicago Progressive Partnership,” just filed another $500K media buy attacking Bernie-endorsed Junaid Ahmed from the left in IL08. Total spending against Junaid is now $664K. Junaid must be polling well against AIPAC-backed Melissa Bean.

JB Pritzker’s Illinois Future PAC is now out with an ad hitting Raja Krishnamoorthi for taking ICE contractor money for ten years while voting to fund and honor ICE.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi is out with the Illinois senate Democratic primary’s first attack ad, hitting Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton for taking money from corporations and the DLGA Super PAC supporting her from taking money from ICE detention contractors.

Liam Stanton is dropping out of the Chicago mayor’s race and endorsing Alexi Giannoulias. The North Side entrepreneur launched his campaign last year and, despite being a first-time candidate, managed to build good name recognition on social media. First reported by Shia Kapos.

Im not a picky eater, but I absolutely refuse to eat octopus because they are intelligent animals. First time I have seen someone else talk about this too. I've always been a big Alton Brown fan.

AIPAC, via dark money, has spent $1.5 million in IL02. Most of that spending has been this TV ad supporting Donna Miller, touting her Planned Parenthood leadership. The ad is paid by "Affordable Chicago Now," a dark money group with no reported donors.

New #ILSen ad from the Indian American Impact Fund PAC attacks Juliana Stratton, then pivots to boosting both Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly. But the Impact Fund has only endorsed Raja, and not Kelly. Explicit play to split Black votes.