Mediaboss Marketing

Welcome to Clout Street: Morning Spin, our weekday feature to catch you up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield. Subscribe here.

Topspin

A busy week is on tap in Illinois politics from Chicago to Springfield.

The big thing to watch is the final scheduled week of the Illinois General Assembly's special session. Things resume today after a weekend where not much happened outside of a meeting with the legislative leaders that did not feature Gov. Bruce Rauner.

If they don't agree on either a full budget or stopgap by Friday (June 30), the state's credit rating likely will dip to junk status, giving Illinois anignominious distinction among the 50 states. Illinois residents also might not be able to play Powerball or MegaMillions lottery games anymore if the association that runs those multistate games gives us the boot. And the Illinois Department of Transportation could halt road projects, throwing thousands out of work at least temporarily.

On Tuesday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in town for a sponsored speech to the American Library Association. And an Astroturf group will rally at the Thompson Center plaza against the new Cook County soda pop tax, which takes effect Saturday.

And on Wednesday, the Chicago City Council meets.

What's on tap

*Mayor Rahm Emanuel will appear with Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson at a "cultural awareness training initiative" at the DuSable Museum of African American History, with Sen. Dick Durbin to tout a new gun law that allows judges to crack down on repeat offenders, and welcome a new class of police recruits.

*Gov. Rauner will be just over the border joining Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds to break ground on a bridge project.

*Diana Rauner, president of the Ounce of Prevention Fund and Illinois first lady, speaks to the City Club of Chicago.

*The IllinoisHouse and Senate continue in special session.

*State Sen. Daniel Biss, a Democratic governor hopeful, will hold a rally with unions to pressure Gov. Rauner to sign the $15-an-hour minimum wage bill. What's the occasion? It'sabout to be sent to the governor, which is a new one on us.

From the notebook

*On the Sunday Spin: Chicago Tribune political reporter Rick Pearsons guests were state Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington; state Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie; and state Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington. The Sunday Spin airs from 7-9 a.m. on WGN AM-720. Listen to the full show here.

What we're writing

*Monday Springfield story: Madiganoffers his wish list in exchange for Rauners property tax freeze.

*Sunday Springfield story:With a week to go, Rauner and Madigan cant even agree on meeting.

*Saturday Springfield story: Rauner signsEmanuel-backed gun bill.

*Rauner names new DCFS director.

*Scrutinybuilds over Berrios property tax assessments; inspector general investigating.

*FAQ on Preckwinkle's Cook County soda pop tax.

*Pence stops in Chicago to meet with top Republicans.

*White House suggests one finalist for U.S. attorney postin Chicago.

*Chicago City Council poised to approve$1.3 million settlement in fatal police chase.

*Petition pushes for "Hipster Highway" bike lanein Wicker Park.

See the original post:
Morning Spin: Clinton speech, special session, City Council meeting mark busy week - Chicago Tribune

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in an interview on Sunday that after losing an election, you shouldnt blame others, only yourself.

In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News This Week, Schumer discussed how Democrats should move forward after their latest election loss, which they suffered on Tuesday in Georgia when Democrat Jon Ossoff was beaten by Republican Karen Handel.

Democrats need a strong, bold, sharp-edged and commonsense economic agenda, Schumer said. Policy, platform message that appeal to the middle class, that resonate with the middle class, and show that, and unite Democrats.

This economic message platform is going to resonate, Schumer added. Its what we were missing, and its not going to be baby steps; its going to be bold.

Then, likely without even realizing it, Schumer made a statement virtually identical to the many made by those who have been critical of how Clinton has handled herself since losing to Donald Trump in the 2016 election.

But you lose an election, you dont blame other people, you blame yourself, Schumer said.

Schumers claim that Democrats shouldnt blame other people seems to conflict with Clintons strategy of continuously blaming everyone but herself for losing to Trump, a candidate many analysts believed couldnt win.

In May, Clinton told New York Magazine she would have won had it not been for the actions of former FBI Director James Comey and others.

I would have won had I not been subjected to the unprecedented attacks by Comey and the Russians, aided and abetted by the suppression of the vote, particularly in Wisconsin, Clinton said.

Whoever comes next, this is not going to end. Republicans learned that if you suppress votes you win, Clinton added.

A number of Democrats have since grown frustrated with Clintons blame game, which they believe will hurt the partys long-term chances.

In June, after Clinton bashed the partys voter data, which she called mediocre to poor, former Democratic Party data director Andrew Therriault said, DNC data folks, todays accusations are f***ing bulls**t, and I hope you understand the good you did despite that nonsense, Therriault tweeted, according to the Washington Examiner.

Although it seems as though Schumer didnt intend to knock Clinton in Sundays interview, his message is one many in both the Democratic Party and Republican Party have been attempting to convey to Clinton in recent months so far, to no avail.

See the original post here:
Chuck Schumer accidentally crushes Hillary Clinton in latest interview - TheBlaze.com

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch speaks to members of the media as she makes a statement on the Dallas killing of police officers July 8, 2016 at the Justice Department in Washington, DC.Alex Wong/Getty Images

Senate Judiciary Committee leaders on Friday said they are seeking information about former Attorney General Loretta Lynch's alleged interference in Hillary Clinton's private email investigation .

The bipartisan group is inquiring about Lynch's communication with Clinton campaign aide Amanda Renteria whom Lynch reportedly assured that the FBI's investigation wouldn't "go too far" as well as documents and information indicating whether the agency probed that alleged conversation.

Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), along with other lawmakers including 2016 presidential candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham, sent letters to Lynch earlier this week with the request.

A spokesman for Lynch said the former attorney general "will cooperate fully with this inquiry and respond directly to the Senate Judiciary Committee."

"Ms. Lynch is a committed public servant who has dedicated much of her career to the Department of Justice and led the department as attorney general in the fair and impartial administration of justice," a spokesman said in a statement Friday.

The inquiries about Lynch's communication are part of a larger examination of President Donald Trump's dismissal of FBI Director James Comey , who was overseeing the Clinton probe at the time.

In a testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee earlier this month, Comey said that Lynch during the Clinton probe told him: "Dont call it [an investigation]. Call it a matter. Just call it a matter."

"It gave me a queasy feeling," Comey said in the testimony .

Follow this link:
Senate Investigating Loretta Lynch's Alleged Interference in Hillary Clinton Email Probe - TIME

Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at the 2017 Stephan Weiss Apple Awards on June 7, 2017 in New York City.

Getty Images for Urban Zen Found

Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had some strong words for the Republican Party on Friday, saying that if Congress manages to pass the Senate health care bill, the GOP will become the death party. Clinton wrote the strong words on Twitter as she retweeted a study by the Center for American Progress that said the health care bill currently making its way through the Senate could lead to as many as 28,000 additional deaths in 2026. Forget death panels. If Republicans pass this bill, they're the death party, she tweeted.

Clinton has been using Twitter to speak up against the health care bill over the past few days and her latest comments come as former President Barack Obama also took to social media to oppose the measure. In a Facebook post, the president warned that this bill will do you harm.

President Donald Trump is now personally trying to woo fellow Republicans to get behind the health care legislation as five GOP senators have now publicly said they wont support the bill. Republicans can only afford to lose two of their 52 senators and still pass the bill with a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Mike Pence. The real numbers of Republican senators who oppose the measure could actually be much higher though, considering several have refused to say one way or another whether they support the overhaul.

Trump took to Twitter on Saturday to criticize the Affordable Care Act and Democrats who are opposed to the Republican repeal bill. Democrats slam GOP healthcare proposal as Obamacare premiums & deductibles increase by over 100%. Remember keep your doctor, keep your plan, the president wrote early Saturday morning.

Although the measure is being billed as a way for Republicans to make good on their promise to repeal Obamacare, the bill also goes a long way to fulfilling a long-held goal by the GOP to slash entitlement spending while cutting taxes on the rich. The Washington Post explains:

See the article here:
Hillary Clinton: Republicans Will be "Death Party if Obamacare Repeal Passes - Slate Magazine (blog)

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) heavily criticized Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the Senate minority leader, for their dramatic attacks on the Republican Senate leaderships health care bill.

On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell released the Republican leaderships plan to replace the Obama-era Affordable Care Act. The bill, titled the Better Care Reconciliation Act, would scale back numerous Obamacare mandates, regulations and taxes, but would keep much of the basic framework in place.

Within 30 minutes of the 142-page bill being released, Schumer, who had accused Republicans of keeping the bill a secret as recently as the day before its release, hammered the legislation, calling it meaner than the legislation passed in the House of Representatives in May, the American Health Care Act.

This #Trumpcare bill strips away protections from the ppl [sic] who need them most in order to give a tax break to those who need it least, Schumer wrote on Twitter almost immediately after the bill was released.

Frankly, every senior in America should read the fine print of this #Trumpcare bill; it looks like American seniors could be paying WAY more, Schumer added, along with several other critical posts.

Schumer also said the bill is meaner than the AHCA and heartless.

Not to be outdone by her fellow Democrats, Clinton said on Friday the Republicans are now the death party.

Forget death panels, Clinton wrote on Twitter. If Republicans pass this bill, theyre the death party.

On Saturday, Huckabee appeared on Fox News Channels Fox & Friends, where he criticized Clinton, Schumer and other Democrats for attacking the health care bill.

Huckabee said Clintons rhetoric makes the parties look silly and shows they dont have an argument.

And when rhetoric goes to that level, I think it makes the parties look silly, Huckabee said. It sort of reveals they dont have an argument, they cant discuss the merits of a piece of legislation or a proposal, so theyre reduced to the most childish form of political rhetoric, which is to say, Youre a bad person. Youre going to kill somebody. Its so over the top; its just absurd.

I think the guy is clairvoyant, Huckabee quipped.

The curtain needs to come down on this theater, because the play is getting tiresome, Huckabee added.

Read more from the original source:
Watch: Huckabee slams Chuck Schumer, Hillary Clinton for 'childish' attack on GOP health care bill - TheBlaze.com