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The Spin: Amid fallout over new book, Axelrod expresses ‘regret’ | Buttigieg in Chicago Tuesday | State senator apologizes for mock Trump assassination

  • Then-Sen. Barack Obama and strategist David Axelrod work the campaign...

    Zbigniew Bzdak, Chicago Tribune

    Then-Sen. Barack Obama and strategist David Axelrod work the campaign trail in Iowa during Obama's first run for president in 2008. Axelrod says he thinks history will judge Obama's presidency kindly.

  • Zbigniew Bzdak, Chicago Tribune

  • State Sen. Martin Sandoval, shown in 2014, said Illinois' transportation...

    Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune / Chicago Tribune

    State Sen. Martin Sandoval, shown in 2014, said Illinois' transportation infrastructure "has been underfunded for far too long."

  • Former Illinois congressman Joe Walsh during candidate debate in 2012.

    Staceu Wescott/Chicago Tribune

    Former Illinois congressman Joe Walsh during candidate debate in 2012.

  • Fred Hampton Jr. with a painting of his father Fred...

    Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune

    Fred Hampton Jr. with a painting of his father Fred Hampton outside his family home in Maywood on July 25, 2019. The painting of Fred Hampton shows him as a 20-year-old talking on the phone at his office, a year before he was killed by police.

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State Sen. Martin Sandoval, who represents Chicago’s Southwest Side and nearby suburbs, is feeling the heat from Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a fellow Democrat, along with state Republican leaders. It comes after photos of his fundraiser emerged on social media, including several taking part in a mock assassination of President Donald Trump.

Joe Walsh, a former Illinois congressman-turned conservative radio show host, has been out railing on what he says is Trump’s bad behavior. Walsh, the flame-throwing Tea Party rep says it’s caused him stop taking cheap shots at political foes, and he’s calling on a Republican to step up and challenge the president in the 2020 primary. That kind of makeover sounds like a script for someone making a political comeback. He hasn’t ruled out challenging Trump himself, he tells The Spin.

Speaking of second chances, it sounds like disgraced former political pundit and journalist Mark Halperin — who exited the scene two years ago amid a series of #metoo allegations — was looking at making a comeback. Politico reported over the weekend that he landed a book deal and that dozens of political strategists were interviewed for an upcoming book about Trump. David Axelrod, the onetime Chicago Democratic political strategist who was the architect of Barack Obama’s White House win in 2008, publicly expressed his “regret” for answering Halperin’s questions.

And this week, Democratic Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and her family are in Maine, which was once home to the summer White House during the presidency of George H.W. Bush, a Republican. The Bush compound is on a peninsula of sorts in Kennebunkport.

Welcome to The Spin.

Former Illinois congressman Joe Walsh during candidate debate in 2012.
Former Illinois congressman Joe Walsh during candidate debate in 2012.

Is Joe Walsh looking to get back in the game?

The former Illinois congressman tells The Spin he’s “not ruled anything out” when asked if he’s thinking about mounting an uphill primary bid against Trump. Hinting that he may be persona non grata among other conservatives for his anti-Trump stance, the 57-year-old Mundelein resident has taken his message to one of the more liberal forums: The New York Times opinion pages where he penned a piece calling for a Republican to run against Trump.

Asked if there were any other motives, he said: “You know me — I speak my mind. I’m not being coy, clever or cute. This guy is unfit to be president. Some Republican has to stand up and say that. He’s got to be challenged by somebody … for the sake of the party and the country.”

But you once seemed to be an ardent Trump supporter: “So why did I write that piece? I want to apologize for the role I’ve played in putting what I feel is an unfit con man in the White House. There were times when I moved away from policy and got ugly and personal, made some comments about Obama, my political opponents, that were personal and hateful. In a weird way, seeing Donald Trump these last 21/2 years, he’s the ugly final personification of that because that’s all he does is ugly personal insults. It’s made me think, ‘Oh my gosh, did people like me who got ugly and personal these last eight or nine years create this monster?’ And I think to a degree it did.”

What changed? “Last July when he stood in front of the world and said I believe this guy (Putin) and not my own intelligence agency, he lost me,” Walsh said of the 2018 news conference Trump held alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin at his side. Besieged by criticism, the president would later say he misspoke.

So are you still in the Tea Party? Here’s the funny thing. I’m still a proud tea party conservative. People will call me a socialist, people would call me a Democrat. It’s rough in my business.

You certainly had a reputation for making incendiary remarks: “It’s a road to Damascus moment for me. I made a conscious effort in the last year or two to change my tone and only focus on policy.”

Are you remaking yourself to get back into politics — if not president some other local office? “I don’t know and again, I say that only because this is such a weird time. But I’m a conservative who doesn’t support Trump. I don’t know how viable I am in Republican politics.

The White House did not respond to an email request for comment.

Other news: Illinois sues over new federal rule that could deny green cards to those on public aid — a move that struck a chord with one Chicago-area congressman. U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Schaumburg Democrat, is giving the federal rule a thumbs down, recalling how his family emigrated from India when he was a baby, and how they hit a financial rough patch in the 1970s. Food stamps and public housing offered the family a lifeline — and a chance to get back on their feet. Read Elvia Malagon’s story here.

State Sen. Martin Sandoval, shown in 2014, said Illinois’ transportation infrastructure “has been underfunded for far too long.”

Pritzker, Republican leaders criticize mock Trump assassination at Dem lawmaker’s fundraiser

From the Tribune’s Jamie Munks: “State Sen. Martin Sandoval issued an apology over the weekend after photos were posted online showing a man at a fundraiser Friday for the Chicago Democrat pointing a fake gun at someone wearing a mask depicting President Donald Trump.

“The photos, which were posted to Facebook by a user who tagged Sandoval, sparked swift condemnation from Republicans and Democrats alike after they were first reported by Champaign-based TV station WCIA.”

Sandoval issued a statement, apologizing for what unfolded, to the TV station over the weekend. The governor and Republican leaders condemned the depiction of violence. To read those comments and the rest of the story click here.

Pete Buttigieg in Chicago Tuesday: The South Bend mayor and presidential hopeful will host a fundraiser that his aides describe as a Town Hall-style meeting at the Harold Washington Cultural Center in Bronzeville. Ticket prices starts at $25.

Governor taps minister to serve on transit board: Pritzker has appointed The Rev. Bernard Jakes of the West Point Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago, to the Chicago Transit Authority Board.

In a news release, the governor lauded Jakes for establishing a food and clothing pantry and a number of other community resources. He’s also a trustee at Elmhurst College, where he received a bachelor’s of arts degree. He earned a master’s degree at Northwestern University’s Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and a doctor of ministry degree from United Theological Seminary in Ohio.

The board is the governing arm of the transit agency and has seven members, four appointed by the Chicago mayor and three by the governor. The Illinois senate must confirm the appointment.

U.S. Rep. Davis protégé’ considers statehouse run: Gerard Moorer, a former staffer in Davis’ congressional office, is considering a run for the 10th District state representative seat once occupied by Melissa Conyears-Ervin until she was elected Chicago’s city treasurer this year. The two appeared at a weekend event on the West Side, which the district includes. After Conyears-Ervin won the city contest, Democratic ward bosses tapped Jawaharial “Omar” Williams, employed in the city’s Department of Water Management and the stepson of Chicago Ald. Walter Burnett, 27th, to fill the vacant seat, the Sun-Times reported.

State lawmakers and Connecticut's two tribal casinos have reached a deal authorizing a casino in Bridgeport. Pictured here are slot machines at Mohegan Sun.
State lawmakers and Connecticut’s two tribal casinos have reached a deal authorizing a casino in Bridgeport. Pictured here are slot machines at Mohegan Sun.

Time to pull out the calculator again: Will city, state government be willing to take a smaller cut from a Chicago casino?

It may be back to the drawing board now that a Las Vegas-based consultant has determined the cash-strapped city and state have carved out a tax and fee structure that would make it unattractive for investors to open a Chicago casino.

For Lightfoot and Pritzker, both rookie lawmakers, it’s a test of their political prowess, the Tribune’s Dan Petrella, Jamie Munks and John Byrne write.

They write: “The proposal’s future could hinge on whether the city or the state — or both — is willing to take a smaller cut of tax revenue, and whether supporters can round up the votes to alter the gambling legislation that was frantically put together as the General Assembly’s spring session went into overtime.” In that deal Chicago and a number of other communities in Illinois were given the nod to open casinos.

Lightfoot wants to funnel the city’s take of casino revenues to severely underfunded police and firefighter pension plans. Gov. J.B. Pritzker needs the revenues for his $145 billion plan to repair and build roads and bridges.

This likely will resurface in the legislature’s fall veto session.

Chicago cop on Lightfoot’s security detail cleared of misdemeanor domestic battery charge — But the Police Department will determine whether she returns to her City Hall post, Elvia Malagon reports. Read the story by clicking here.

NYPD fires officer involved in Eric Garner’s chokehold death — Read The Associated Press story here.

Next up for Tiger Woods: Rest — and a continued push for the politically delicate Jackson Park/South Shore golf course — Read Teddy Greenstein’s story in the Tribune by clicking here.

Chicago Teachers Union group’s trip to Venezuela, praise of socialist leader slammed as ‘propaganda tour’ — Tribune education Hannah Leone has the story here.

Chicago’s scooters are mostly being used during rush hour, and 3 other things to know about the devices — Tribune transportation reporter Mary Wisniewski takes a closer look here.

Uber is moving into The Old Post Office — The Tribune’s Ally Marotti and Ryan Ori have the details here.

President Barack Obama meets with David Axelrod, center, and speechwriters Adam Frankel, left, and Jon Favreau. In his memoir, “Believer: My Forty Years in Politics,” Axelrod looks back at his political career and the Obama White House.

Axelrod says he regrets answering journalist’s book questions

Disgraced former journalist and pundit Mark Halperin exited the journalism stage in 2017 after a series of #metoo accusations from one-time co-workers. But in an apparent comeback, he’s landed a book deal about the Trump presidency and includes insight from beltway experts, Politico reports.

One of those experts is Axelrod, who is now director of the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, and who acknowledged he fielded Halperin’s questions for the book. On Sunday he took to Twitter to express his “regret.”

“To those who have asked, I have known Mark Halperin as a reporter for 25 years. He emailed me three questions about the 2020 race for a book he was writing and I replied in a few sentences, without giving enough thought to how my participation would be used or interpreted,” Axelrod wrote, adding: “By answering Halperin’s questions, I did not in any way mean to excuse his past, egregious behavior and, in retrospect, I regret responding at all.”

Fred Hampton Jr. with a painting of his father Fred Hampton outside his family home in Maywood on July 25, 2019. 
The painting of Fred Hampton shows him as a 20-year-old talking on the phone at his office, a year before he was killed by police.
Fred Hampton Jr. with a painting of his father Fred Hampton outside his family home in Maywood on July 25, 2019.
The painting of Fred Hampton shows him as a 20-year-old talking on the phone at his office, a year before he was killed by police.

Descendants of iconic African American Chicago figures, including Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Fred Hampton, often struggle to manage the stories of their famous relatives

From the Tribune’s Lolly Bowean. “Her name is now emblazoned on a major downtown thoroughfare, attached to a nationally recognized journalism training program and even used by a soul food restaurant in Baltimore.

“For decades, crusading journalist, civil rights activist and women’s rights pioneer Ida B. Wells-Barnett’s legacy and story lingered in the shadows of history. But in recent years, as historians, activists and scholars brought her story to light and a new generation embraced her, that obscurity has lifted.

“Now, her descendants find themselves grappling with how to control her image and her name to ensure that projects in her honor properly salute her. The families of civil rights icons Emmett Till and Fred Hampton are facing similar issues, as they work to both promote and protect the names of their forebears.” Read the full story here.

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.

Twitter @byldonovan