THE ILLINOIZE: Retiring Yednock says Dems having hard time connecting in rural communities...Former colleague says Bailey "like a 14-year-old kid who wants to be a TikTok star"...Dick Luft passes away

August 22, 2023

Good morning, subscribers.

The prosecution rested its case against former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s longtime Chief of Staff Tim Mapes yesterday. The perjury charges accuse Mapes of knowingly lying to a grand jury about his knowledge of work being done by retired lobbyist and Madigan confidante Michael McClain. Prosecutors have systematically debunked Mapes’ “I don’t recall” responses to the grand jury with piles of wiretapped phone calls, mostly between Mapes and McClain, that contradict much of what Mapes didn’t tell the grand jury.

Defense attorneys have said their case will only take a day or two and that they haven’t decided if Mapes himself will testify. Our friend Jon Seidel of the Sun-Times wrote this morning that it “seems unlikely” Mapes takes the stand in his defense.

Janet Mathis of the Edgar Fellows program e-mailed to pass this along:

The Edgar Fellows Program is having its second annual fundraiser dinner at the Sheraton Grand in downtown Chicago on August 31. Gov. Jim Edgar started the program in 2012 to foster relationships and understanding between people involved in public policy from all corners of the state, ethnicities and political backgrounds. It promotes bi-partisanship and compromise over political expediency.

The keynote speaker for the 2023 event is David Axelrod, founder of the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago. This event is not just for Fellows; all are welcome. For more information and to reserve your place at this special event, go to https://givebutter.com/EFChicago23. The RSVP deadline is August 24.

If you know me, you know my affinity for Gov. Edgar.

There’s nothing on the Governor’s public schedule today.

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Let’s get to it.

YEDNOCK WON’T RUN AGAIN, SAYS MODERATION HURT WITH PARTY

Moderate Democrats may soon become an even more endangered species in Springfield.

Rep. Lance Yednock (D-Ottawa), potentially the most conservative Democrat left in the House, announced over the weekend he wouldn’t seek re-election next year.

In his statement, Yednock indicated he believed his moderate tendencies hurt him with his own party.