The Spin: Lightfoot reflects on workplace harassment she’s faced amid New York Gov. Cuomo scandal | Cubs, White Sox may welcome spectators | Line of Democrats eyeing secretary of state bid grows

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said today she won’t weigh in on whether Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo should lose his job over sexual harassment allegations.

But she said during a news conference today that the Cuomo episode has made her think about sexual harassment she’s experienced in the workplace.

“Look, I’m not there in New York. And ultimately, that will be for the voters of New York to decide,” Lightfoot said. “What I can say is this: Every woman who has been sexually harassed in a workplace setting, as I have been, understands how difficult it is for a woman to come forward and to speak her truth.”

“Young women, women in the workplace should just be able to go and do their job, and not have to worry about being put into the kind of uncomfortable circumstances that way too many women — myself included — have experienced in the workplace. It just shouldn’t happen,” the mayor said during an unrelated news conference this afternoon.

“And this is, I think, a powerful lesson on a very public, and national if not international platform that sexual harassment cannot be tolerated in the workplace, by anyone,” Lightfoot added, after a reporter asked whether Cuomo deserves to be reelected.

The mayor also announced today that Chicago is lifting some COVID-19-related business restrictions, most notably at bars and restaurants that can boost indoor capacity to 50% or 50 people — whichever is less — and remain open until 1 a.m. as the number of coronavirus cases fall.

The restaurant lobby says the city is moving in the right direction but could do more for the pandemic-ravaged industry, including adding restaurant workers to the list of those currently eligible to receive a vaccination, a phase that already includes essential workers and older adults.

The Tribune’s Rick Pearson reports that top Illinois Democrats will meet virtually tomorrow night to pick Michael Madigan’s successor as state party chair in an increasingly contentious race complicated by legal questions about one contender’s ability to fully participate in the post’s fundraising role.

And state Sen. Michael E. Hastings will announce tomorrow morning his plans to run for secretary of state, joining a line of Democratic hopefuls expressing interest in an office best known to the public as the government agency where you get your driver’s licenses, license plates or register a business. Former state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia and Chicago Ald. Pat Dowell are among the Democrats also testing the waters.

Welcome to The Spin.

Sign up for The Spin to get the top stories in politics delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons.

Lightfoot ‘concerned’ about allegations against Cuomo; says she faced sexual harassment in the workplace

“Democrats across the country celebrated New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo as the face of governing competence as President Donald Trump fumbled his administration’s response to the exploding pandemic last year,” The Associated Press writes.

“Now, the Democratic governor is struggling through a sexual harassment scandal that’s testing the limits of his party’s support as Democrats grapple with one of the first political headaches of the post-Trump era.”

That includes Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who veered away from a question today about whether he Cuomo deserved to be reelected. Nevertheless, she discussed the need for ending sexual harassment in the workplace.

“We are way past time, in this country where any kind of behavior that looks like that should be acceptable,” she told reporters. “Part of the challenge is that while we have opened up opportunities for women in the workplace, we’ve opened up opportunities in institutions made by and for men.”

The mayor said allegations against Cuomo “provides us with another opportunity to really rethink what our institutional culture and structures are (in the workplace) because women live a different life in this country than men do.”

“No woman should have to worry about going into her workplace to do anything other than do a good job and doing a good job shouldn’t be measured by her perceived beauty, or lack thereof, by a man in the workplace, and certainly not by somebody who holds the kind of power that a governor does or any kind of supervisor.”

Law and order: Former city inspector pleads guilty to fraud involving company tied to Ald. Carrie Austin, the Tribune’s Jason Meisner reports.

Chicago man arrested on federal charges of inciting looting during unrest in August, allegedly put out call on social media, the Tribune’s Meisner has that dispatch too.

Judge balks at potential plea deal for ‘serial stowaway’ in most recent alleged try to sneak onto flight, the Tribune’s Megan Crepeau writes.

Chicago bars and restaurants can stay open until 1 a.m., boost capacity to 50%, Lightfoot announces

My Tribune colleagues explain that some restrictions have been eased at bars at restaurants, but also at liquor stores, which will now be allowed to sell booze until 11 p.m. and at indoor fitness centers where class counts can increase to 20, the city said. They break it down here.

Why now: “To boost capacity to 50% ... four health metrics must be in the moderate-risk level for two straight weeks,” the Sun-Times Fran Spielman writes. “Chicago’s test positivity rate currently stands at 2.9% in the “lower risk” category. Emergency room visits (42-a-day), ICU bed occupancy (42-a-day) and cases-diagnosed-per-day (283) are all considered ‘moderate risk.’” Efforts to boost vaccination numbers play a role, too.

The indoor dining expansion was “another step in the right direction” to Sam Toia, president of the Illinois Restaurant Association. But Toia said he believes the city and state can offer more to his industry, including boosting capacity for certain gatherings and getting workers vaccinated. Lightfoot has felt the dual pressure from an industry that employs a large swath of the population and also brings in big tax revenues to the cash-strapped city.

“We’re now on track to have enough vaccine supply for every adult in America by the end of May,” President Joe Biden said today. That’s two months earlier than anticipated and comes as his administration announced that drugmaker Merck & Co. will help produce rival Johnson & Johnson’s newly approved inoculation, The Associated Press reports.

Registration for United Center COVID-19 vaccinations to open Thursday, site will open a day earlier than previously announced, Yin writes in this piece.

Advocate Aurora Health working on mass vaccination site at conference center next to Wrigley Field: sources. Pratt also has that story here.

Illinois set to receive more than 100,000 doses of new Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine by midweek, the Tribune’s Jenny Whidden writes.

Fans in the stands? Lightfoot said Cubs, Sox may welcome spectators sometime this season

From the Tribune’s Gregory Pratt: “Good news, Chicago baseball fans: Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Tuesday that the Cubs and White Sox will be able to host fans this season.

“But the mayor declined to offer a timeline on when, noting the city is ‘in discussions’ with the city’s baseball teams and they’ll announce more details later,” he notes. Read the full story here.

Brookfield Zoo reopens with new polar bear, Mexican gray wolves making their debut, Wendy Fox Weber writes for the suburban Forest Leaves.

Illinois Democrats set to choose chairman to succeed Madigan as legal question hovers around one contender

Tomorrow night, the two candidates for state Democratic Party chair - Chicago Ald. Michelle Harris, 8th, and U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly of Matteson - are scheduled to appear before the 36 members of the Illinois Democratic State Central Committee who pick the next leader.

As the Tribune’s Pearson notes in a story out today, “The contest has created tensions among Democratic leaders who are not on the committee. Gov. J.B. Pritzker and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth are backing Harris, while U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, the state’s senior senator and No. 2 ranking Democrat in the chamber, has backed Kelly.”

Latest snag: “But a fresh question arose this week about Kelly’s ability to fully conduct the duties of the state party chairman due to restrictions on fundraising and control of campaign money placed on federal officeholders.” Pearson lays out the details here.

“The Perkins Coie law firm, acting as outside counsel of the state party, issued an advisory opinion that warned electing a federal officeholder as chair could open the Democratic Party of Illinois to scrutiny by the Federal Election Commission over funds raised and dispersed on behalf of state office candidates who are not subject to tighter federal campaign finance restrictions,” Pearson notes.

“But U.S. Rep. Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia, a member of the state central committee who is backing Kelly’s bid, called the warnings a ‘distraction’ and an effort to ‘delegitimize’ her candidacy,” Pearson notes.

“Kelly released a letter from election attorney Michael Dorf that said he believed ‘policies and procedures’ could be implemented to delegate fundraising and spending decisions to others should she become chair,” Pearson writes. Read his full story here.

Line of Democrats interested in succeeding Jesse White as Illinois secretary of state is growing

Michael E. Hastings a nearly nine-year veteran of the state Senate from the south suburbs will announce tomorrow morning his plans to run for Illinois secretary of state.

Hastings mounted a bid in the 2018 election cycle, after White had announced he was retiring then. When White changed his mind, Hastings said he withdrew from the race “out of respect.” White went on to make Hastings an honorary co-chair of his 2018 bid.

White said while running for his current record sixth term that he wouldn’t run again in 2022 for the top job; Hastings said he’s talked to White and was told the Illinois secretary of state is sticking with his retirement plan.

During a phone interview, Hastings tells The Spin: “The way I look at this office — this is one where the public interfaces with their government, where they derive their opinions of the government, so making sure the office runs” efficiently and effectively “is so important.” He praised White for his work to modernize the office during his tenure and wants to continue that tradition.

During tomorrow’s announcement, Hastings, a one-time U.S. Army officer who at one point deployed to Iraq, also will receive an endorsement from the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters, a union representing 30,000 workers, according to a news release issued on behalf of his political campaign.

Meantime, Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia has gotten the backing of U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood while Alexi Giannoulias, former state treasurer, has gotten union endorsements from the United Food and Commercial Workers Locals 881 and 1546 and the Illinois International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.

Chicago Ald. Pat Dowell tells The Spin she’s putting together an exploratory committee and is setting some fundraising goals while strategizing on plans “which would lead to a path to victory.”

“But I’m serious about my interest,” said Dowell, who’s been represented the 3rd Ward, which stretches from the South Loop through Bronzville and Back of the Yards, since 2007. She also has been a city planner and deputy commissioner of neighborhood planning under former Mayors Harold Washington, Eugene Sawyer and Richard M. Daley.

Dowell said she would build on White’s 22 years in the job by keeping on top of technology upgrades, particularly in the business licensing department, while studying whether annual renewal for license plate stickers is necessary or another schedule makes more sense.

In recent months, some other potential hopefuls to succeed White have voiced interest in the job, including Chicago Ald. Walter Burnett, 27th, who considers White a mentor.

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