The Spin: Mayor Lori Lightfoot weighs in on Madigan, ComEd | Republican Adam Kinzinger to Trump: Delete your account | FDA commissioner defends COVID-19 vaccine approval process

As support for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has waned among Democrats recently, Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday said she’s been keeping tabs on developments “with great interest.”

But the first-term Democratic mayor of the state’s largest city stopped short of taking a position on the future of Madigan, the nation’s longest-serving statehouse speaker.

FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, in an interview with the Tribune today, defended his agency’s COVID-19 vaccine approval process saying, “We are taking the time that we need.”

And Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger said in a recent social media post that it’s time President Donald Trump delete his Twitter account.

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Lightfoot says she’s ‘watched with great interest’ the ComEd case, will have more to say later on House Speaker Michael Madigan

From the Tribune’s Gregory Pratt: “Citing her experience as a federal prosecutor, Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday said she’s been following the ComEd bribery case that’s cast a shadow over Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan but stopped short of saying he shouldn’t be reelected to his leadership post.

“Lightfoot said she’s watched ‘with great interest the number of people who’ve stood up and said they will not vote for Mike Madigan as speaker of the House’ and said he doesn’t seem to have enough votes to get reelected at this time.

“Even though Lightfoot ran as a reform candidate and is a former federal prosecutor, she has been reluctant to take on Madigan directly even as the ComEd probe has cut into his close political circle. There is a practicality to the mayor’s hesitation: the speaker’s reputation for political retribution has been decades in the making, and if he were to hang onto control of the chamber, any criticism from Lightfoot could imperil the city’s legislative agenda.” Read the rest of the story here.

* Appearing on MSNBC later in the day, host Chuck Todd asked Lightfoot about whether Chicago would benefit if her predecessor Rahm Emanuel were to get a job as transportation secretary in Joe Biden’s cabinet.

“I’m loathe to dictate to the Biden administration who they should pick for key positions. I think the most important thing is, and I’ve been saying this all along, we need people in positions of government, particularly transportation and other places that understand collaboration; understand collegiality; understand that the federal government will never have all the answers — that they’ve got to work collaboratively with states and localities,” Lightfoot said. “That’s what I’m seeing in some of these key positions. And, we’ve got to get an infrastructure bill across the finish line. We have been on borrowed time with our infrastructure. Deferred maintenance is now a significant problem. We’re stepping up here locally with an infrastructure bill, but we need the federal government to do the same.”

* CNN’s Chris Cillizza reached out to the Tribune’s Rick Pearson for insight on the whole Madigan situation: Why the longest-serving speaker in the country is on the verge of being ousted

‘We are taking the time that we need,’ FDA head says, defending COVID-19 vaccine approval process

From the Tribune’s Lisa Schencker: “With Americans clamoring for a COVID-19 vaccine, all eyes will be on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration next week.

“An FDA advisory committee will meet Dec. 10 to discuss a potential emergency use authorization for a vaccine produced by Pfizer, and again a week later to consider a second vaccine made by Moderna. The Pfizer vaccine was 95% effective and the Moderna vaccine was 94.1% effective in clinical trials, and the FDA will make the final decisions on both.

Leading up to these historic meetings, the Tribune spoke with FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn Thursday about what happens next, concerns from some that the vaccines were rushed, and worries from others that the U.S. hasn’t moved quickly enough. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.” Read the interview here.

* From Pioneer Press’ Kaitlin Edquist: Cook County health department investigating large wedding held at Hilton Chicago/Northbrook hotel on day state marked highest number of COVID-19 deaths

* From the Tribune’s Allison Bowen: Should pregnant women get a COVID-19 vaccine? What about women considering pregnancy? Guidance is hard to find because trials exclude pregnancy

Republican Illinois congressman says to President Trump in tweet: ‘Time to delete your account’

Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger had a five-word message for President Donald Trump when he retweeted a link to a video from the White House in which the president continued to question the results of last month’s election:

“Time to delete your account,” Kinzinger tweeted.

Kinzinger’s tweet came out Wednesday night, hours after the president delivered a 46-minute speech from the White House’s Diplomatic Room. During what Trump called “the most important speech” of his presidency, he challenged Democrat Joe Biden’s victory, claiming widespread voter fraud. Read the rest of the story here.

* From The Associated Press: Trump aide banned from Justice Department building after pressuring staffers for sensitive information on election fraud

* Illinois’ congressional delegation: Veteran North Shore Democratic U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston was reappointed to the role of senior chief deputy whip. In a statement, Schakowsky said she was “honored and humbled” for the appointment. “Following a disastrous four years, particularly the last year during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have a tremendous amount of work ahead of us to restore our nation’s confidence in our federal government.”

Meanwhile, Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of Downstate Murphysboro tweeted today that he’ll be the ranking Republican member on the House Veterans Affairs Committee when the new Congress starts next year. “I’m honored that my @HouseGOP colleagues have elected me as the lead Republican on @HouseVetAffairs for the 117th Congress. The U.S. is home to over 18 million veterans, & I will fight every day to ensure that they, my brothers & sisters, are taken care of. My full statement.”

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Optimism grows as House Democrats promise some measure of COVID-19 relief before the holidays

From The Associated Press: “Optimism about delivering long-sought COVID-19 relief is building on Capitol Hill after additional rank-and-file lawmakers voiced support for a bipartisan, middle-of-the-road plan taking shape in the Senate and as top congressional leaders connected on the topic for the first time in months.

“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — frequent rivals but proven dealmakers — spoke on the phone Thursday, a conversation that came the day after Pelosi signaled a willingness to make major concessions in search of a COVID rescue package in the $1 trillion range.” Read the rest here.

* From the Tribune’s Robert Channick: In Illinois, more than one-third of PPP funds, meant for small businesses, went to larger companies that got loans of $1M or more. Search the SBA list.

Thanks for reading The Spin, the Tribune’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to have it delivered to your inbox weekday afternoons. Host Lisa Donovan is on vacation this week. If you have a tip, email her at ldonovan@chicagotribune.com.

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