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THE BUZZ

Look for the first House Democratic Women’s Legislative Caucus to emerge in the next few weeks.

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While Black and Latino legislative caucuses have for years ensured the interests of those constituencies, there hasn’t been a women’s caucus — not a formal one, anyway. The group, which already has started raising money, will vote on leadership and plan a retreat with new women lawmakers.

“The mission is to promote the leadership of women elected to the House in an inclusive and collaborative way,” state Rep. Ann Williams told POLITICO. “We want to address systemic challenges for women not just in government but any workplace.”

Creating an official women’s caucus comes as veteran lawmaker Barbara Flynn Currie, a House Democrat, retires. Along with being a legislative powerhouse on the floor, Currie has been a mentor and go-to person for procedural expertise.

Currie’s leadership shoes are big to fill, and women lawmakers have been careful not to step on toes to say one or another of them might emerge as the next Rep. Currie.

Along with Williams, some of the natural leaders are Kelly Burke (36), Sara Feigenholtz (12), Mary Flowers (31), Robyn Gabel (18), Jehan Gordon-Booth (92) and Camille Lilly (78).

Some lawmakers want Currie’s majority leader position also held by a woman, especially in wake of #metoo and controversial SCOTUS hearings. “The incoming freshman class of legislators will be deeply disappointed if women’s voices are not included in top levels of the House leadership,” said one woman lawmaker.

Currie has held that job because she’s a master legislator on the floor, a mentor to lawmakers, a student of government and “a workhorse,” as one legislative operative put it. With that in mind, don’t be surprised if it’s state Rep. Greg Harris (13), another respected workhorse, who emerges as majority leader.

MORE BUZZ

Democrats are on the stump for one candidate in the next few days: Kwame Raoul. Some Republicans have tried to spin former President Barack Obama’s visit to Chicago on Sunday as a sign J.B. Pritzker is worried about his lead in the governor’s race. Not so. Pritzker and other Dems with comfortable positions for Tuesday’s election are wrapping their arms around one of their own to make sure he doesn’t get lost in any tumult caused by the opposition. Republican Erika Harold has campaigned that she offers a check on the balance of power should Pritzker be victorious.

Obama’s visit is a good way to bolster Raoul and other candidates in battleground contests, said a plugged-in campaign operative. “Former presidents like to go where they can help. And that’s what Obama is doing.” Besides, it’s fun to wrap up a campaign with friends from your hometown. Obama also released a new radio ad for Raoul on Thursday. Titled "Every Voice Matters," the former president says while he fought for the Affordable Care Act in DC, Raoul “led the effort to expand healthcare coverage to every Illinoisan.”

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CAMPAIGNS

— Speaker Paul Ryan makes a trip to Chicago suburbs in final push for Republican candidates, by Tribune’s Patrick O’Connell: Story here

— Rauner says most governors ‘would be proud’ of his first-term record. WGN’s Tahman Bradley takes a deep dive into the Republican governor’s accomplishments and why he wants another term: Story here

— Peoples Gas suddenly is extraordinarily generous with campaign contributions, writes Crain’s Steve Daniels: With Chicagoans’ heating bills rising due to unprecedented capital spending, the utility appears to be gearing up for fights in Springfield and with the Chicago City Council. Story here

— Cook County judicial elections stir up unusual amount of public scrutiny. At least two Cook County judges are at risk of losing their seats, reports the Reader’s Story here

— Dems focus on longtime GOP strongholds hoping to increase Cook County Board lead: ‘The suburbs … are not what they once were,’ writes Tribune’s Greg Pratt: Story here

— Cook County GOP head Sean Morrison has allowed far-right, white supremacist rhetoric to thrive, writes Scott Smith, a board member with Southwest Chicago Diversity Collaborative, in Patch. Opinion piece here

— A mailer sent by state Sen. John Curran’s campaign shows a double-burger with cheese and all the fixins on one side and a plain single patty between a bun on the other. Curran’s Dem opponent, Bridget Fitzgerald, is criticizing the ad for depicting her as “a slab of meat.” Video here A source close to Curran’s campaign says the ad was only meant to show something filling vs. something lacking.

— Mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot pushes plan to boost affordable housing options, reports Tribune’s Bill Ruthhart: Story here

THE JUICE

— Mayoral candidate Gery Chico has raised $476,000 just this week, putting him over the $1 million in fundraising, according to filings with the State Election Board. He’s passed the $1 million mark in fundraising.

— Chicago billionaire Ken Griffin is the biggest donor to the New Republic PAC, giving a whopping $7.5 million since June to the committee backing Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s bid for Senate. Griffin is a Florida native and has a second home in Palm Beach. Story here

CHICAGO

— Firefighter Annette Holt, whose teen son was killed shielding a friend from gunfire, has been named first deputy commissioner of the Chicago Fire Department — the first woman to hold that position. By Sun-Times’ Maudlyne Ihejirika: Story here

— Testing of Chicago homes with water meters found nearly 1 in 5 sampled had brain-damaging lead in their tap water, reports Tribune’s John Byrne and Michael Hawthorne. But the city’s water commissioner acknowledges that the city continued installing new meters after learning about the alarming results in June. Story here

— Alderman calls for financial incentive to boost anemic recycling rate, by Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman: Story here

— 5 reasons to watch Chicago’s historic charter contract negotiations, by Chalkbeat’s Yana Kunichoff: Story here

— Bulls pay tribute to Chicago flag with sharp City Edition jerseys, by Tribune’s Jeremy Mikula: Story here

COOK COUNTY AND COLLARS

— An ethics complaint has been filed against DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin for allegedly awarding county contracts to clients without disclosing his relationships or his financial interests in the contracts. BusinessWire has details

— Evanston principal sends letter to parents addressing ‘hate-filled language’ toward minority students, reports Tribune’s Genevieve Bookwalter: Story here

STATE

— Illinois’ sex ed law requires schools “teach honor and respect for monogamous heterosexual marriage,” by Illinois Newsroom’s Lee Gaines: Studies show a well-designed sex-ed curriculum can reduce the number of unintended teen pregnancies, delay the age at which teens have sex and reduce rates of HIV and other STDs. Story here

— 4 months after an Illinois prison death, family still doesn’t have any answers, by WBEZ’s Shannon Heffernan Story here

— Worker sues anti-violence group run by UIC, claiming she was repeatedly sexually harassed, by Tribune’s Madeline Buckley: Story here

NATION

— ‘There’s a charm offensive under way’ as Nancy Pelosi makes her stealth play for speaker. The Democratic minority leader is quietly courting Democratic candidates who threaten to block her path back to power, by POLITICO’s Rachel Bade and Elena Schneider: Story here

— Avenatti launches his first political ad, by POLITICO’s Natasha Korecki: Story here

— Trump declares the ‘the blue wave is dead.’ President Donald Trump insists the Democratic Party does not have the midterm momentum that its leaders have claimed. by POLITICO’s Caitlin Oprysko: Story here

— Jon Huntsman Jr. reveals he has stage 1 cancer, by POLITICO’s Matthew Choi: Story here

TAKING NAMES

The Ireland Fund broke a record last night, raising $1.2 million at a Chicago fundraising gala that drew big names, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel and GCM Grosvenor’s Michael Sacks. The event honored Gerald Beeson, the chief operating officer of Citadel and a dedicated Chicago philanthropist. I talked to him before the event.

Beeson’s a Chicago South Side Irish kid, the son of a Chicago Police officer and a mom who handled four kids at home. He attended DePaul University on a full-ride scholarship and was headed for an Big 4 accounting career when he met an upstart financial whiz who recruited him to his little company. Back then, Ken Griffin’s Citadel employed 18 people and had $100 million under management. Today, it has 2,000 employees and $30 billion in AUM. “It felt like a start-up” long before that was a term, said Beeson. Today, he and his wife, Jennifer, juggle their own four children and establishing scholarship programs with DePaul, Big Shoulders Fund and Marist High School, also his alma mater. The Ireland Fund supports nonprofit work all over the world. The group also honored Tom Meagher Jr., managing director of GCM Grosvenor.

EVENTS

The latest edition of “Broad Cast” features ACLU Illinois Executive Director Colleen Connell, Personal PAC Chairman Melissa Widen and Planned Parenthood Illinois Action President & CEO Jennifer Welch discussing Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court–and possible ramifications to reproductive rights. Host is Becky Carroll. Link here

BIRTHDAYS

Isabelle Dienstag, who’s leading policy for mayoral candidate Gery Chico. She previously was policy chief for Chris Kennedy in his run for governor.

Belated best wishes to Thomas D McElroy II, CEO of Level-1 Global Solutions. He celebrated Thursday.

WHERE’S THE MAYOR

Schedule not available.

WHERE’S THE GOV

No public events.