Happy Wednesday, Illinois. It’s six days to Election Day, and it feels like a year.

With vote-by-mail going gangbusters and the Chicago mayor’s race seemingly neck-and-neck, it’s possible a decision may be too close to call on Election Night or even the next day, according to a spokesman with the Chicago Board of Elections.

“We’ll have to see how close it is,” spokesman Max Bever told Playbook.

A delayed outcome could also occur in ward races given some contests have so many candidates and mail-in ballots could determine their outcome.

Compared to four years ago: As of this morning, 132,443 votes have been cast. It seems small in a city of 2.7 million residents. But a week ahead of the election four years ago, only 57,829 ballots had been cast for the Chicago municipal election. Mail-in voting has changed everything.

THE JUICE: Jesus “Chuy” Garcia has pulled in $600,000 from the Engineers Political Education Committee, $125,000 from Henry Cardenas’ CMN company and $105,000 from the Purple PAC.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has raised more than $165,000 in the past week, including $50,000 from the Chicago Plumbers Union, $50,000 from the 28th Ward Organization headed by Chicago Black Caucus Chair Jason Ervin, $20,000 from the United Food Commercial Workers Local 881, $5,000 from Karen Bass for Congress (She’s now mayor of Los Angeles.) and $1,000 from University of Chicago First Amendment scholar Geoffrey Stone.

ENDORSEMENTS: Illinois State Central Committeewoman Carol Ronen and former state Sens. Toi Hutchinson and Heather Steans announced they are backing Lightfoot for mayor, citing her “leadership in championing reproductive rights, mental health and other policy advancements for women and Black and LGBTQ+” issues. … Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer endorsed Garcia for mayor. The two worked together when Garcia served on the Cook County Board. … Social worker and criminal justice reform advocate Anjanette Young endorsed Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson for mayor, saying, “he is committed to making sure the trauma I endured at the hands of the police four years ago never happens to anyone again.”

SCRUTINY: Challenger Paul Vallas has promoted his schools resume, but there are blemishes: He’s been criticized, not just by rivals, for “over-stressing the importance of test scores, his handling of the district’s pension payments and for expanding school privatization and charter schools — ideas that have aged less well as union power has grown,” by Tribune’s Ray Long and Gregory Pratt.

Paul Vallas’ own words on critical race theory. “When you introduce a curriculum that is not only divisive, but a curriculum that further undermines the relationship of children with their parents, with their families, that’s a dangerous thing. And for white parents, I mean, how are you going to discipline your child when your child comes home and your child has basically been told, you know, that their generation, their race, their parents, their grandparents they have discriminated against others and they have somehow victimized another person’s race,” he told Wirepoints in 2021. Starts at about 21:45.

NEW AD: Lightfoot’s new digital ad attacks Vallas for his ”take back our city” comments, which Lightfoot earlier this week called “dog whistle politics.” The ad also says Garcia and Johnson couldn’t beat Vallas in a runoff.

Biden world chatters that Joe may not run, and some Dems like JB Pritzker are at the ready: “The Illinois Democrat — like everyone else — has offered his full support to Biden. But insiders note that senior advisers from his last two campaigns are still standing by just in case. Key among them is Quentin Fulks, who last year served as campaign manager to Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock. Pritzker’s last two campaign managers, Mike Ollen, and chief of staff Anne Caprara, remain ready to deploy, along with others.”

“It’s the Boy Scout motto. ‘Be prepared,’” Democratic strategist David Axelrod said, referring to any appearance by Pritzker or other Democrats to be putting their ducks in a row for a potential presidential campaign, via POLITICO.

Meanwhile, Pritzker focuses on policy: The governor has joined the Reproductive Freedom Alliance, a non-partisan group of Democratic state governors who will work together on best practices in affirming abortion rights.

Targeting hate: The governor’s chief of staff has reported an anti-Semitic tweet to Elon Musk’s Twitter. The tweet targeted the governor.

If you are Elon Musk, Playbook would like to know how Twitter handles hate-filled tweets. Email [email protected].

At Skip-a-Long Child Development Services in Rock Island at 10 a.m. to promote his “Smart Start Illinois” early childhood education proposal — He’s doing the same thing at the Nashold Early Childhood Center in Rockford at 3:15 p.m.

No official public events.

At the Cook County Health Professional Building at 11:15 a.m. to announce recipients of $14.7 million in the health department’s Building Healthier Communities: Behavioral Health Initiative grants.

Have a news tip, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? I’d like to hear from you: [email protected]

— Supreme hearing: The Illinois Supreme Court has set a March 4 hearing for oral arguments regarding the constitutionality of the SAFE-T Act’s elimination of cash bail.

— New law allows Illinoisans to change sex on birth certificate without doctor’s affirmation, by Capitol News’ Nika Schoonover

— State Sen. Andrew Chesney (R-Freeport) has filed three bills to strengthen penalties for those found guilty of public corruption: SB 1687 would prohibit legislators from using their political committee funds to pay for attorneys, expert witnesses, investigators or others in criminal cases. SB 2137 requires legislators convicted of a felony in relation to their roles with the General Assembly to pay a $100,000 fine. And SB 1662 strips legislators convicted of felonies of their retirement license plates.

— Setting the table: Democratic state Rep. Camille Lilly and state Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas are proposing legislation aimed at phasing out the subminimum wage in Illinois.

— About those emails: Lightfoot’s campaign sent 9,900 emails seeking support from CPS and City Colleges staff, documents show: “The campaign says again that it halted the recruitment effort to CPS and City Colleges students,” by WBEZ’s Sarah Karp, Tessa Weinberg and Mariah Woelfel and Sun-Times’ Nader Issa.

— 1st and 43rd Wards: Grudge match in North Side’s 1st Ward offers newsy names, while race in affluent 43rd puts money up for debate, by Sun-Times’ Mitchell Armentrout

— 11th Ward: Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin is endorsing Ald. Nicole Lee.

— 30th Ward: Ruth Cruz is out with n attack ad against rival Jessica Gutierrez.

— 50th Ward: Ald. Debra Silverstein’s campaign is out with a video attacking opponent Mueze Bawany for vulgar tweets he sent about sitting Democrats.

— Lightfoot defends police pension board against criticism it unfairly denied cops with Covid full disability benefits: “Let’s work to fix what is broken, if it’s broken, but the leveling of accusations on people for following the law is simply unnecessary, unfair and false,” Lightfoot said. Tribune’s Hank Sanders and Gregory Pratt report.

— City planning agency focuses on 6 La Salle Street renewal projects: “The plans under review respond to Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s push to add housing, including affordable units, to what has been an office ‘monoculture,’” by Sun-Times’ David Roeder.

— Heather Mack’s cousin named guardian of daughter Stella as Mack awaits 2nd murder trial, by Sun-Times’ Jon Seidel

We asked about the most unusual place you bumped into a politician.

Rosemary Caruk: “Barack Obama shopping the annual Elfa closet sale at The Container Store on Clybourn when he was a state senator.”

John Howell “literally ran into Henry Kissinger on Commonwealth Ave in Boston. I was walking home not paying attention, and he was crossing the sidewalk heading toward a limo. We collided.”

Robert Kieckhefer “ran into Harold Washington in the old D.C. airport.”

Ed Mazur: “At the 1996 Democratic convention in Chicago, I met Secretary of Labor Robert Reich while we were in the men’s bathroom standing at the urinals.”

Brent Pruim “stood next to Ben Carson in a D.C. airport bathroom on the way back to Chicago.”

Steve Smith “was in the shower room at the East Bank Club and saw former Mayor Rahm Emanuel. He had a towel on!”

Dale Sachtleben “in St. Louis in the 1970s ran into Sen. Paul Simon at a Burger King.”

John Straus: “I met Gov. Dan Walker at the clothing store where I worked in high school. Sold him a formal shirt.”

If you were asked in high school what you thought you’d be doing in 20 years, what would you have said? Email [email protected]

— Adam Kinzinger has a book deal: “The Open Field, a Penguin Random House imprint overseen by Maria Shriver, announced Tuesday that Kinzinger’s ‘Renegade: My Life in Faith, the Military, and Defending America from Trump’s Attack on Democracy’ is scheduled for release on Oct. 17,” via The Associated Press.

— Kristen Ziman, the former Aurora police chief, was pleasantly surprised to see her book, “Reimagining Blue: Thoughts on Life, Leadership, and a New Way Forward in Policing,” was added to the required reading list of a Texas police department, via tweet.

— THE FIFTY: Congress’ push for a privacy law is alive and well — in statehouses, by POLITICO’s Alfred Ng

— Older voters balk at Nikki Haley’s competency test, by POLITICO’s Lisa Kashinsky and Natalie Allison

— Biden rallies the West to not get tired of winning, by POLITICO’s Alexander Ward and Jonathan Lemire

— Boeing’s misconduct hasn’t stopped Illinois politicians from taking campaign cash from the company, by Sun-Times’ Robert Herguth

— Jess Goldblatt is assistant director of college development at University of Chicago’s Alumni Relations and Development Office. He was media relations director at the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest in Chicago.

— Aaron Harris is now a partner at Michael Best Strategies. He’s been with the firm since January 2021, and he also is senior counsel at the law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich.

— Brian Stryker is managing partner at Impact Research, a public opinion and political consulting company. He previously was senior associate at the firm.

— Olivia Olander is now the author of POLITICO’s Morning Shift newsletter about labor issues. She has been a breaking news reporter at POLITICO and regular contributor to Illinois Playbook. Give ’em hell, Olivia!

— March 1: Congresswoman Lauren Underwood is among headliners at a Vote Run Lead forum for women interested in running for office. Piper Perabo, an actor and activist and a Vote Run Lead adviser, is among special guests who will also be on hand. Details here

TUESDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to Michael Penicnak and Andy Shaw for correctly answering that in 1964, the Appleknockers of Cobden, Ill., made it all the way to the state basketball championships.

TODAY’s QUESTION: Who was the Illinois elected official who served on a city council, the Illinois Reform Commission and statewide office? Email [email protected]

Political consultant David Axelrod, Choose Chicago VP Robert Fojtik, restaurateur Rich Ciota, HALO Advisory Group managing partner Lou Sandoval and PR pro Rob. Walton.

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