Welcome Monday, Illinois. Sovereignty beat out Journalism at the Kentucky Derby — and the Trump administration couldn’t be more pleased.

LORI HEALEY, one of the most consequential behind-the-scenes political players in Chicago’s modern history, died Saturday after battling a form of pancreatic cancer, according to her family. She was 65.

Her death has stunned the government and civic communities that had relied on her expertise in some of Chicago’s most ambitious projects.

She most recently has been overseeing construction of the Obama Presidential Center.

Earlier, she held various roles at McPier, formally known as the Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority, where she added an arena to the McCormick Place convention center. She is credited with overseeing the development of Block 37 and the “Plan for Transformation” that revitalized the city’s struggling public housing system. She was executive director of the 2012 NATO Host Committee during Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration.

Healey also served as Mayor Richard M. Daley’s chief of staff, and was often tapped to lead projects he supported, including leading Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

In a statement, Daley described Healey, as “a brilliant leader whose tireless spirit and deep commitment to public service set her apart. From major civic developments to international events, Lori’s clarity of vision and gift for collaboration made her an essential force in our city’s most important achievements. She was so much more than a colleague — she was like family. Her passing is a profound loss for me personally and for so many others in our great city who continue to feel the impact of her extraordinary life.”

The Obama Foundation’s Valerie Jarrett praised Healey for her “brilliance, indefatigable work ethic, wise judgement and wit.” Her statement is here.

State Rep. Kam Buckner called her “the very best of us,” via X. McPier CEO Larita Clark said Healey was a “wise and charismatic” mentor, via Linkedin. And state Comptroller Susana Mendoza described her as among “the absolute best, most awesome people,” via X.

Healey’s children, Ramsey Al-Abed and Emily Thompson Lewis, said their mom was “a deeply devoted mother and grandmother who found her greatest joy in time spent with her adoring family. She was a loving partner to Walt Eckenhoff, and an inspiring leader, a friend to so many and a tireless advocate for Chicago. So many knew her as a transformative force in public service, city planning and civic development, but to us, her most meaningful role was as our mom.” Their full statementt is here.

Healey was a multi-faceted public servant under two mayors, by Crain’s Steven R. Strahler

ALSO PAYING TRIBUTE to former Gov. George Ryan:

Funeral services for former Gov. George Ryan, 91, to be held this week in Kankakee, according to his obituary. A memorial will be held Thursday.

A complicated life: The former Illinois Republican governor, who died Friday, gained fame for imposing a moratorium on capital punishment in the state 25 years ago. “I cannot support a system which in its administration has proved so fraught with error and has come so close to the ultimate nightmare, the state’s taking of innocent life,” he said about capital punishment in 2000.

Ryan was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his action, but it was his involvement in a corruption scandal that is seared into his biography.

He served only one term as governor. He didn’t seek reelection as the high-profile Operation Safe Road corruption investigation expanded.

The probe revealed the illegal sales of commercial driver’s licenses for bribes during the period he had served as secretary of state. Victims in the scandal included six children killed in a flaming vehicle explosion. There were 79 federal indictments, including Ryan’s. He was sentenced to 6½ years in federal prison.

Ryan’s career was honed on old-school politics, reliant upon patronage and deal-making, by the Tribune’s Rick Pearson

Ryan also blocked the ERA when he was Illinois House speaker, via The Associated Press’ John O’Connor and Christopher Wills

Leaders recall Ryan’s successes, flaws, by the Daily Herald’s Marni Pyke

COUNTERPOINT: Opponents to iGaming pushed back at a poll we published Friday that claimed to show voters favor authorizing the technology to address budget shortfalls.

The opponents say the poll “overestimates the revenue potential and underplays the impacts on society.”

In a Playbook exclusive statement, the head of the Illinois Gaming Machine Operators Association Ivan Fernandez says: “The facts are clear: legalizing iGaming will cannibalize revenue from the existing domestic gaming industry. This means losing thousands of jobs and billions in revenue and economic development to an iGaming industry that is based entirely out of state or overseas. Illinois is home to a thriving gaming industry that supports well-paying jobs and small businesses in communities across the state, and preserving those benefits means saying no to iGaming.”

The Illinois Licensed Beverage Association also pushed back at the poll, saying gambling on your phone would mean consumers aren’t going to bars and restaurants that rely on video gaming income to stay open, according to a statement.

And advocates against gaming expansion say iGaming would mean addicting even more people and making gambling accessible to children and teens, according to Brianne Doura-Schawohl, a self-described responsible gambling expert and advocate.

If you are Valerie Jarrett, Playbook would like to hear from you! Email: [email protected]

At the Sheraton Grand Chicago at noon for Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky’s Ultimate Women’s Power Lunch

In Hyde Park at 9 a.m. for the National Small Business Week press conference

No official public events

Have a tip, suggestion, birthday, new job or a complaint? Email [email protected]

— Pritzker and Ocasio-Cortez | A billionaire and a former bartender emerge as Trump resistance leaders: “As messengers, Gov. JB Pritzker and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez could not be more different. And their arguments, despite some overlap, are distinct enough to raise familiar questions for Democrats: Should they make their challenges to Trump about threats to democracy and national stability, as Pritzker has done, or portray him as a corrupt billionaire exacerbating an uneven economy, as Ocasio-Cortez does? And beyond the message itself, what qualities should the best messenger have?” by The Associated Press’ Bill Barrow.

— Pritzker’s schedule shows how he balances his role as the state’s top official while also raising his national profile, by NBC 5’s Mary Ann Ahern

— Jessica Vasquez appointed as Cook County 8th District commissioner: “Vasquez is the first woman to represent the 8th District, which includes parts of the north suburbs within Cook County. She also gives the board a female majority for the first time in its 194-year history,” via ABC 7.

— Candidates lining up for Underwood’s 14th Congressional seat, by the Daily Herald’s Russell Lissau

— Krishnamoorthi leads panel at Harper College on value of public service careers under attack from DOGE, by the Daily Herald’s Eric Peterson

— OPINION: State Sen. Cristina Castro “played a significant role in delivering big wins for the Democrats not only in Kane County, but across the 8th Congressional District (IL-08) where she currently serves as the Democratic state central committeewoman,” by Marc Avelar in the McHenry County blog.

— Revenue warning signs flash as Springfield preps for budget talks: “GDP is a big driver of tax revenue,” says David Merriman, a budget expert and professor at the University of Illinois Chicago. “The percentage drop of GDP is an indicator of what will happen to income tax revenues,” by Crain’s John Pletz.

— State Rep. La Shawn Ford, business owners call for relief from strict and costly regulations on legal cannabis industry, by the Sun-Times’ Kaitlin Washburn

— Senate leaders split on community college bachelor’s degree proposal, by Capitol News’ Peter Hancock

— City’s plan to permanently remove Columbus statues irks some Italian Americans, by the Block Club’s Charles Thrush

— Chicago’s housing market could be further dampened by recession fears and tariffs, by the Sun-Times’ Abby Miller

— Art Institute of Chicago president under investigation, accused of stripping off clothes on flight to Germany, via CBS 2’s Dan Kraemer

— Appeals system raised property tax bills for Cook County homeowners, report says: “Cook County’s property tax appeal process shifted $1.91 billion in taxes from businesses onto homeowners over the last three years, exacerbating inequities in the city and suburbs, the report from the Cook County Treasurer’s Office finds,” by the Tribune’s A.D. Quig.

— Arlington Park’s rebirth: “What closing the deal on a Bears stadium represents for the northwest suburb’s new mayor,” by the Tribune’s Andrew Carter.

— Plainfield landlord gets 53 years in prison in hate crime killing of 6-year-old Palestinian American boy, by the Sun-Times’ David Struett

— Cardinal Robert Prevost: From the south suburbs to helping choose the next pope, by the Sun-Times’ Lauren FitzPatrick

— How Trump’s order to cut federal funding to NPR and PBS could impact Illinois: “His order seeking to cut off funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting affects about 1,500 stations, including Chicago’s WBEZ and WTTW. But it’s likely headed for the courts or for drama in Congress,” by the Sun-Times’ David Roeder.

— IN MEMORIAM: Award-winning Chicago journalist Michael Miner has died. Obit here

We asked about surprising political power plays.

Jack Franks: “Late at night, during lame-duck session when I watched Gov. Quinn meet with individual, non-returning members in the back of the House chamber underneath the balcony, and shortly thereafter he had the votes for an income tax increase.”

Cristina Nonato: “VP Kamala Harris running for president.”

Bernard Schoenburg: “Rod Blagojevich, with the help of his father-in-law, convincing downstate Democrats that he was the future.”

Timothy Thomas: “Chicago Councilman Luis Gutierrez, a key player in the progressive movement and a beneficiary of the late Mayor Harold Washington’s strong support during his campaign for alderman, altered his allegiance during the 1989 special mayoral election. In return for the formation and electoral support of the new 4th Congressional district seat, this action set in motion the gradual disintegration of the Black/Brown coalition.”

NEXT QUESTION: What’s your all-time favorite PBS show?

— Trump seeks to reopen Alcatraz, place tariffs on movies made abroad, by POLITICO’s Megan Messerly and Melanie Mason

— Evers calls White House border czar’s immigration enforcement threats ‘chilling,’ by POLITICO’s Gregory Svirnovskiy

— What’s driving Trump’s attack on museums, by POLITICO’s Emily Schultheis

— ‘Everyone knew it but him’: Tiffany Trump’s father-in-law has seen role diminished since the transition, by POLITICO’s Felicia Schwartz and Robbie Gramer

— Daniel Solow is now chief development officer and VP of external affairs at the Griffin Museum of Science & Industry. He had headed Four Verticals, a philanthropy and leadership consulting practice that he founded.

— June 26: Breakthrough Ideas’ annual awards dinner features Baptist Minister CL Bryant, Pastor Corey Brooks and radio host John Anthony. Details here

— June 26: Fundraiser for the Sean O’Shea Memorial Endowed Scholarship, which supports first-generation political science majors at O’Shea’s alma mater, DePaul University. RSVP for details here: [email protected].

FRIDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to Mary Lawlor for correctly answering that Charles Gates Dawes, the VP under Calvin Coolidge, lived in Evanston.

TODAY’s QUESTION: What is the official name of the Black Hawk Statue in Oregon, Ill.? Email [email protected]

Federal Judge Robert Gettleman, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Joe Panarese, businessman and former state Rep. Dwight Kay, Chief of Staff for state Sen. Paul Faraci Atha Winston, corporate attorney Drew Beres, fiscal expert Bill House, philanthropist Jay Bergman, former Illinois congressional candidate Catalina Lauf, former HRO Political Director Joe Woodward, Circle Of Service Foundation Senior Program Director Charise Williams, attorney Bryan Sugar, fundraising consultant Lucas Carroll and journalist Mark Caro

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