Good Monday morning, Illinois. Get out the swimsuits, it's in the 40s!

Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson are finessing their campaign themes to attract moderates and supporters of Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia while not alienating their bases — Vallas at the right of center and Johnson at the left.

“The one who most effectively gets to the middle is going to be successful,” Thomas Bowen, a Democratic strategist who worked on Lightfoot’s campaign, told the Tribune’s Gregory Pratt.

Johnson has secured backing from key North Side elected officials, including state Rep. Kelly Cassidy from the 49th ward and Ald. Andre Vasquez and party leader Maggie O’Keefe from the 40th.

There’s a scramble for Black endorsements: Johnson went to Selma over the weekend for the 58th anniversary march of “Bloody Sunday,” via Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet. Today, Congressman Danny Davis is set to endorse Johnson. Davis backed Lightfoot in the first round.

As expected, Vallas notched the endorsement of Ald. Walter Burnett Jr., who had backed Lightfoot. Gery Chico, who worked in City Hall in the 1990s with Vallas, has endorsed him, too.

The big question: Where will the unions go? Trade unions that had backed Lightfoot have yet to announce which way they’ll endorse, if at all, for the April 4 runoff election. The Chicago Teachers Union is with Johnson. The Fraternal Order of Police is with Vallas. And the Chicago Federation of Labor may not endorse at all.

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No, Lightfoot isn’t blaming racism for her loss: Mayor Lori Lightfoot hasn’t talked about her loss in the mayor's race , but she’s being trashed by some media folks for a misconstrued comment.

What really happened: A few days before Election Day, Lightfoot was asked by a reporter about a perception that she’s combative. She responded, “I’m a Black woman in America. Of course.” The exchange occurred at an event on the city’s West Side during a discussion about how Black women are perceived.

How they spun it: The Associated Press referred to the comment in its results coverage, describing the lead-up to the election. Fox News, the Tribune and a few other folks took it out of context, with blaring headlines that Lightfoot is blaming racism on her loss. She’s not.

Except for a brief comment to Playbook on election night, saying, “One door closes, another opens,” Lightfoot has not spoken to reporters about her loss.

— NYC mayor says Lori Lightfoot’s loss in Chicago is ‘warning sign for the country,’ via CNN

Pritzker gets The New York Times treatment: Gov. JB Pritzker is called the "SOS" candidate because he could jump into the presidential race at a moment’s notice if President Joe Biden decides not to run.

Asked if it’s true that he would run if Biden doesn't, Pritzker told CBS’ “Face the Nation,” “No, I'm supporting Joe Biden. He's running for reelection, and he's going to get re-elected. I'm just, you know, happy that people think of me in that way. That's certainly very flattering, but I intend to serve out my term as governor of Illinois.”

"Two good reasons" why he could run: “He’s a billionaire who’s not afraid to spend his own money, and he’s very progressive, which is where the Democratic Party is today," Ray LaHood, the former Republican congressman from Peoria who served as a transportation secretary in the Obama administration, told the NYT.

If you are New York Mayor Eric Adams, Playbook would like to know what you told Mayor Lori Lightfoot after the election. Email [email protected].

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

— Rep. Lauren Underwood on the harsh realities of being a woman in elected office: “As the youngest Black woman elected to Congress, and as a single Black woman in Congress, her situation was not, by any measure, normal. ‘If there was a long line of people like me,’ Underwood said, ‘I would not be abnormal.’ But there wasn’t a long line of people like her. She had looked into freezing her eggs. She had researched the financial implications of in vitro fertilization, adoption and full-time child care,” writes The Washington Post’s Ruby Cramer.

More insight: Underwood won her seat by 8.4 points, her biggest margin yet. “And that would mean something. It would mean something now, and it would mean something in two years and two years after that. It would mean something if she decided to run for U.S. Senate some day.”

— Downstate judge strikes down Illinois ban on high-powered guns: “The Illinois attorney general’s office immediately appealed to the state Supreme Court. ‘The governor is confident’ the law ultimately will be held constitutional,” by Tribune’s Dan Petrella, Jeremy Gorner and Hank Sanders.

— Bill seeks to enforce federal anti-discrimination standards in state law: “In response to a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision restricting the ability of people to recover damages in federal court for certain discrimination claims, Democrats in the Illinois House are pushing a bill to allow the recovery of those damages in state court,” by Capitol News’ Peter Hancock.

— How the CTU marched from picket lines to political powerhouse, by Sun-Times’ Nader Issa and Lauren FitzPatrick

— In Barrington, trustee candidates discuss the use of new home-rule powers, by Daily Herald’s Steve Zalusky

— In Harvey, here’s who’s in the runoff, via Harvey World Herald

— State Rep. Nabeela Syed said she received threats to burn her hijab before she even took office, she told former state Rep. Mike Zalewski on his podcast. The messages were about the assault weapons ban bill, which Syed didn’t even vote on because she hadn’t yet taken the oath. “That was a moment where I [thought] maybe I signed up for this too quickly in life,” she said.

Syed also talked to POLITICO’s Marissa Martinez about giving her first floor speech, via The Recast.

— Broad Cast podcast: Asian leaders talk about how the Asian caucus has grown in Illinois, and the challenges that come with that. Panelists: Cook County Commissioner Josina Morita, Asian American Midwest Progressives executive director Grace Pai and Skokie trustee Khem Khoeun. Hosts are political insiders Becky Carroll and Eileen Dordek.

— Call it an icy reception: Mayor Lori Lightfoot led more than 4,900 plungers into Lake Michigan at Sunday’s Chicago Polar Plunge, which benefits Special Olympics Chicago/Special Children’s Charities (SOC/SCC). The water was 38 degrees. First Lady Amy Eshelman cheered on the mayor. Also spotted: city commissioners Chris Brown, Anastasia Walker, Andrea Kersten, Andrea Cheng and Rachel Arfa and Metropolitan Water Reclamation Commissioner Mariyana Spyropoulos.

Other plungers: SOC/SCC VP and Ald. Matt O’Shea (19th), Ald. Ray Lopez (15th), Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30th), Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd) and Ald.-elect Bill Conway (34th). Mayoral candidate Paul Vallas handed out towels to plungers as they exited the water. Nearly $2 million has been raised so far. Donations are being accepted through the end of March.

Check it out: Sun-Times' story here. Tribune photos here.

— More than 6,000 celebrants attended the annual Holi event at Navy pier on Saturday. Coordinated by chair of the Delhi Committee of Chicago Sister Cities, Smita Shah, this year’s Holi was attended by Mayor Lori Lightfoot, India Consul General Somnath Ghosh, Chicago Sister Cities International executive director Adrienne Tongate, Exelon VP Neena Hemmady and Navy Pier CEO Marilynn Gardner.

— Miquel Lewis has been named to the Chicago Board of Education by Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Lewis is former chair of the Noble Network of Charter Schools and acting director of Cook County’s juvenile probation services, by Tribune’s Sarah Macaraeg.

— Catanzara wins second term as FOP president: “John Catanzara Jr. captured nearly 57 percent of the 7,192 votes for president of Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge 7. His opponent, Robert Bartlett, had argued that Catanzara’s confrontational approach alienated potential union allies,” by WBEZ’s Chip Mitchell.

— Nelson Mandela Center planned for now-vacant West Side storefronts: The center will offer “resources for people who need food, housing or jobs,” reports Sun-Times’ Michael Loria.

— Drug companies’ opioid settlement to help Chicago aid drug users, by Sun-Times’ Frank Main

— United Center concession workers strike ahead of Big Ten Tournament, by Tribune’s Richard Requena

— Bound by basketball, friendship and grief: Simeon’s terrific 2013 state championship team, a decade later, by Tribune’s Colleen Kane, Stacy St. Clair and Terrence Antonio James

— Walking Man revealed: Friends who knew him as ‘Mojo’ in the ’70s share photos, stories, by Sun-Times’ David Struett

— OPINION: Invest South/West is moving faster than people realize, by developers Aron Weisner and Jose Duarte in the Sun-Times

— Why Bears land deal prohibiting a casino gets past Arlington Heights ordinance on a technicality: “A 23-page special warranty deed filed with the Cook County clerk's office prevents the new property owner from adding casino gambling such as slots and table games -- or even seeking a license -- at the 326-acre site it bought from Churchill Downs Inc., for $197.2 million,” reports Daily Herald’s Christopher Placek.

— Legislation would help Tinley Park buy former mental health center for redevelopment, by Daily Southtown’s Mike Nolan.

We asked what political campaign you most enjoyed working on.

Peter Baugher: Richard Ogilvie’s first run for governor.

Stella Black: Paul Simon.

Randy Bukas: Bob Ryan’s campaign for state representative.

Ed Mazur: John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign.

Rev. Tyrone McGowan: Rep. Bobby Rush’s 2000 re-election campaign when he defeated Barack Obama.

Marilynn Miller: Congressman Bill Foster’s campaigns.

Scotty Miller: Congresswoman Lauren Underwood’s first campaign.

John Nellis: Walter Burnett Jr.’s 1995 runoff campaign against Wallace Davis.

Roberto Montano: ShawnTe Raines-Welch’s campaign for judge.

Rey Nonato: Justice Joy Cunningham's election in 2012.

Marc Schulman: Jim Thompson’s first campaign for governor. Pic!

Rebecca Sive: Harold Washington’s mayoral campaign. Pic!

Steven Smith: Jimmy Carter.

Barry Tusin: Sen. Eugene McCarthy’s 1968 primary campaign in Minnesota.

Claude Walker: Pat Quinn’s 1990 state treasurer race.

Phil Zeni: The 1970 Illinois Pollution Control Bond Act campaign.

What copycat restaurant meal have you mastered at home? (Recipes welcome.) Email [email protected]

— Why former Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis and others are supporting DeSantis, by POLITICO’s Rachael Bade and Bethany Irvine

— Inside the panic at Fox News after the 2020 election, via The New York Times

— Biden gets a rare hand from Big Business in quest to ease consumer pain, by POLITICO’s Adam Cancryn

— Trump ties a ribbon on the most MAGA CPAC yet, by POLITICO’s Natalie Allison and Meridith McGraw

— Alex Han has been named executive director of In These Times. He is a veteran union organizer. It’s the second leadership change in the publication’s 46-year history, according to In These Times.

Precious Brady-Davis, author and Sierra Club comms director, and Myles Brady-Davis, Equality Illinois comms director, welcomed Zyon Au’Set Alex Brady-Davis to the world. Big sister Zayn couldn’t be more pleased. Pic!

— 90 years ago, the father of Chicago’s political machine died after being struck by a bullet intended for FDR: "By bringing ethnic communities into the political establishment, then virtually a WASP monopoly, Mayor Anton Cermak created the fabled Chicago machine,” writes Tribune’s Ron Grossman.

FRIDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to Anne Tucker for correctly answering that Helen Stewart was the Springfield, Ill, native known as the "First Lady of Las Vegas.”

TODAY’s QUESTION: Who was the “mother of environmental justice” and what area of Chicago was her focus? Email [email protected]

Eli’s Cheesecake President Marc Schulman, city Project Manager Art Andros, Rep. Bill Foster’s outreach coordinator Hannah Cook, Executive Service Corps CEO Rachelle Jervis, campaign field director Daniel Muñoz and Illinois Capitol News reporter Hannah Meisel.

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