The [Monday] Papers

"Bill Daley walked into the crowded sanctuary at the Indiana Avenue Pentecostal Church of God on Sunday afternoon and received the blessing of the Bronzeville congregation - literally," the Tribune reports.

"The elderly Bishop Charles E. Davis slowly rose from his seat as Daley approached the blue carpeted stage and was encircled by the pastor and more than a dozen church elders who put their hands on the 70-year-old politician's shoulders as he bowed his head.

"'Bless us, God, with what is going on today. You know what Chicago needs,' Davis said as some in the historic African-American congregation raised their hands in the air. 'We ask you to empower this man here and that when he is elected, he will not forget that he has earned something to please you for your people and the city of Chicago. Bless him with the wisdom and knowledge to carry on for this great city. Hallelujah!'"

This is the sort of thing Democrats often ridicule Republicans for - believing God blesses political candidates when He's not busy fixing football games.

This is also the sort of thing that gets a pass from all involved, almost certainly because, for the politicians, there are votes to be had, and for everyone else, including the media, there is a fear of being called racist if you question the black church the way you might question the white church.

But in the end, the bullshit is the same, albeit in wholly different contexts.

Among the beliefs of the church that Daley visited Sunday:

-> "'[T]hese are the last days, and that the rapture is for born-again believers and the personal return of Jesus Christ to His church," and;

-> "[T]o be saved you must be born again, which includes genuine repentance, water baptism in Jesus name, and receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues as the Spirit of God gives utterance."

Emphasis mine.

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Garry McCarthy is also finding God in all the wrong places.

"In the final days, McCarthy said it also hasn't hurt to have high name ID and to be instantly recognizable after running the Police Department for four years before being fired by Emanuel late in 2015 amid the fallout of the Laquan McDonald police shooting.

"'Believe it or not, a lot of people talk to me like I'm a victim. They say what happened with me and Rahm and Laquan McDonald just wasn't fair and leaves people a little sympathetic,' McCarthy said. 'I don't want sympathy. Things happen for a reason, maybe the reason was I'm supposed to be mayor and not superintendent.'"

Yes, God set it all in motion when He pulled the trigger on Jason Van Dyke's gun 16 times.

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"State Comptroller Susana Mendoza had planned to spend most of Saturday visiting early voting sites, but the heavy rain and electioneering law that requires candidates to stay 100 feet away from a polling place quickly ended that plan."

Maybe God made it rain just in case veteran campaigner Mendoza forgot about those pesky electioneering laws.

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"On Saturday, former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot's campaign handed out ponchos and hand warmers to dozens of volunteers who crammed into an Equality Illinois canvassing kickoff in the intimate dining room of Andersonville's Vincent restaurant . . .

"'It's all about peaking at the right time, and this is our time. We had an incredible week. Thank you, Toni Preckwinkle!,' Lightfoot said."

And thank God!

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"Activist and policy consultant Amara Enyia is another candidate who has campaigned heavily on change. Her weekend had a full slate of neighborhood parties and meet-and-greets, but there were no publicized stops with her most famous backers - hip hop artists Chance the Rapper and Kanye West, who poured a combined $600,000 into her campaign."

I'm not sure anyone expected to see Kanye on the campaign trail, but Chance's disappearance from the campaign trail, down the stretch, speaks volumes - about something, be it a lack of commitment or loss of confidence in his candidate. Assignment Desk, activate.

See also: Amara vs. University Park. Extraordinary e-mails and a disturbing pattern of dissembling.

A taste:

pic.twitter.com/80cYl5Lvq3

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) February 24, 2019

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"Paul Vallas started the morning speaking to about three dozen worshippers at New Christian Joy Missionary Baptist Church in West Pullman, not far from Roseland where he grew up. Vallas gave a 12-minute talk detailing his plans to take on the city's pension crisis, cap property taxes and replace lead service pipes to homes while promising to invest in South Side and West Side communities that he said continue to be food and retail deserts with struggling schools."

He also had several new ideas for the Bible, I hear. See his 38-point plan at PaulVallas.com/Bible.

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"At Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Gresham, businessman Willie Wilson stepped in as a guest preacher. He strayed away from promoting his political platform and instead talked for nearly an hour about his faith and his life's journey from humble beginnings in rural Louisiana to becoming a millionaire in Chicago . . .

"Even though I'm running for office, right now I'm running for Jesus," he said.

Oy.

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"[Toni] Preckwinkle visited three churches Sunday - Triedstone Full Gospel Baptist Church in East Beverly, Corinthian Temple Church of God in Christ in West Garfield Park and St. Stephen AME Church in East Garfield Park . . .

"'Health care is our main responsibility, but we're also responsible for the courts and the jails and have worked hard to make the criminal justice system fairer to black folks,' Preckwinkle told about 150 worshippers. 'We all know that black and brown people are disproportionately impacted in our criminal justice system.'"

And we all know that black and brown people were disproportionately impacted by the property tax assessment system overseen by her friend Joe Berrios, whom she stuck with even after it was exposed. Only God could square that circle.

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Campaign Twitter
A sampling.

"Hi. Did you get my text?" https://t.co/fWTD13JCUv

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) February 25, 2019

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Willie Wilson's campaign has retweeted all kinds of, um, questionable characters this campaign. (So has Vallas's campaign, though no Nazis that I'm aware of.)

Why would @DrWillieWilson retweet this when man in photo has swastika on his hand? #chimayor19 pic.twitter.com/T4HsZlmW5m

— Mary Ann Ahern (@MaryAnnAhernNBC) February 24, 2019

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It means I have a heart for the people. Not a tax burden for the people as The Burke 4 does. May God bless you and, boy oh boy, PLEASE God bless #Chicago! #ThePeoplesMayor #WeAreOne

RT @ChicagoVoter19: He never earned s doctorate degree. Its an honor degree and means nothing.

— Dr. Willie Wilson (@DrWillieWilson) February 24, 2019

Somehow I'm less disturbed by this - perhaps because of Wilson's avuncular nature - than I am of Enyia's insistence on being called a doctor. It's all part of a self-aggrandizing grifter's pattern, like this signature from her University Park e-mails:

pic.twitter.com/r2MHI37G3g

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) February 25, 2019

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At #FOIAFest City Hall meetings were described as political theater. 🤷‍♂️#ChiMayor19 https://t.co/DwKiU6AG7P

— Jonathan Ballew (@JCB_Journo) February 25, 2019

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Love the Bourgeois Pig @DaleyForMayor, but maybe not the best place to go when you've received $2 million from a billionaire who was also Bruce Rauner's biggest funder and enabler. #ChiMayor19 https://t.co/5XaanPWJOT

— Christian Slater (@slaterchrisj) February 25, 2019

+

Let's all remember the time the owner of Bourgeois Pig said that raising the minimum wage would put him out of business. We now know that was a lie. https://t.co/AoSQlnrsPf#ChiMayor19 https://t.co/90st2QKbVr

— Jeff O (@JeffO773) February 25, 2019

Every candidate but one seems to have avoided stopping at the Bourgeois Pig today, and it's our old JP Morgan Chase, Commerce Secretary, NAFTA-loving friend!

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#ChiMayor19 is the poster child for #RankedChoiceVoting / #InstantRunoffVoting. #ChicagoRCV#OpenChiMayorDebates! https://t.co/svjCCZOTEX

— Open the Debates (@OpenTheDebates) February 25, 2019

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The Beachwood McRibTipLine: Nightmare scenario.

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