By Natasha Korecki ([email protected] ; @natashakorecki) and Andrew Weber ([email protected])

Good Monday morning, Illinois. Welcome to our instant winter after nearly nine inches of snow fell in some areas near Chicago on Sunday.

Story Continued Below

The weekend also brought a flurry of news stories about the ongoing state budget crisis, complete with a new set of demands from House Speaker Mike Madigan to Gov. Bruce Rauner and a lot of political cross fire. We have all the highlights below. But first, some news.

SCOOP: TRUMP CALLS EMANUEL -- Despite heated rhetoric about Chicago violence on the campaign trail, post election, President-elect Donald Trump phoned Mayor Rahm Emanuel to pick his brain, a source familiar with the conversation told Illinois Playbook. The source said Trump asked about the mayor’s experiences with both the Clinton and Obama presidencies and what lessons were learned in their transitions. “The conversation was cordial and they pledged to keep the lines of communication open in the future.” Trump also had recent conversations with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Emanuel brings up Sanctuary City -- The source said Emanuel told Trump that Chicago was a city of immigrants and “pledged that it is and always will be a sanctuary city.” There was no detail provided on whether the issue of city violence came up during the call. In recent days, Emanuel helped set up a legal defense fund for immigrants and refugees living in Chicago who are threatened with deportation. More on that further on.

SCOOP 2 … J.B. IS CALLING AROUND -- In POLITICO ILLINOIS: “J.B. Pritzker is calling political power players in Illinois to gauge support for a 2018 gubernatorial run as a Democrat -- and he’s telling them that he’d finance his own campaign, POLITICO has learned. The billionaire businessman and philanthropist is periodically approached about running for higher office but hasn’t shown this level of interest since his 1998 unsuccessful congressional run against U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., sources who have talked to Pritzker in recent weeks told POLITICO. ‘He’s deeply connected to the community and deeply concerned about what’s going on right now,’ a source who is close to Pritzker said of the state’s ongoing budget impasse. ‘What really motivates him is that little people are getting screwed.’

‘Will do whatever it takes’: Some Democrats believe Pritzker, who has instant name recognition, a lengthy resume in philanthropy and an investment in Chicago's business and tech world, is uniquely positioned to go up against multi-millionaire Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who in 2014 spent a record amount of money in an Illinois governor’s race -- more than $65 million. ‘J.B. is not intimidated by Rauner’s money,’ said a source close to Pritzker. ‘If he did this, he would do whatever it took to do it the right way. He would run to win and he would do what it takes to do that.’” http://politi.co/2fYCrIX

STATE BUDGET TRAGEDY

‘GIVING UP HOPE’ -- “Another year of financial uncertainty looms for Illinois,” by AP’s Ivan Moreno: “Homeless shelters in Illinois and low-income college students who rely on state funds are facing another year of financial uncertainty as Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and majority Democratic lawmakers remain unable to make progress on resolving a budget war. Several meetings during the past month have only served to prove how far apart the two sides are: Rauner, a former venture capitalist who took office two years vowing to overhaul how the state is managed, continues to insist Democrats pass part of his pro-business agenda, while they say he should focus on a budget deal without pre-conditions … ‘I’m so frustrated I'm almost giving up hope,’ said Rep. David Harris, a Republican from suburban Chicago. ‘I have no idea when this impasse is going to be broken.’” http://bit.ly/2h8FVIM

WORSE THAN THEY FOUND IT -- “Fall veto session leaves Illinois in worse state than before,” Editorial in the State Journal-Register: “Ugly. That’s an apt way to sum up the second week of the fall veto session in the Illinois Capitol. The political bickering simmered Tuesday and Wednesday before boiling over into a hot mess Thursday, leaving a grimy residue of anger, potentially even more distrust between the political parties and, most importantly, the realized fear that Jan. 1 will most likely come with no spending plan in place for the last six months of the fiscal year.” http://bit.ly/2g9lAkN

TALK LESS, SMILE MORE -- “Rauner To Emanuel: ‘Let’s Stay Mature,’” by NPR’s Tony Arnold: “Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday left the door open to Chicago Public Schools receiving more state support a day after vetoing a measure that would’ve directed $215 million to the cash-strapped school system. Rauner said it appeared Democratic leaders were still willing to negotiating changes to the state’s underfunded pension systems, a condition Rauner said he wanted in order to for CPS to receive the designated $215 million.” http://bit.ly/2gEuasE

ALL ABOUT TIMING -- “Madigan: Illinois budget discussed for 14 minutes,” by the Chicago Sun-Times’ Jesse Betend: “Illinois legislative leaders made little progress toward a state budget agreement after meeting Sunday for the second straight day at Gov. Bruce Rauner’s offices in Chicago. House Speaker Michael Madigan complained the budget was discussed for only 14 minutes on Sunday. However Senate GOP leader Christine Radogno argued that the brevity of discussion was by state Democrat’s design.” http://bit.ly/2gEiENR

STALL TACTICS? -- “Republicans accuse Madigan’s Democrats of stalling on budget deal,” by the Chicago Tribune’s Rick Pearson: “Following a closed-door meeting at the Thompson Center in Chicago, Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno said Democrats have raised ‘a number of additional issues that they need answers for before they talk about the budget, some of which we will never know, such as what is the impact of the Trump administration on this budget.’ ‘I mean, if we’re waiting on that, we are certainly not going to know it before Dec. 31. So I see the tactic here is to stall, stall, stall, create a crisis and then force the state into another stopgap budget,’ said Radogno, of Lemont.” http://trib.in/2g0VVrn

HEAVEN HELP US -- “Divine intervention on budget? Still waiting,” by the State Journal-Register’s Bernard Schoenburg: “Comptroller-elect SUSANA MENDOZA, who gets sworn into office Monday at the Statehouse, hoped that a recent trip to the Vatican by an Illinois delegation just might have done some good with the state budget back home … ‘Look, I just came from Rome,’ Mendoza recalled last week when she and state Treasurer MICHAEL FRERICHS spoke at a Better Government Association event in Springfield. ‘And the governor was two rows behind me, maybe one row behind me, when POPE FRANCIS was walking around and blessing everyone. And I was, like, praying to Jesus ... praying to God, that everybody would come back a little bit more enlightened and perhaps ready to ... put the vitriol aside.’ ‘And then BossMadigan.com surfaced and we were right back where we started," said ANDY SHAW, president and CEO of the BGA.” http://bit.ly/2gWBgcw

MADIGAN EQUATES RAUNER AND BLAGO -- “Madigan cites ‘lack of trust’ with Rauner as budget meetings continue,” by Monique Garcia, Jeff Coen, and Rick Pearson: “Closed-door meeting Saturday between Gov. Bruce Rauner and legislative leaders provided little if any headway on a budget deal to keep state government running into the new year, with Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan declaring ‘a lack of trust with the Rauner administration.’ Madigan’s comments followed a Friday request in which he asked for so-called ‘memorandums of understanding’ for all future and past funding agreements made with Rauner. Madigan said House Democrats are concerned the administration is not spending funds as agreed to under the temporary budget that expires Jan. 1. It’s a ‘put-it-in-writing’ tactic Madigan used under Democrat Rod Blagojevich.” http://trib.in/2h8Axpf

ROAD WARNINGS GO DARK -- “[Thorn] Speaking of the state budget: Electronic message boards erected by the Illinois Department of Transportation in the Effingham area remain dark due to the stalled state budget, officials said this week. Put up in November 2015, the signs are supposed to alert motorists to traffic and weather-related conditions, Amber Alerts, and public service messages. The message boards were expected to be in operation in the spring 2016. Now, the program is anticipated to be working in the spring 2017.” http://bit.ly/2gDyPuP

-- “Franks, McSweeney seek to protect taxpayers from lame-duck lawmakers,” Editorial in the Northwest Herald: “For months, we’ve been expecting a sad repeat of the 2011 lame-duck session of the Illinois General Assembly. That’s when then-Gov. Pat Quinn, Speaker Michael Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton and their Democratic colleagues in both the House and Senate – including many who just had been voted out of office – rammed through a whopping 67 percent income tax increase on wage earners and a job-killing 46 percent corporate tax increase on businesses … A vote last week in the Illinois House gave us reason to be hopeful. State Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, filed House Resolution 1494, which opposes any effort to raise taxes in the final days of the legislative session in early January. The resolution passed on a bipartisan, 87-12, vote, with nearly 75 percent of House members going on record opposing a lame-duck tax increase.” http://bit.ly/2gEnuee

Welcome to the POLITICO Illinois Playbook! We welcome your tips, events, announcements. Send to [email protected] or @natashakorecki

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UNPACKING EXELON BAILOUT

It’s Monday, and we’re stricken with the realization that somehow the governor and lawmakers came together to bail out a multi-billion corporation -- but have failed to find an agreement that would keep homeless shelters from closing and fund other basic human services.

THE QUOTE: “This is incredible,” said Rep. Jaime Andrade, D-Chicago, a supporter of the bill. “We have Democrats upset. We have Republicans upset ... Maybe we should send the budget through the Energy Committee.” http://bit.ly/2fWAc8T

-- “Was Exelon bailout the right choice?” by the News-Gazette’s Tom Kacich: “Consumer protections were weakened in the bill, asserted Cara Hendrickson, chief of the public interest division in Madigan’s office. Energy efficiency spending is too high while low-income energy efficiency spending is too low, she said, and hundreds of millions of other spending wouldn't benefit consumers. But for the most part the opponents were drowned out by Exelon, which controlled the agenda and the message. Its executives told lawmakers it couldn't wait any longer for a vote on the deal. ‘The simple answer is that we are out of time. The two plants are losing money, hundreds of millions of dollars over the last five years and we cannot continue to carry that loss,’ said Kathleen Barron, an Exelon vice president. ‘There is no other solution, state or federal.’” http://bit.ly/2g9nYbC

-- “Rauner says he’s ‘proud’ of Exelon subsidy to spare 2 plants,” in the Herald & Review via AP: “Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner says legislation that provides billions of dollars in subsidies to power giant Exelon Corp. is imperfect but that he's "proud" of the deal lawmakers reached. The measure approved Thursday provides $235 million per year to Exelon to keep unprofitable nuclear plants running in Clinton and the Quad Cities. More than 4 million customers of power-distributing subsidiaries ComEd and Ameren will pay more to finance the plan.” http://bit.ly/2gWs1qd

-- “Wake-up call: Clinton relieved by Exelon bill,” by Pantagraph’s Edith Brady-Lunny: “Tim Followell’s relief over an agreement by Illinois lawmakers that will keep the Clinton Power Station open was tempered with a dose of caution about the long-term future of the nuclear plant that provides vital tax revenue and jobs to the community...City officials and residents breathed a sigh of huge relief Thursday night with news from Springfield that Gov. Bruce Rauner plans to sign the Future Energy Jobs Bill.” http://bit.ly/2gWtVan

-- “For a brief moment, Illinois government worked,” Editorial in the Quad City Times: “For a few days, Illinois touted a functioning government, and the sudden bit of 11th-hour bipartisanship salvaged nuclear plants in Cordova and Clinton, Illinois. It all started just before Thanksgiving, when nuclear operator Exelon made its final bid to the General Assembly for sweeping legislation to keep the cash-bleeding plants on-line and save 800 high-paying jobs at the station in Rock Island County. But it was this past week that featured the real wheeling and dealing that forms a fully functional governmental body.” http://bit.ly/2fWAc8T

LAWMAKERS STILL WANT TO BE PAID

-- “Illinois lawmakers sue to get paid despite state budget mess,” by John O’Connor in the Herald and Review via AP: “Six state representatives filed a lawsuit Friday demanding paychecks the Illinois comptroller cut off last spring because there's no budget agreement. The Democrats sued Republican Leslie Munger claiming that she's violating the state constitution through executive-branch interference with the Legislature. The lawmakers also took a shot at Munger’s political mentor, GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner, for their dilemma.” http://bit.ly/2h8ulNU

-- “Legislators Go To Court to Get Paychecks,” by Peoria Public Radio’s Brian Mackey: “After nearly a year-and-a-half without a full budget, Illinois is taking months and months to pay its bills. Earlier this year, Comptroller Leslie Munger said she was putting legislator pay at the back of the line with every other state IOU. Democrats, like Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch, from Hillside, say that's just a way to help push Gov. Bruce Rauner's controversial agenda. And that, he says, is unconstitutional.” http://bit.ly/2gEo9MC

NOT JUST ILLINOIS - “Stanford Study Reveals California Pensions Underfunded By $1 Trillion Or $93k Per Household,” by Tyler Durden on Zero Hedge: “Earlier today the Kersten Institute for Governance and Public Policy highlighted an updated pension study, released by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, which revealed some fairly startling realities about California's public pension underfunding levels. After averaging $77,700 per household in 2014, the amount of public pension underfunding for the state of California jumped to a staggering $92,748 per household in 2015. But don't worry, we're sure pension managers can grow their way out of the problem … hedge fund returns have been stellar recently, right?” http://bit.ly/2fXSGFO

RAUNER NEWS

-- “Gov. Bruce Rauner names members of Illinois Bicentennial Commission,” in the Northwest Herald via AP: “Gov. Bruce Rauner has appointed more than three dozen people to lead the planning for Illinois' 200th birthday celebration. Among the Illinois Bicentennial Commission members named Friday are former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts, Springfield Mayor James Langfelder and Southern Illinois University System President Randy Dunn. Chicago Bulls and White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and Dick Wolf, the creator and producer of the TV shows ‘Chicago Fire’ and ‘Law and Order,’ also will serve on the commission.” http://bit.ly/2g9tkU3

-- “Rauner, GOP abandon voters,” Editorial in the Quad City Times: “Sorry, Gov. Rauner. Voting fraud is basically non-existent in U.S. elections, regardless of what your party’s standard-bearer says. Illinois’ Republican lawmakers bailed Tuesday on a bill that would have instituted automatic voter registration, a much-needed component of expanding voter participation. Many House Republicans supported the legislation earlier this year, only to slither away this week during a failed override of Bruce Rauner’s veto.” http://bit.ly/2gROHYo

-- “Report: Trump aides ‘coalescing’ around Georgia operative to lead RNC,” by AJC’s Greg Bluestein: “Georgia Republican strategist Nick Ayers might be in pole position for one of the biggest GOP positions on the planet: The Republican National Committee chair. Multiple media outlets reported late Friday he’s considered a top contender to replace Reince Priebus, tapped by Donald Trump to be his chief of staff. The New York Times reported Friday that team Trump appeared to be ‘coalescing’ around Ayers, now a top aide to Mike Pence … He’s since worked as a strategist for Target Enterprises and helped with the campaigns of Sen. David Perdue and Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner before becoming a Pence deputy.

The move would increase the Georgia GOP’s clout in the national party, particularly for the passel of Perdue allies now scattered in top positions. http://on-ajc.com/2fXSSVz

CITY

-- “Chicago Establishes Fund To Defend Immigrants From Deportation,” by Newsline’s Ben Capistrano: “Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office said Friday that the city will use $1 million surplus from a tax rebate program to protect immigrants there. It referred to probable deportation efforts carried out by President-elect Donald Trump. In collaboration with the National Immigrant Protection Center, the mayor’s office said the account will first be funded with money reserved for a property tax rebate program. City Hall reserved $20 million for allotment to qualified residents. However, almost $19 million stayed available this week, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.” http://bit.ly/2gWyqnQ

-- Crain’s Chicago Business: 40 under 40: Joanna Klonsky: “After covering the 2008 presidential campaign for the Council on Foreign Relations at age 22, Joanna Klonsky returned to Chicago and took a job with PR titan Marilyn Katz. Meanwhile, she wondered how young people, especially women and those of color, could enter local politics. With that, “everything clicked,” says Klonsky, who in 2012 started her own firm to provide communications strategy, consulting and crisis management for elected officials and those seeking office. So far she has worked with the 11-member Progressive Caucus of the Chicago City Council, Cook County state’s attorney candidate Kim Foxx and 2015 mayoral runoff challenger Chuy Garcia, among others.” http://bit.ly/2gqkgrC

-- “Witching hour fast approaching for 10,000 city retirees,” by the Chicago Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman: “On Dec. 31, Mayor Rahm Emanuel will complete a 3-year phaseout of the city’s retiree health care program, including a 55 percent subsidy. The controversial move is aimed at saving Chicago taxpayers $107 million in annual costs that would have ballooned to $307 million by 2018 and $541 million by 2023 if left unchecked, a mayoral commission had warned. But it means that roughly 10,000 city employees who started working for the city before April 1, 1986, and do not qualify for Medicare will be on their own to search for coverage that will be difficult or too expensive to find.” http://bit.ly/2g9kNAl

-- “CPS Proposes Spending Nearly $1B On Construction,” by WBEZ’s Becky Vevea: “Chicago Public Schools is nearly tripling the amount it plans to spend on school construction this year, bringing the proposed total to $938 million. The district’s new list includes $150 million to build two schools. CPS will issue bonds to pay for the projects, which will add to the district’s more than $6 billion in outstanding debt.“ http://bit.ly/2gEiAO2

-- “East Bank Club an awkward meeting place for Rahm and ‘outraged’ McCarthy,” by the Chicago Tribune’s Kim Janssen: “Members of the tony East Bank Club might want to give the gym's locker room a wide berth if they spot former police Superintendent Garry McCarthy and Mayor Rahm Emanuel getting changed at the same time. The frosty relationship between the two macho men might cause anyone caught in the middle to catch a chill. ‘I haven't spoken to the mayor since last December 1st,’ said a visibly upset McCarthy in an interview with WGN-TV Ch. 9 on Friday. ‘I ran into him a couple of times at the East Bank Club.’” http://trib.in/2gEioOT

-- “Northwestern, U. of C. presidents among highest-paid in the country,” by the Chicago Tribune’s Dawn Rhodes: “Northwestern President Morton Schapiro, who made $2.35 million in 2014, ranked No. 6 for total compensation that year, the latest for which figures were available. U. of C. President Robert J. Zimmer had the eighth-highest compensation at $2.05 million.” http://trib.in/2gql1kh

-- “Why the Cubs were really not such good news for local TV news departments,” by the Chicago Business Journal’s Lewis Lazare: “The Cubs, as has now been well-documented, made it to the World Series and went on to win it all this year. But the team's thrilling journey to victory also coincided with the early part of the November sweeps ratings book that local TV stations use to set advertising rates. The Cubs, however, didn't help local network outlets get their best ratings number for late local newscasts last month because just about everyone in town was watching baseball instead of local news — or what little other news local stations chose to spotlight while the Cubs were on their march to world domination.” http://bit.ly/2h3IRlZ

-- “Pension pain not limited to Chicago,” by the Chicago Sun-Times’ Shia Kapos: “Numbers compiled by the Cook County Treasurer’s office and secreted my way show about a quarter of the government entities under the county umbrella have more retirees than they do employees … Of the 549 government entities under Cook County’s umbrella, 130 have more retirees than they do paid employees — from the giant Metro Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago to little libraries.” http://bit.ly/2h3Lapi

-- “Chicago’s deadliest neighborhoods get greenest cops,” by the Chicago Sun-Times’ Mick Dumke and Frank Main: “The six police districts with the highest total of murders and shootings this year have the most rookie officers, a Chicago Sun-Times analysis of police deployment data found. Those districts — all of them on the South Side or the West Side — also have some of the least experienced supervisors, on average. At the same time, officers assigned to four lowest-crime districts in the city — downtown, on the North Side or the Northwest Side — have, on average, the most years with the police department.” http://bit.ly/2gEtyTS

-- LISTEN: ‘ALDERTRACK ALDERCAST’ -- “Is Chicago’s Fiscal Crisis Over? | The Impact of New Taxes And What We Should Expect In Coming Years,” http://bit.ly/2gWCrc1

-- “A top Clinton fundraiser, a target during the election, regroups,” by Crain’s Chicago Business’s Carol Felsenthal: “Somewhere, Chicago businessman Raj Fernando is likely breathing a sigh of relief. With Hillary Clinton's defeat, it may be that the stories about him that first emerged in 2011 would finally fade—that he would become a mere footnote in the allegations of Clinton Foundation corruption. For Rajiv Kumar Fernando, known as Raj, the past year has been a particular nightmare. At issue: his appointment to the top-secret International Security Advisory Board in 2011 and allegations that he bought his seat on the elite State Department group.” http://bit.ly/2g0QVD3

NATIONAL

“Hammond mayor plans to close city court, says Pence judge appointment is ‘big middle finger,’” by the Chicago Tribune’s Craig Lyons and Michelle L. Quinn: “Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., announced Friday that he plans to phase out the Hammond City Court, closing it completely by 2019 … Less than two weeks before McDermott's announcement to close the court, he decried Gov. Mike Pence's decision to appoint Amy Jorgensen, the chairwoman of the St. John Republican Party, to fill the judicial vacancy at the court. McDermott denounced the decision given that Jorgensen has not practiced law, but Pence saw her fit to become the Hammond City Court judge.” http://trib.in/2gWupxn

“Walden to head powerful Energy and Commerce Committee,” by the Hill’s Devon Henry and Scott Wong: “Republicans have elected Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) the next chairman of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee. Walden defeated Reps. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas), the former committee chairman, in the race for the gavel. Current chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) is stepping down from the position due to term limits.” http://bit.ly/2gRIAmN

“State Department choice: None of the above?,” by POLITICO’s Nolan D. McCaskill: “Donald Trump’s short list for secretary of state is getting longer. Two new candidates are retired Adm. James G. Stavridis and Rex W. Tillerson, the CEO of ExxonMobil. Both are expected to meet with Trump this week, according to sources familiar with the transition. At one point during the summer, Stavridis was mentioned as a possible vice presidential pick for Hillary Clinton.” http://politi.co/2g0OVuw

“Obama Administration Moves to Deny Easement for Dakota Pipeline,” by the Wall Street Journal’s Kris Maher and Will Connors: “The Obama administration said Sunday that it would deny a permit needed to complete the last leg of an oil pipeline across the Midwest, prompting cheers and whoops from opponents who have camped in the cold here. The victory could prove short-lived, however, since President-elect Donald Trump said days earlier that he supported the nearly 1,200-mile Dakota Access pipeline. The $3.8 billion project, extending from North Dakota, across parts of South Dakota and Iowa, and ending is Illinois, is nearly complete, except for a 1,100-foot crossing of the Missouri River reservoir.” http://on.wsj.com/2fXMFcg

HAPPY BIRTHDAY -- Porter McNeil, IL-IA political consultant and former Kerry-Edwards’ IL comms. director ... Arthur Colby, MBA candidate at UChicago, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps and Brunswick Group alum.

Events, courtesy IntelligentEvent (@Chi_Intellevent)

MONDAY - Charles Evans, President & CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago - As the economy strengthens, what does the future hold for inflation and growth? The Chicago Fed president shares his views.

- Hon. Maria Pappas, Treasurer Cook County - City Club of Chicago - Maria Pappas will discuss budgets, debts, underfunded pensions, and more!

- Watchdog Training - BGA & Chicago Urban League - BGA Watchdog Training teaches you how to keep an eye on government and find out what’s happening in your community. In this training, experts will help you understand government, the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act.

- A Candid Conversation With Tom Dart and Eddie Johnson - City Club of Chicago - SOLD OUT - Two top Law Enforcement Officers discuss policing and police reforms in Chicago.

-- Illinois Campaign for Political Reform presents: The Dawn Clark Netsch “Straight Talk” Awards: Saluting Women Committed to Reform: 5:30-7 p.m. Dec. 6 at Petterino’s, 150 N Dearborn. Ticket link: http://bit.ly/2fCpMGx

TUESDAY - What's next for immigration reform? - Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce - A panel of experts will provide analysis of the 2016 election results and discuss ways to move forward commonsense immigration reform in 2017 that grows the economy and keeps families together.

- Religious Liberties Panel Discussion - Wheaton College - Panelists will discuss whether religious liberties are expanding or contracting in light of two recent landmark Supreme Court cases, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby and Obergefell v. Hodges. The panelists include Kassie Dulin, religious liberties media expert at First Liberty Institute; Rich Baker, Esq., religious liberties litigator at Mauck and Baker, LLC; Al Gombis, Esq., religious freedoms attorney at the U.S. State Department, and Jennifer Marshall, V.P. of domestic issues at The Heritage Foundation.

**DOWNLOAD POLITICO’S TRANSITION TRACKER: POLITICO will deliver breaking news notifications on the incoming administration -- directly to your iPhone's lock screen. Using the unique capabilities and speed of Apple Wallet, Transition Tracker alerts users to all the key personnel and policy decisions as they're made by the president-elect. This is currently available only for iPhone users via Apple Wallet. Download the pass, available for readers using iPhones, here.

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