Kennedy burns Pritzker. A standout moment in last night’s Illinois Democratic gubernatorial debate: When Chris Kennedy declined to say anything nice about J.B. Pritzker.
■ The eight Democrats running for attorney general address the Tribune editorial board at 11 a.m., live-streamed here. And you can see the two Democrats running for the Cook County Board presidency live on the same page at 2 p.m.
Food delivery warning. After five armed robberies targeting delivery drivers along Austin Boulevard between Chicago and Oak Park, police are advising deliverers to be wary.
■ Will ex-congressman and current right-wing radio blowhard Joe Walsh—proven wrong on statistics about U.S. murders by undocumented immigrants—make good on a pledge to move and vote Democratic? (See him spout the falsehoods in this City Club video at about 23:05.)
Black ice. A nearly-invisible glaze of frozen water turned Chicago-area roads treacherous this morning—contributing to more than 200 crashes.
■ Climate change is freeing pre-Viking artifacts from Norway’s glaciers.
■ … and triggering bigger, faster avalanches.
■ … and making sea turtles more female.
U.S. democracy’s future? What happened in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court this week could swing control of the U.S. House this year.
■ ThinkProgress: “The courts appear to be awakening.”
■ Kimberly-Clark, the maker of Huggies diapers, blames thousands of layoffs on a lower birthrate—and credits the Republican tax overhaul for helping fund the payout to laid-off workers.
■ CEOs huddling in Davos, Switzerland, seem to concur President Trump’s tax plan is going to deliver massive new investment in the United States.
■ Another view of the tariff on foreign-made solar panels: “Trump has arguably stumbled on … a good thing.”
■ His Princess Diana tribute remains the world’s No. 2 best-selling single. (2015 photo: U.S. Embassy London.)
Lake ChargesWon’tBeGone. Facing fan backlash after firing Prairie Home Companion creator Garrison Keillor over sexual harassment charges, Minnesota Public Radio tells listeners the offenses were worse than reported and are still the subject of mediation.
■ Minnesota Public Radio's letter to listeners.
So, just to be clear: You trust Chicago Public Square entirely, right? Facebook’s initiative to gauge news sites’ trustworthiness consists of two questions to users: “Do you recognize the following websites?” and “How much do you trust each of these domains?”
■ BuzzFeed News analyzes the accounts Twitter has censored around the world.
■ Would Trump have been to blame had a guy made good on a threat to “gun down” CNN’s Atlanta HQ?
Corrections to yesterday’s Square:
■ The executive who quit at Twitter was the company’s COO, not its CEO. Thanks to reader Joe Orihuela.
■ The word “quandary” was wrong in an item about Rep. Luis Gutierrez’s mindset on the federal government shutdown—a mistake flagged by reader Ron Schwartz.
■ A link to a Washington Post story about the shutdown should have specified that Republicans won the messaging war because “Trump (mostly) stayed out of [Sen. Mitch McConnell’s] way.” Reader Mike Braden strikes again.
■ An item about filmmaker Steve James’ documentary series should have fixed a quote that erroneously placed Oak Park within Chicago. Like this: “A yearlong look at one of [the] Chicago [area]’s most progressive and diverse public schools.” Reader Sherry Skalko … of Chicago … caught that one.
■ Whew.