Not prime yet / 'Muslim s___hole' / Unrelated developments

This edition of Chicago Public Square arrives a couple of hours earlier than usual so your Square publisher can join Tony Sarabia Jenn White for a panel discussion WBEZ’s Morning Shift. Listen live here at 9 a.m., or catch the show later here.

Not prime yet. Making Amazon’s not-so-short list of finalists for its second headquarters still leaves Chicago with lots of competition.
■ Can Gov. Rauner and Mayor Emanuel stay on the same page in the Amazon pitch? Early signs suggest not.
■ Although Northwest Indiana lost out, Hammond’s mayor says its bid may yet yield fruit.

Beginning in April, American Airlines will offer hourly shuttles between Chicago and New York—with free beer and wine in the main cabin.

Brace yourself for one of the longest Illinois political ads ever. Rauner this weekend will air 14-minute TV spots featuring secretly recorded conversations between then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich and now-gubernatorial challenger J.B. Pritzker.
Neil Steinberg in the Sun-Times: “If Pritzker and [Chris] Kennedy are so anxious about Illinois’ future, why didn’t they both just back [Dan] Biss?
■ Six Democrats running for Illinois governor face off before the Tribune editorial board today at 11 a.m. Central. Watch live on chicagotribune.com.

A Chicago first. Three female aldermen (and a guy) are teaming up to hold what they say will be nation’s first municipal legislative forum for women to share stories of sexual harassment.
NPR has documents showing The Los Angeles Times’ publisher has been a defendant in two sexual harassment suits.
In Illinois, a clinic is doing something forbidden in 19 other states: Providing abortions remotely—via iPad.
Need a female scientist? Here you go.
Details for Saturday's second annual Women’s March Chicago have been posted to the organizers’ website.

‘Go back to your Muslim shithole.’ A trove of racist, sexist, anti-Muslim and anti-LGBT comments on the radio, unearthed by CNN, has prompted the resignation of President Trump’s external affairs chief at the agency that runs AmeriCorps.
The Wall Street Journal: Trump lawyer used private company, pseudonyms to pay porn star ‘Stormy Daniels.’”
129 people swept up in mass arrests during Trump’s inauguration are off the hook, but dozens of others aren’t.

Dollar sore. Updating coverage: Sharply divided over immigration issues, Congress seems headed toward a budget shutdown at midnight.
Whom a shutdown would hurt—by the numbers.
Sen. Dick Durbin recounts what happened in the White House “shithole” meeting that derailed the budget.

‘If the Fake News Awards were a meal, they would be a maggoty helping of twice-fried ground corn cob.’ Media critic Jack Shafer deconstructs the president’s stunt.
Newsweek’s New York headquarters were raided yesterday by the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
Ex-Sun-Times editor Jim Kirk is off to lead the Tronc-owned New York Daily News, at least for now.

Unrelated developments.
In Touch has released the full transcript of porn star Stormy Daniels’ 2011 interview about sex with Trump: “I can describe his junk perfectly.”
Bizarre genes help tri-sexual worms survive.

Correction. Devoted (proof)reader Mike Braden caught a misplaced apostrophe in a quote from the Sun-Times featured in yesterday’s Square—an error now fixed … on the Square website, at least.

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