#OPRAH2020. After a widely acclaimed Golden Globes acceptance speech and a Seth Meyers monologue joke fueling talk about a presidential run by Oprah Winfrey, she’s apparently no longer ruling it out.
■ A New York Times reporter’s tweet: “Winfrey could face a difficult fight for the Democratic nomination, especially against _________. It is tough to finish that sentence.”
■ Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper, who’s criticized Winfrey through the years: “Oprah for president!”
■ The Tribune’s Heidi Stevens, who Sunday night tweeted “Oprah for goddamn president,” now says she has a better idea.
■ NBC’s under fire for a tweet referring to Winfrey as “OUR future president.”
ON SCHEDULE. It’s the first weekday of new, higher prices for riding CTA buses and trains.
■ Do tax-free housing allowances for members of the clergy violate the First Amendment? Chicago ministers are headed to appeals court.
■ Chicago ranks third in the nation for bedbug problems.
■ … but its new American Writers Museum is winning acclaim.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT … 2017 was Illinois’ sixth warmest year on record.
■ A New York Times reporter shares what it’s like to report from 92 degrees below zero.
■ Chicago’s snowplow drivers have come to terms on a contract with the city, averting a strike.
POSTPONE THE POPCORN. The president is delaying until Jan. 17 his “Fake News Awards,” which he’d promised to announce today.
■ The Tribune’s Steve Johnson: “We are watching … some twisted version of reality TV.”
■ Columnist Ron Grossman to President Obama: “The renderings for your museum are ‘little plans,’ more likely to congeal than stir blood.”
TRUMPSTER FIRE. Two people were hurt in a fire at Trump Tower.
■ … which brings to mind this headline from The Onion.
■ Business Insider: Security was called to escort Trump adviser Stephen Miller out of CNN after a contentious interview.
CORRECTION. Last Tuesday’s edition of Chicago Public Square got the debut night wrong for the new TV series The Chi. It aired last night. The first episode’s still free on YouTube.
■ … and watch for the bogus CTA station.
