Now, the funeral. CNN: Services for assassinated reactionary activist Charlie Kirk—scheduled for Sunday in Arizona—pose a massive challenge for law enforcement.
■ PolitiFact sifts through the noise surrounding the guy accused of killing Kirk.
■ The Bulwark: Stephen Miller—“the most powerful guy in Trump’s ear”—has “a plan for how to respond to the death of Charlie Kirk. You’re not going to like it.”
■ Self-described queer Army vet Charlotte Clymer: “Without knowing any details on the shooting—the motivation, who was involved, how it happened—I knew, instinctually, that trans people would somehow be blamed for it” …
■ … hysteria fueled in part by what columnist Jennifer Schulze calls “incendiary,” “reckless” reporting by The Wall Street Journal.
■ Pro-Israel Political Update proprietor Steve Sheffey: “Kirk did not deserve to die, but he does not deserve the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
■ Politico: Kirk’s death is fueling Republicans’ push to redistrict state congressional maps.
■ Columnist Christopher Armitage, warning that Republicans are close to fully capturing the federal government: It’s time to “get serious about local governance.”
‘They are both Vermin! Support ICE!’ That threatening note condemning immigrants and rats—accompanied by a dead rodent—was left outside a Chicago City Council member’s office last night.
■ Columnist and former U.S. Rep. Marie Newman: “This week alone I’ve received dozens of threats, insults and accusations on Substack and other platforms or via email.”
■ CNN’s Brian Stelter surveys heightened concern across the nation for the safety of elected officials, political activists and journalists.
■ A Tribune editorial: “No wonder many of those whose job it is to serve the public interest feel unsafe.”
■ South suburban residents were urged to shelter in place this morning as police sought men “possibly armed with guns.”
On Guard politics. A Sun-Times analysis of federal campaign contributions finds members and employees of the National Guard in Illinois and nationwide split about 2-to-1 in favor of Republicans over Democrats.
■ Axios: “Illinois elected officials and immigrant rights advocates are calling for a transparent investigation of a fatal shooting by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.”
■ Block Club: Chicago’s Mexican Independence Day weekend “was unusually quiet.”
■ WBEZ and the Sun-Times are mapping your photos of federal immigration enforcement in Chicago.
■ You can submit yours here.
Things to come. The Sun-Times says Philadelphia’s experience with massive transit cuts could foreshadow the transportation omnishambles in store for Chicago if the state doesn’t get the Regional Transportation Authority off its path toward a fiscal cliff.
■ The RTA’s pressing its subsidiaries—the CTA, Metra and Pace—to spell out just what they’ll cut if they have to.
‘You only truly know how much you love something when you get a sense that you might be losing it. … In September of 2025, my friends, I have never loved my country more desperately.’ Stephen Colbert, his show to be canceled next year, alluded to politics last night as he accepted the Emmy for Outstanding Talk Series.
■ The Hollywood Reporter: The ceremony was silent on the assassination of Charlie Kirk—but got political in other ways …
■ … including Hacks star and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series winner Hannah Einbinder’s closing words: “Fuck ICE, and free Palestine.”
■ Here’s the full list of winners.
Fox pas. Conceding that he’d been “extremely callous,” Fox News host Brian Kilmeade has apologized for advocating the “involuntary lethal injection” of homeless people who refuse to accept support services.
■ Stelter at CNN: “Apologies are very rare in Foxville.”
■ Columnist and ex-New York Times public editor Margaret Sullivan scans the media landscape to determine “what gets you fired—or celebrated—on cable news.”
■ Columnist Karen Attiah says The Washington Post fired her because she spoke out on social media “against political violence, racial double standards and America’s apathy toward guns.”
■ Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch (gift link, possible because people kick in a buck or two to support Chicago Public Square): “It’s unconstitutional for the government to sanction citizens for voicing their opinions. … Yet that’s where this thing is rapidly heading.”
■ The AP: Workers commenting on Charlie Kirk’s death are learning that the First Amendment doesn’t do squat for them.
He ‘undeniably made our state better.’ That’s Gov. Pritzker, praising his Republican predecessor Jim Edgar, dead at 79.
■ Ex-Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn calls Edgar “a good and decent man who … believed in property tax reform and a quality education for everyone.”
‘Super gross … to see all these glowing obits for [Chicago broadcaster] Bruce DuMont.’ Reader Manning Peterson was disappointed Friday’s Chicago Public Square failed to “mention that his Oak Park ‘housemate’ (and—after prison—husband) was arrested and convicted for child pornography. … Everyone in Chicago media knows about it, but no one mentions it?”
