War powerless / ‘I regret my hurtful comments’ / Welcome, sir

■

War powerless. Senate Democrats led by Illinois’ Tammy Duckworth failed to pass a resolution to force withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iran without explicit congressional approval …
■ … but that’s probably not the end of it.
■ Columnist Robert B. Hubbell: “In effect, Senate Republicans approved Trump’s highly unpopular war.”

Trump’s overnight meltdowns. The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols (gift link) says Americans dare not ignore the president’s lack of online self-control.
■ Satirist Andy Borowitz: “Trump Claims Pope’s Election was Rigged.”
■ Decoherence Media: Followers of a far-right Twitter X account that jokes about rape and the Holocaust include Vice President Vance.
■ Popular Information, citing a leaked confidential email: Turning Point USA leader—and widow of the group’s founder—Erika Kirk, who’s endorsed Vance for president in 2028, is championing an offer for one-on-one meetings with Trump … for just $500,000.
■ A.V. Club: Media mogul David Ellison, “who is once again in the position of needing Trump’s Justice Department to approve a megamerger that basically no one outside of the highest offices in Paramount or the government would like to see happen,” is planning a “special little dinner in honor of the president.”

‘I regret my hurtful comments.’ In a rare moment, one Supreme Court justice is apologizing to another …
■ … and even though Law Dork Chris Geidner thought her original remarks were “spot on,” he says the apology makes sense.

That’s one. The federal government has finally convicted (just) one of the 32 people facing charges for opposing “Operation Midway Blitz” in Chicago …
■ Investigative reporter Ken Klippenstein: “You do not hate the IRS enough”—because documents he’s obtained show plans to incorporate AI tools so “millions of middle-income Americans who once fell below the threshold of what scarce human auditors could manage are now within reach. The little guy just became a lot easier to monitor at scale.”

Record rainfall. Tuesday’s precipitation set a literal new high-water mark for an April 14 in Chicago …
■ Environment reporter Brett Chase rounds up “easy and inexpensive ways to reduce flooding around your home and neighborhood.”

Tipped workers’ win. With the failure of a Chicago City Council override attempt, hourly pay for those employees will again rise to match the cost of living.
■ Columnist Eric Zorn says the Trump administration’s “no federal tax on tips” policy is “incoherent grandstanding” …
■ … and he outs Trump’s “DoorDash Grandma” as a Republican plant.
■ The City Council agreed to a 20% fare increase for Chicago taxis.

Welcome, sir. Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey—a former state lawmaker and southern Illinois farmer—has moved into an apartment on Chicago’s South Side.
■ Bloomberg: A surge in apartment rental rates is denting Chicago’s rep “as one of the last bastions of big-city affordability.”
■ The Wall Street Journal documents a national backlash against the proliferation of self-storage facilities.

Politician’s murder-suicide. Police say Virginia’s former Democratic lieutenant governor, Justin Fairfax, shot and killed his wife and then himself.
■ The widow and son of the late Cook County Commissioner Dennis Deer are dead in what police say was a murder-suicide carried out by the son.

Uncool at school. The former CEO of Chicago’s publicly funded but privately run Urban Prep Academies network of three all-male charter schools—one of which has since closed—faces charges of embezzling more than $100,000.
■ The network’s now fighting to keep its schools open.

‘No, United … you should not be able to swallow American Airlines.’ A Tribune editorial (gift link) declares “no way” to a merger.

Not saying no. As he continues to mull a run for the presidency, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s pushing the notion of a tax on online gambling—to fund research on artificial intelligence and other advanced tech.
■ … just one of many unusual moments in your Chicago Public Square columnist’s “Year of Rahm.”

‘Hello. Could you please be less essential? You have so many subscribers now it’s hard to find my name in your list when you publish it. Thank you for your attention to this matter.’ Square reader Larry Dahlke—who was in fact cited in Tuesday’s Square—dashed off just the kinda complaint we love here.
■ Join Larry in The Legion of Public Squarians today—pitching in as little as $1, just once—and see your name atop tomorrow’s rundown, alongside others such as Rupa Datta, Nancy Burns, Graham Greer, Mark Wukas, Jim Prescott, Edie Steiner, Terri Lonier, Michael Soriano, David Jones, Stephanie Blatt, Scottie Kersta-Wilson, Rollin Dix, Robert Feder, Bill Paige, Kathy O’Brien, Lucy Smith, Alison Price, Liz Strause, KT Sullivan, Sandra Slater, Pat Kelley, Ann Bolan, Judith Galleazzi, Allan Hippensteel, John Jaramillo, Laura Braden Temple, Cory Brown, Daniel Ash, Julia Knier, Karl Schuster, Ann James, Sue Zablocki, Griz Alger, Lana O’Brien, Taylor Kuether, Ellen Siciliano, James Gardner, Mary Gannon Pittman, Sam Hochberg, Chris Schuba, Jan Czarnik, Kathy Burger, Paula Donato, Elizabeth Austin, Mary Paxson, Karen O’Leary and Martha Intrieri.
■ Venmo and PayPal also work.
■ Mike Braden made this edition better.

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Weather woes / Hospital recovering? / Happy Tax Day

■

Sorry for that delay. Yesterday’s Chicago Public Square arrived late because of a still-unexplained Mailchimp outage. Fingers crossed you’re getting this edition on time.

Weather woes. Brace today for what one meteorologist calls “relentless rain” in Chicago …
■ … a day after a number of suburbs heard tornado sirens …
■ … and Wisconsin and Iowa experienced tornadoes and big hail.
■ Axios’ Monica Eng shares tips for driving through flooded streets.

Turning Point’s turning point? Wonkette: “JD Vance tried to do a Turning Point USA event at the University of Georgia, and … nobody showed up, not even Erika Kirk,” the founder’s widow.
■ Vance told the largely empty venue, “It’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology” (New York Times gift link).
■ As The Daily Show’s Ronnie Chieng paraphrased: “Get over it, snowflakes. Where in the Trump Bible does it say you can’t worship false idols?”
■ Columnist Neil Steinberg offers an explanation for Donald Trump’s feud with Pope Leo: “There is no Congress. No courts. No law. No pope. He is the pope.”
■ A Tribune editorial says Chicago’s archdiocese owes parishioners more information on the financial scandal that prompted an Evanston pastor’s removal.

Current event. Citing a recent Supreme Court decision narrowing the scope of federal bribery law, a federal appeals court has ordered release and a new trial for former Commonwealth Edison CEO Anne Pramaggiore and longtime Springfield lobbyist Mike McLain, who were convicted of bribing ex-House Speaker Mike Madigan.
■ Law Dork Chris Geidner: Two Trump appeals court appointees have blocked a lower court from considering criminal contempt for the Trump administration in connection with flights that carried Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador.

Hospital recovering? Oak Park’s abruptly shuttered West Suburban Medical Center has resumed some services …
■ … as its owner and landlord duke it out in court.

‘Do you support the right of individuals and organizations, including state contractors, to boycott, divest and sanction Israel?’ That potential ballot question, up for discussion at Oak Park Township’s annual meeting last night, drew a crowd so large that the meeting had to be postponed.
■ The Associated Press: Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed children far from the conflict’s front lines.
■ Also from the AP: “The Arab American community that helped propel Trump is now grappling with Iran war’s fallout.”

Gone in a Snap. Snapchat’s parent company is cutting 1,000 jobs as it faces what its CEO calls “a crucible moment.”
■ Same number of cuts at Disney.
■ 7-Eleven plans to close 645 stores this year.
■ If United and American airlines merge, an industry watchdog tells the Tribune (gift link) “it would be very bad for competition in Chicago.”
■ A George Washington University law professor sees the antitrust implications as “hopeless … no amount of divestitures would fix it.”

‘You keep eliminating jobs, who’s going to buy your goods?’ Labor leaders rallied in Springfield yesterday to oppose legislation allowing pilot programs for driverless vehicles.
■ Block Club: In an ad posted at the scene of the accident, “Food Delivery Robot Says Sorry For Smashing Bus Shelter.”
■ In her final report as Chicago’s inspector general, Deborah Witzburg cites a fresh roundup of problematic city government behavior—including alcohol consumption on the clock at the Aviation Department.

‘Trump’s litigation extortion machine.’ Public Notice columnist Lyz Dye on the death of the president’s “trollsuit” against The Wall Street Journal: Newspapers and others he targets “are forced to spend hundreds of thousands on lawyers, schlep down to Florida, and endure months of stress and uncertainty. And that is the entire point of this exercise.”
■ The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has dodged death—with acquisition by the nonprofit that owns the online startup Baltimore Banner.

Happy Tax Day. Discounts abound as retailers hope to lure some business from harried—or relieved—taxpayers.

If you love this Windy City,
Prove it with a rhyme that’s witty.
For a special edition dedicated to Chicago, Poetry magazine is soliciting poems from people born and/or raised in the city or those who’ve lived here for at least seven years—not necessarily continuous years.
■ The deadline’s May 15. Here’s how to submit.
■ The “Illinois Voices 250” project invites people to record their Illinois stories—remotely or in-person—to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary.
■ Share yours here.
■ Speaking of the Fourth of July: Navy Pier’s promising its biggest fireworks show ever.
■ Returning to The Daily Show, Illinois-born Nick Offerman ripped into Trump’s 250th plans for the U.S.

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