‘I TOLD A LIE … TO SAVE MY LIFE.’ Variety TV critic Maureen Ryan—friend and former Chicago Tribune colleague of your Square proprietor—goes public with what happened after an industry executive sexually assaulted her.
■ And now Weinstein’s brother faces similar charges.
‘TOTAL DISRESPECT FOR OUR GREAT COUNTRY!’ In a tweet, President Trump bashes the NFL for its decision not to punish players who kneel during the national anthem.
■ John Kass in the Tribune: “The First Amendment doesn’t apply to the NFL players.”
■ Kass’ fellow columnist Eric Zorn: “The American public is sick of Trump harping on the protests of NFL players.”
■ Commentary in The Guardian: ESPN asked Jemele Hill to “discuss sports topics, news, culture, and social issues” and to tweet on “a current issue impacting sports”—then suspended her for doing just that.
IT DOES LOOK LIKE HE’LL HAVE SOME TIME ON HIS HANDS. Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts is one of a handful of finalists under consideration to lead the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank.
■ The Cubs’ latest loss pushes them to the brink of elimination.
■ The numbers hint at a baby boom triggered by last year’s Cubs’ World Series win.
■ The Cubs and Chicago’s other major pro sports teams aren’t happy about Mayor Emanuel’s plan to raise amusement taxes at large concert venues while eliminating it for smaller joints.
■ A judge says the Fox TV show Empire can’t escape a lawsuit accusing it of compromising services to jailed kids when it filmed at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.
‘IS THIS JUST A RICH PERSON’S GAME?’ That was one of the questions put to five Democratic candidates for Illinois governor at a debate last night.
■ And they’ve been debating again this morning on Ch. 7. Video here.
DRIVER ED DIVIDEND. Since Illinois tightened its rules for teaching kids to drive, teen driver deaths have dropped by half.
■ WBEZ investigation: Chicago Public Schools secretly overhauled special education—at students’ expense.
‘IT WAS DESIGNED TO STRIKE FEAR IN PEOPLE’S HEARTS.’ A former employee of a Texas ad agency expresses regret about an anti-refugee ad campaign Facebook and Google helped create in the days before the last presidential election.
■ Center for Public Integrity report: Secret corporate cash—from Microsoft, Comcast, the American Petroleum Institute, Chevron and AT&T, among others—paid for Republican lawmakers’ posh hideaway during last year’s convention.
FAREWELL, APPLE STORE. The opening Friday of Apple’s new Michigan Avenue store—on property just sold in a $360 million deal—spells the end of the old store a few blocks north. (Photo: Christian Terboven.)■ Macy’s is selling the top half of its State Street store, the former Marshall Field’s.
■ Walgreens is creating a Chicago tech center, adding 300 jobs—a combination of new hires and transfers from its Deerfield HQ.
A DIFFERENT CLIMATE CHANGE STRATEGY. A new study concludes that things like accelerated tree planting and better land management—a “regreening” of Planet Earth—could prove the equivalent of halting oil consumption worldwide.
■ A genre of fiction dealing with global warming: Cli-Fi.
CORRECTIONS. Yesterday’s emailed edition of Square arrived with at least three typographical errors: An extra Karen, and two missing words. Thanks to readers Beth Kujawski, Jen Packheiser and the ever-vigilant Mike Braden (who, for a change, wasn’t first).