Death revisited / 'Crowd-pleasing gimmick' / Fixing segregation

Death revisited. A Tribune editorial calls on lawmakers to reject Gov. Rauner’s move to restore capital punishment in Illinois by way of an amendatory veto to a gun-regulation bill.

■ Steve Rhodes in The Beachwood Reporter: “It is, arguably, the Greatest Amendatory Veto ever, in all its clever, opportunistic gall.”
■ Amendatory vetoes explained, in the latest Chicago Public Square Newscast.
■ A Sun-Times editorial warns the governor: “If some emotionally disturbed goof in Illinois buys an AR-15 rifle … and shoots a lot of people, it’s on you.”
■ An art installation at Daley Plaza mockingly suggested gun-sharing—like Divvy bike-sharing. (Photo: Reflections of a Chicago Life blog on ChicagoNow.)

‘A conscious scheme.’ A Chicago group that long has fought to prevent use of Chicago Park District land for private purposes is suing to oppose the Obama Presidential Center’s plans for Jackson Park.
■ The Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman: As parking meter revenues rise, the city’s deal under Mayor Rich Daley to sell them off looks worse and worse.

A ‘crowd-pleasing gimmick.’ Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin has reservations about plans to add a “Sky Summit” thrill ride to the top of Chicago’s familiar Aon Center.
■ A video simulation previews the attraction. (Rendering: Aon Center Observatory website.)
■ Chicago’s Riverwalk opens for the summer officially with a three-day celebration that begins Friday.

A Chicago Public Square advertiser. Your ad here.

Fixing segregation. A new report from the Metropolitan Planning Council think tank serves up dozens of suggestions for reversing Chicago’s racial and economic disparities.
■ A lawsuit accuses Chicago of helping developers of rental units dodge a federal law requiring architectural features to accommodate people with disabilities.
■ The ACLU is suing AT&T for attendance policies that it says discriminate against pregnant women.

‘Peace Treaty Barbie and Collusion Ken.’ That’s Stephen Colbert’s characterization of President Trump’s emissaries—his daughter and son-in-law—to represent the U.S. at the controversial move of its embassy to Jerusalem.
■ Continual updates: The death toll in protests over the embassy move includes at least 57 people killed by Israeli army fire and a baby who died after inhaling tear gas. (Cartoon: Keith Taylor.)

‘Religion is fading away.’ A Washington Post analysis gives two Pinocchios to Vice President Pence’s claim that “religion in America isn’t receding.”
■ The Week: “Why conservatives see rural America as the ‘real’ America.”
■ Politico: Afraid of a “public relations nightmare,” the Trump administration has suppressed an Environmental Protection Agency report on chemical pollution of the nation’s drinking water.

‘Pack your bags and enjoy your time in jail.’ Tech journalist Lance Ulanoff strung along a fake Apple support scamster so you don’t have to.
■ Chicago will get one of Amazon’s cashier-less stores.

Thanks …
■ To reader Mike Braden for noting a photo credit that lacked a matching photo in yesterday’s edition of Chicago Public Square.
■ … and to members of The Legion of Chicago Public Squarians—including Carmel Callobre, Michael A. Collins, Jill Chukerman and John Culver—for supporting Square, and fearlessly allowing publication of their names. Join them for just pennies a day here.