Schools' new scandal / Election threat / Colbert, conflicted

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Schools’ new scandal. The Chicago Public Schools inspector general has fresh evidence one of the city’s biggest alternative-schools operators, Camelot Education, got the business through “highly unethical” means under crooked ex-CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett.
■ So now the school system is moving to cancel Camelot’s deal.
■ From WBEZ in February 2017: Camelot’s conflicts.
■ Journalist Mark Jacob on Twitter: “CPS’ many problems are a major issue as Mayor Emanuel seeks a 3rd term.”
■ The inspector general’s office has a Twitter account.

‘We’re not gonna be surrounded by 300 state troopers. We’re not looking for protection.’ Anti-violence protesters planning to march along Lake Shore Drive Thursday on their way to Wrigley Field say they don’t want Mayor Emanuel’s help or support.
■ In fact, they want him to quit.
■ Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell on demonstrators’ request to address the crowd at Wrigley: “A grassroots activist preaching to Cubs fans after snarling traffic? I wouldn’t want to be in that crowd.”
■ The Cubs assure fans they’ll be able to “safely enter and exit Wrigley Field without interruption.”
■ Tips to avoid traffic jams the protest could trigger.
■ Mayoral candidate Lori Lightfoot—a former Police Board president—says the draft city-federal consent decree on police abuse suffers from unspecific funding, weak language and inadequate public input.

Divvy lockdown. Acknowledging a string of thefts, the company behind Chicago’s Divvy bike network is upgrading locks on its docking stations. (Photo: Brian Crawford in the Chicago Public Square Flickr group.)
■ Midway Airport’s new food court is ready for its closeup close-up.
■ Block Club Chicago: Bakeries are vanishing in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood.

Election threat. In a report that begins with a 2016 Illinois incident, Mother Jones magazine concludes “The Midterm Elections Are in Serious Danger of Being Hacked.”
■ FiveThirtyEight has obtained and published 3 million Russian troll tweets.
■ The Atlantic: “It’s Time to Worry About the Census.”
■ Los Angeles Times columnist David Ulin warns: The government’s “Real ID” program means “you either will have the proper ‘papers’ or you won’t.”
■ Rollout of Chicago’s municipal ID card, CityKey, is running waaaay behind expectations.

‘A total joke.’ On Twitter, President Trump went after Republicans’ sugar daddies, the Koch brothers.
■ Daily Kos serves up an “abbreviated pundit roundup” of Team Trump’s “absurd” defenses.
■ Tribune columnist Rex Huppke: “I AM REX HUPPKE, ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE, SLAYER OF DEMOCRACY, BRINGER OF SOCIALISM! FEAR ME!”
■ Updating coverage: Ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort goes on trial on tax evasion and bank fraud charges.

Colbert, conflicted. In a moving segment on his Late Show last night, Stephen Colbert acknowledged the sexual abuse charges leveled against his CBS boss, “my guy,” Les Moonves. “Everybody believes in accountability until it’s their guy,” he said, adding: “Accountability is meaningless unless it’s for everybody—whether it’s the leader of a network, or the leader of the free world.”
■ New York Times columnist James B. Stewart to Moonves: “What were you thinking?”
■ The Guardians of the Galaxy cast is petitioning Disney to rehire director James Gunn—fired from the franchise because of offensive tweets years ago.