If you’re seeing Chicago Public Square for free, thank The Legion of Chicago Public Squarians—including Sandy Ridolfi, Jim Rittenhouse and Jerry Role, whose support makes this thing possible. Join them here. And now, the news:
Chicago’s deadly weekend. However you count:
■ 73 people shot, 11 fatally (Tribune).
■ 10 killed, 53 wounded (ABC7 Chicago).
■ 44 were shot Sunday alone (CNN).
■ … and a 16-year-old suburban boy is dead after being found unresponsive at Lollapalooza last night.
■ PolitiFact: Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker was wrong to call Illinois’ workforce the nation’s most educated.
■ Ben Joravsky in the Chicago Reader: “Donald Trump is Bruce Rauner’s useful idiot—and vice versa.”
‘It’s environmental racism.’ The Better Government Association says Chicago neighborhood activists are demanding the city change the way it decides which areas should house most industrial and manufacturing businesses.
■ Flood thy neighbor: ProPublica explains the problems with America’s approach to controlling rivers.
‘I cannot … appear before you … when my soul is so at odds with the institution.’ The lead teaching pastor of Barrington’s scandal-scarred Willow Creek megachurch, Steve Carter, blogged his resignation statement after a New York Times report exposed new details about his predecessor’s misdeeds.
■ Neil Steinberg in the Sun-Times: “No religion is immune from being deformed by human depravity.”
Apple and Mr. Jones. In the most sweeping smackdown yet on conspiracy-theory fabulist Alex Jones—who says the Sept. 11 terror attacks were staged by the government and the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre was faked by gun-regulation advocates—Apple is yanking his podcasts from its iTunes store.
■ Facebook’s doing much the same.
Robert Redford retiring. He says he’ll
■ Struggling MoviePass says its members will now get just three theater passes a month—not one a day.
Correction. Thanks to erudite Square reader Mike Braden, an error in Friday’s edition has been undone: The past tense of forbid is forbade.