Three things you can do to help ensure Chicago Public Square’s continued existence: 1. Share it with a friend. 2. Support it with a pledge. 3. Advertise in it. And now, the news:
■ One Illinois: The candidates nailed the question about the price of a haircut.
■ See the debate in its entirety.
Kind of like that old joke about dogs.* Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, asked why she’s running for mayor of Chicago: “Because I can.”
■ She says she dismissed her chief of staff as soon as she learned of his misbehavior.
■ Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan says he didn’t do enough to stop sexual harassment in Springfield.
■ A Chicago alderman is proposing to outlaw communication from public school staff to students via personal mobile devices or social media accounts.
‘Has any cop ever done anything wrong?’ Beachwood Reporter proprietor Steve Rhodes challenges the union representing Chicago police.
■ Mayor Emanuel says the union was wrong to defend now-dead Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge, convicted of lying about torture on his watch in the ’70s and ’80s.
■ As the trial of a cop accused of murdering 17-year-old Laquan McDonald unfolds, Tribune columnist Mary Schmich visits McDonald’s grave: “It was hard not to think about the fact that he was shot at 9:57 p.m. … and that another Chicago police officer arrived on the scene with a Taser at 9:58.”
‘If he’s lying to us … that would disqualify him.’ Trib columnist Eric Zorn poses the one question he wants asked of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
■ A Trib editorial: “The FBI should immediately investigate” charges Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a girl when they were in high school.
■ The Washington Post’s Greg Sargent: “A new twist in the Kavanaugh saga raises some very unpleasant questions.”
■ The AP examines the prep school Kavanaugh attended at the time of the alleged attack.
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Chaos at the Pentagon. BuzzFeed News has unearthed internal emails revealing “the depth of … confusion” at the Defense Department after Trump tweeted that transgender troops would no longer be allowed to serve.
■ Northern Illinois University is getting its first female president.
■ The Lincoln Park Zoo is getting its first female director.
No bikes allowed? A Chicago alderman wants to outlaw bicycling on the city’s Riverwalk.
■ The Illinois Tollway is extending the payment deadline for some missed tolls.
■ Fewer Metra delays ahead: Union Pacific says it’s making operational changes that should reduce delays for railroad commuters and for motorists blocked by trains.
Strike struck. Striking workers at seven Chicago Marriott hotels have come to terms on a new contract that reportedly will give them year-round health care.
■ But the walkout continues at other hotels.
Correction. An occurrence of the word in in yesterday’s Chicago Public Square should have been into—an error spotted by No. 1 Square (proof)reader Mike Braden—who coincidentally happens to have filed yesterday’s grammatically sensitive comment of the day to media columnist Robert Feder’s blog.
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* Joke not suitable for all ages.