Benched for 'b__ch' / Trump's laugh line / Obama Foundation secrecy

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Benched for ‘b__ch.’ A Cook County judge accused of describing a female prosecutor with an obscenity and suggesting he’d engaged in sex with her has been relieved of his responsibilities.

As early voting begins in Illinois Thursday, see how 11 bar associations rank judicial candidates.
With a month to go, voter registration in Chicago’s suburbs is already at a record level.
Before the Tribune editorial board, the candidates for Illinois attorney general debated the Republican candidate’s views on abortion and same-sex marriage.

Sworn support. Lawyers for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser have sent the Senate Judiciary Committee signed declarations from four people corroborating her account of sexual assault
… but the committee has scheduled a vote for Friday, less than 24 hours after it will have heard testimony …
… even as some of his fellow Harvard Law profs and a Mormon women’s group join the ranks of those calling for a fuller investigation …
… and his Yale classmates recall him as a “sloppy drunk.”
An Illinois panel’s recommendations for ending harassment within political campaigns include “Don’t drink too much” and “Don’t ask a fellow campaign worker out a second time if you’ve already been rejected.”

Just dessert. TMZ reports the first meal served in prison to ex-pudding pitchman Bill Cosby, sentenced to up to 10 years for sexual assault, included … pudding.
Effective in January, Dunkin’ Donuts will be just “Dunkin’.”

Trump’s laugh line. President Trump’s campaign assertion, “The world is laughing at us,” came true as he spoke to the United Nations.
The Washington Post fact-checked his speech and—surprise!—found it wanting.
The Guardian’s Julian Borger: “Trump is unlikely to forgive the laughter.”
Satire from The New Yorker’s Andy Borowitz: “Trump Brags That He Got Much Bigger Laughs at U.N. Than Obama.”
The Onion: Everyone At U.N. Watching Trump Speak Can’t Believe They Used To Consider U.S. A Superpower.” (Cartoon: Keith Taylor.)
The “Baby Trump” blimp is coming to Chicago for a Women’s March Chicago voting rally Oct. 13.
Through Sunday, a Daley Plaza exhibit spotlights the hardships faced by refugees forced from their homes around the world.

A Chicago Public Square advertiser. Your ad here.

Obama Foundation secrecy. The organization building the ex-president’s memorial complex has stopped identifying its megadonors, even as it spends big bucks on salaries and bonuses.
Trump lawyer and former presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani posed for a photo with a white nationalist candidate.

‘Requiring the pledge to be recited at the start of every school day has the laudable result of fostering respect for our flag and a patriotic love of our country.’ Texas’ attorney general, up for reelection, told a court a black girl has to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
A coalition of subversive religious investors has forced the parent company of gunmaker Smith & Wesson to produce a safety report.

Instagram’s drug problem. The Post says it’s become an “open marketplace for advertising illegal drugs.”
Its founders are quitting the parent company, Facebook—marking what The Verge calls “the end of Instagram as we know it.”

Announcements.
Want to celebrate Chicago’s “heroes of medicine”? Chicago Public Square has some free tickets (value: $85) to the Halo Awards the evening of Oct. 25 at the Merchandise Mart. If you’d like to attend, email Halo@ChicagoPublicSquare.com, specifying whether you’d like one ticket or two.
If you’re reading this by email—as you should—you’ll note some characters in recent editions have been garbled, like this: —. It’s a MailChimp problem the company says it’s working to address.

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