Help keep Chicago Public Square coming: Email a friend this link and an invitation to subscribe—free. And now the news:
Bruce, J.B., Sam and … ‘Kash.’ All the candidates for Illinois governor meet in debate for the first time tonight.
■ See it live on the web at 6 p.m.
■ An ex-Chicago FBI bureau chief is calling on Catholics to demand more accountability from the church on matters of sexual abuse.
■ A Chicago alderman is among those calling for dismissal of a priest who burned a rainbow flag last week.
Lame duck advisory. The Chicago City Council today meets for the first time since Emanuel announced he won’t seek a third term.
■ Aldermen are set to approve his massive tax hike on vaping products.
■ See today’s City Council meeting on the web here.
‘We do not believe this was a random act.’ Chicago police are hunting a masked gunman who fired into a car in Chicago’s South Loop last night, wounding a 6-month-old baby, a 13-year-old girl and two adults.
■ Ex-Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge, disgraced for a reign of police torture, is dead.
‘If Kavanaugh’s accuser is lying, why is she the one asking for a thorough investigation?’ The Tribune’s Rex Huppke on the accuser of President Trump’s Supreme Court pick, Brett Kavanaugh: “The woman who claims a drunk, 17-year-old future Supreme Court nominee climbed on top of her, tried to take her clothes off and covered her mouth with his hand sounds a lot more confident in her story than the man heading toward a seat on the high court.”
■ Updating coverage: Republicans say time’s running out for testimony against Kavanaugh.
■ The Guardian: A Yale law prof who coached students seeking clerkships with Kavanaugh told them privately it was “not an accident” his clerks all “looked like models.”
■ Ex-White House (and Tribune) photographer Pete Souza addresses Republican senators on Instagram: “Even I … had two FBI investigations into my background … . So you don’t want the FBI to investigate someone for the Supreme Court about a credible attempted rape allegation? Please explain.”
■ Columnist Steve Chapman: “The way Senate Republicans are handling the matter suggests they are afraid of what they will learn if the digging goes too deep.”
■ The Daily Beast’s Michael Tomasky: “What they’ve learned in 27 years is to play it cool for 24 hours, so the narrative is ‘Republicans Agree Ford Should Be Heard.’ Then they start turning the screws.”
■ A reporter who witnessed the 1991 confirmation hearings for similarly accused—and confirmed—nominee Clarence Thomas: “History is repeating—and diverging.”
■ Stephen Colbert: “To anyone out there who’s saying ‘boys will be boys,’ you should not be allowed to raise boys. Or girls.”
■ Axios: If Kavanaugh’s nomination fails, Democrats plan a “massive campaign” to turn the midterm elections into a referendum on women’s rights.
‘Have a good time.’ That’s Trump in North Carolina to a Hurricane Florence survivor who’d waited in line more than an hour for a box lunch.
■ Seth Meyers on the president’s “weird” Florence mission: “Trump could see a man jump off a building and think, ‘Oh look! Free shoes!’”
Jobs you can’t have. Amazon is considering opening up to 3,000 stores without cashiers over the next three years.
■ Amazon rolls out new Alexa thingies at noon Central time.
Ticketmaster’s secret scalpers. A CBC/Toronto Star undercover report reveals Ticketmaster is recruiting professional scalpers who cheat its own system to squeeze more money out of fans.
■ In on The Hollywood Reporter’s list of most powerful people: Sexual-harassment scandal reporter Ronan Farrow. Out: Deposed and Farrow-
Chicago Public Square
is proud to co-sponsor tonight’s Terkel Awards.
Join the celebration.