1. Learn what’s on your customized-by-address ballot—which you can print out here for Chicago, here for suburban Cook County.
2. Decide who and what will get your vote—including which of those many judicial candidates—by checking out the Chicago Public Square voter guide.
3. Mark your picks on that printed ballot.
4. Take the printout to your polling place, which you can locate here for Chicago and here for suburban Cook County.
5. Turned away at the polls? Don’t give up easily.
■ President Trump’s closing arguments are set for tonight in Cape Girardeau, Mo. …
■ … with some controversial “special guests.”
■ NBC’s pulling the plug on a racist Trump ad it ran during Sunday Night Football.
■ In Georgia’s fiercely contested gubernatorial race, where Stacey Abrams is running to become the nation’s first black female governor, racist robocall messages refer to Abrams supporter Oprah Winfrey as “the magical negro” used by “Jews who own the American media” to “trick dumb white women.”
‘A special mix of racism and stupid.’ On HBO, newly owned by AT&T, John Oliver blasted AT&T for taking so long to end its support for Nazi-aligned Iowa Rep. Steve King. (Cartoon: Keith Taylor.)■ Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan: “Too many journalists allow Trump to lead them around by the nose, which is why you’ve heard so very much about that migrant caravan in recent weeks.”
■ The Sun-Times’ Neil Steinberg wonders why Republicans get to have all the fake-news fun and so gives it a try himself: “Donald Trump was born Dimitri Brataslav …”
■ The Boston Globe: Hackers have been targeting election networks across the country.
■ Emanuel’s moves toward police reform are running afoul of what one ex-Justice Department lawyer calls “one of the more broken cultures of a police department I’ve seen.”
TV journalist dies. Mike Parker, a reporter and anchor at WBBM-Ch. 2 for more than 35 years, is dead at 75.
■ Ex-WTMX-FM star Kathy Hart will be back on WGN Radio “multiple times” in the weeks ahead.
Shipping news. In the face of new challenges from Target and Wal-Mart, Amazon is—for the holidays—eliminating its $25 minimum purchase requirement for free shipping and offering its Prime members a same-day delivery upgrade.
■ Lowe’s is closing 51 stores across North America, including two in Illinois.
Thanks. This edition of Chicago Public Square is brought to you through the generosity of the many readers—including Tom Marker, Angela Mullins and Les Nelson—who are supporting Square for just a few cents a day. Please consider joining them here.
■ And thanks to reader Mike Braden for some upfront proofreading help on this edition.