Preckwinkle’s Nazi headache. Mayoral candidate—and Cook County Board President—Toni Preckwinkle has fired an aide who tweeted (and then deleted) a photo of Nazis to attack candidate Lori Lightfoot …
■ The Tribune’s Eric Zorn asked the candidates about a plan to make Chicago government more responsive to voters, and “Preckwinkle’s spokeswoman sent back a note saying ‘we aren’t responding.’”
■ The Beachwood Reporter’s Steve Rhodes says he’s “actually leaning toward voting for [Lori] Lightfoot,” but he condemns her campaign for “a real bulls__t move.”
■ Longtime political observer Mike Fourcher: “Forget who you’re supposed to vote for, and vote for who moves you.”
■ Whatever the outcome Tuesday, legal challenges will likely follow.
■ Early voting—which Block Club Chicago reports is on track to reach its highest level in years—is on through 7 p.m. Monday. Details in the Chicago Public Square voter guide.
Revolving Door Dept. A top aide to Mayor Emanuel—the former Delta Airlines exec who favored United Airlines in a dispute with American Airlines over O’Hare Airport gates—is leaving City Hall for a job with … wait for it … United.
■ Southwest Airlines grounded flights nationwide this morning for a technical problem.
‘Sorry, bigots.’ The Tribune’s Dahleen Glanton on charges actor Jussie Smollett staged a racist attack on himself: “Bigots may think that Smollett handed them a huge victory with his apparent lies. But the rest of us are going to make sure they don’t get to hold on to the prize.”
■ Smollett’s lost his role on Fox’s Empire—for at least the last two episodes of the season.
■ Stephen Colbert on charges Smollett paid two black men to attack him: “If you’re going to fake a white supremacist hate crime, hire two white guys. … I lived in Chicago. They have white guys there: Go to a Blackhawks game.”
■ Trevor Noah on The Daily Show: “When this started out, it was a story about people who hated Jussie Smollett because he was black and gay. But now, people hate him because he’s an asshole. In other words, they’re judging him on the content of his character and not the color of his skin.”
■ The Southern Poverty Law Center: “The number of hate groups operating across America rose to a record high–1,020–in 2018.”
Soldier Field’s new neighbor? Developers are poised to unveil the latest of several mega-development proposals for Chicago: A multibillion-dollar residential, office and retail project over the rail tracks west of the Bears’ home turf.
■ A Metra train hit a pedestrian this morning in Chicago.
■ Higher Metra fares and lower gas prices have led to more people driving and fewer people riding trains.
Climate change nightmares. The author of a new book, The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming, tells Vox, “No corner of the planet will go untouched.”
■ Snow shocked Los Angeles yesterday.
■ Florida’s global-warming-fueled red tide plague may be in recession—for now.
■ Chicago weather icon Tom Skilling’s brother [correcting] Jeffrey, sentenced to prison for his conviction on charges stemming from the spectacular collapse of his energy company, Enron—is out after 12 years.
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Science fiction’s ‘tremendous hidden power.’ Smithsonian pays tribute to the woman who brought the genre into the mainstream.
■ Chicago-area science fiction authors Alec Nevala-Lee and Gary K. Wolfe talk about science fiction’s Golden Age Monday night at the Chicago Public Library’s Blackstone branch—part of the “One Book, One Chicago” program, this year centered on the book that inspired the movie Blade Runner.
Oscars quiz. Author Mark Caro’s annual test of your movie moxie is back.
■ Five places to watch the Academy Awards with a crowd Sunday night.
Thanks …
■ … to people whose pledges keep Chicago Public Square coming. You can join them—and get rewarded for doing so—here.
■ … and to Tom O’Malley, who caught a mistake in the Skilling item above.