Four Republicans. Of 197 Republicans in the U.S. House, just these four—including the only black Republican congressman—joined Democrats in a historic condemnation of President Trump’s racist tweets.
■ Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Mike Kelly was among Trump’s defenders: “I’m a person of color. I’m white.”
■ Trump tweeted “I don’t have a Racist bone in my body!” but The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah says, “Maybe it is in your spleen. We don’t know.”
■ MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell wonders why Trump capitalized “Racist.”
■ The Tribune’s Dahleen Glanton: “Americans don’t hate America. What they hate is that Trump is the president.”
■ CNN’s under fire for a segment spotlighting an advocate of “ethnic cleansing.”
■ An opposing viewpoint: “To cover race and racism … you have to talk to racists.”
■ The Washington Post: Trump’s racist comments can be used to fight his policies in court.
■ The ACLU is suing the administration over a new rule that would forbid almost all migrants from seeking asylum at the southern U.S. border.
■ Politico: Tipping’s racist history.
‘Horrible rules.’ Illinois’ Planned Parenthood says it’ll forgo millions of dollars in federal funding because a new rule keeps organizations that take the cash from helping women find doctors who provide abortions.
■ Planned Parenthood’s president is out after less than a year, following what she complains was “a secret meeting.”
Ricketts’ reckoning. A Tribune investigation will cost Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts at least $60,000 in back taxes on a fancy Wilmette home he built without notifying Cook County—but he’s still getting off easy.
■ Advocates of equal pay for female soccer players have delivered more than 200,000 petition signatures to the U.S. Soccer Federation headquarters on Chicago’s Near South Side.
‘If I actually get shot and nobody’s there, I can do it to myself instead of just sitting there and dying.’ A 14-year-old South Side boy talks to NBC News about the training he’s getting from an anti-violence organization on how to help shooting victims.
■ It’s life in prison for Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman—whose Sinaloa Cartel has done plenty of business in Chicago.
Heat wave alert. Mindful of the almost 800 deaths attributed to a prolonged hot spell in 1995, Chicago’s warning people about—and offering cooling centers to cope with—temperatures nearing 100 Thursday through Saturday.
■ Alligator fever was good for business in Humboldt Park.
Google’s Chicago growth plan. Crain’s says the company is eyeing a doubling of its Fulton Market footprint.
■ Amazon’s history of using its sales data to squeeze smaller sellers out of business will come under European Union antitrust scrutiny.
A Cirque Christmas. Cirque du Soleil will debut a holiday show in Chicago …
■ … with tickets to go on sale for the public Friday.
Happy third annual National Tell Your Friends to Sign Up for Chicago Public Square Day.*
Thanks … to Square readers Hank DeZutter, Harla Hutchinson, Harlene Ellin, Heather Alger and Heather Foote—members of The Legion of Chicago Public Squarians, whose support keeps this thing coming. You can join them—check out some fancy new buttons!—here.
■ And thanks to reader Mike Braden for recommending a photo credit on the CTA item above.
* Not to be confused with National Invite Someone To Subscribe to Chicago Public Square Day. That was June 19. Or with National Support Chicago Public Square Day. That was March 12.