Classes canceled. Anticipating a strike the Chicago Teachers Union has yet to declare, the Chicago Public Schools system is closing schools Thursday.
■ Don’t count on the Chicago Park District to take care of the kids while schools are shuttered.
Pot, postponed? Alarmed that plans to allow the sale of recreational marijuana in Chicago Jan. 1 include no businesses owned by people of color, the City Council’s Black Caucus is threatening to delay legalization for six months.
■ Watch today’s City Council meeting on the web.
Current events. The CEO of ComEd parent Exelon Utilities, Anne Pramaggiore, has retired abruptly amid rising heat on the company in a federal corruption probe.
■ Feds have been curious about Cook County Commissioner and McCook Mayor Jeffrey Tobolski’s home heating and air conditioning.
■ A raid on the suburb of Lyons focused on its mayor’s “home security system.”
■ A Tribune investigation that exposed a developer’s mob links has prompted Gov. Pritzker to block sale of land for a Tinley Park horse track casino.
■ Sun-Times columnist Phil Kadner: “This is why people defend Trump, his lies and misdeeds, contending it’s all just business as usual.”
To be clear, being convicted of murder isn’t enough to cost a Chicago cop his job. But Jason Van Dyke, convicted of murdering 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, is nevertheless quitting the department.
■ A Trib editorial: Another Chicago cop who killed an innocent woman doesn’t deserve to “have his record wiped clean.”
■ Columnist Dahleen Glanton: “If there was any doubt that African Americans are in imminent danger of the police, the shooting death [in Texas] of Atatiana Jefferson should make it clear.”
■ The Onion: “911 Operator Informs Black Caller That Death Is On The Way.”
AOC + Sanders. Iconic young liberal Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reportedly plans to back Bernie Sanders for president …
■ … joining (correcting) two one other members of the so-called “Squad” group of progressive congressional women who’ve who’s already endorsed Sanders.
■ A new conservative-oriented email newsletter, The Dispatch: “Endorsements typically don’t matter much. But the center of gravity in the Democratic Party is on the left and these young leftists will bring energy and excitement to the septuagenarian’s bid.”
■ The Washington Post: What you missed, minute-by-minute, while not watching last night’s debate.■ Who grabbed the most screen time …
■ … and who talked the most about Donald Trump. (Cartoon: Keith J. Taylor, who deserves your vote in the Reader’s soon-to-end Best of Chicago poll.)
■ Vox’s Ella Nilsen says the debate marked Elizabeth Warren’s official arrival as a frontrunner …
■ … but The New York Times’ David Leonhardt says Warren needs “a different way to answer the Medicare question.”
■ FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver on Joe Biden: “It might have actually been his most effective debate from start to finish, but that’s a very low bar.”
■ One of Biden’s odder gaffes was an aborted blurt about “the 17th” … which has [Warning: Don’t click if you value your sanity] sent paranoid Twitter down the rabbit hole.
Trump’s tax ‘fraud’? Never-before-seen documents ProPublica has uncovered make two of the president’s Manhattan buildings look more profitable to a lender and less profitable to taxing agencies—a discrepancy one expert calls “versions of fraud.”
■ The lawyer for parents of a British teen who was killed in a fatal crash with the wife of a U.S. diplomat says Trump’s national security adviser [link corrected] “heaped pain” on them by trying to spring a surprise meeting with her at the White House.
■ A spokesman for the parents, who declined the meeting, says they felt “ambushed.”
■ The woman, Anne Sacoolas, has admitted to driving
■ Twitter explains why it won’t ban Trump.
Something good. The Chicago group Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan is one of this year’s nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
■ A Madonna mystery: Why will her Chicago shows—for which she’s encouraging parents to bring kids—start at 10:30 p.m.?
Google’s listening. The company’s adding advanced audio sensing capability to its Nest security cameras, smart speakers and smart displays—giving them the power to alert you to smoke detector alarm sounds.
■ Apple’s released yet another round of operating system fixes for its Macs, iPhones and iPads.
■ The Trib’s Eric Zorn sounds the alarm about pending legislation that would make it easier for photographers, musicians, graphic artists and writers to sue you for sharing or otherwise using their work without permission.
Thanks to readers …
■ … Mike Braden for noting an incorrect link and a bad preposition …
■ … and Mark Wukas for helping clarify some unclear wording in this edition.