‘A lot of nervous people.’ Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown says the charges of bribery and filing a false tax return against ex-Sen. Martin Sandoval cast a “cloud of suspicion …everywhere from the Illinois Toll Highway Authority … to the Town of Cicero.”
■ At the heart of the government’s case: His support for red-light cameras.
■ A Tribune editorial: “As the line of accused Democrats lengthens, will leaders of this party demand more from themselves than dry platitudes about their intolerance for public corruption?”
■ 1951 called, and it wants its loyalty oath for state lawmakers back.
■ Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin calls talk of a swap—Republicans letting Bolton testify if Democrats let Joe Biden’s son Hunter testify—“baloney.” (Cartoon: Keith J. Taylor.)
■ Vanity Fair: Trump has unleashed “a blizzard of lies” against Bolton’s forthcoming book.
■ Journalist Dan Sinker—maybe best known as creator of the fake @MayorEmanuel Twitter account (2011 link)—is blogging impeachment proceedings daily.
Interesting timing. Hours before he was set to meet Trump, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been indicted on corruption charges …
■ … which Trump and Netanyahu had counted on as a welcome diversion.
■ Netanyahu’s last name once was the punchline to an early Internet Era joke. (Cartoon: The prolific Keith J. Taylor.)
We’re No. 74. A list of the largest U.S. cities ranked for fiscal health puts Chicago next to last.
■ Guess who’s last?
■ Fifth Third Bank is investing $20 million in projects—to be named later—to improve Chicago’s West and South Sides.
■ Amazon reportedly plans a distribution center in Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood …
■ … but Mayor Lightfoot says the alderman touting the plan “got a little ahead of himself.”
■ A move by Chicago’s private Francis W. Parker School to expand its campus isn’t sitting well with some neighbors.
■ The Chicago-spawned (but now Texas-based) Bar Louie restaurant chain has filed for bankruptcy—closing 38 restaurants nationwide, including one in Naperville and one on Chicago’s Near North Side.
‘The Chicago self-portrait of the new century.’ Trib critic Michael Phillips praises City So Real, Oscar-nominated Oak Park filmmaker Steve James’ new documentary miniseries about Chicago in the months leading up to Mayor Lightfoot’s election.■ IndieWire’s Ben Travers calls it “must-see.”
■ At the Sundance Film Festival, where the series premiered yesterday, James explained that “even though this is a film about Chicago, it is very much a film about America.”
■ In a 2018 Chicago Public Square podcast, James explained the challenges he faced—including his own doubts—creating his last project, America to Me.
■ Anyone interested in a screenplay for a movie about beloved Chicago singer/songwriter Steve Goodman?
Foxx news. Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren is backing embattled Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx for reelection.
■ A Trib editorial slams Foxx for failing to come clean on her mishandling of the case against dissembling actor Jussie Smollett.
■ Columnist Eric Zorn on the editorial board’s effort to pry the truth out of Foxx: “We tried. Lord knows, we tried.”
■ The AP: Democratic presidential candidates are struggling with how—and whether—to criticize Bernie Sanders.
■ Cook County voters are getting a flock of new voting machines for the March 17 primary.
Final Options Illinois is a Chicago Public Square advertiser.
Thanks to reader Mike Braden for noting a missing dash above.