Protests’ power. Tribune columnist Steve Chapman hails “one of the biggest, broadest expressions of public discontent in American history”—crediting President Trump’s divisive rhetoric with inadvertently prodding Americans “into a new unity for racial justice.”
■ Trump’s authoritarian crackdown on D.C. protesters Monday prompted even more protesters to show up.
■ Illinois’ attorney general wants state attorneys general granted power to investigate local police departments with patterns of abuse.
■ Tougher charges have been filed against the cop accused of murdering George Floyd in Minneapolis—and three of his colleagues also now face charges of their own.
■ Virginia’s governor planned to announce removal of a statue honoring Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
■ The ACLU is going to court against Los Angeles’ curfew, which it says violates the First Amendment …
■ … and against Minnesota authorities for targeting journalists with “arrest, intimidation, and assault by police officers.”
■ The clock’s ticking: Will mass demonstrations lead to an explosion of COVID-19 cases?
■ An infection infectious disease professor: Shouting can increase the risk.
‘He tries to divide us.’ In an unprecedented condemnation, Trump’s former defense secretary, James Mattis, describes the president as a threat to the Constitution.
■ Trump’s response: Mattis is “the world’s most overrated General.”
■ His press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany: “Mattis’ small words pale in comparison to @POTUS’ strong action.”
■ The Daily Beast’s Molly Jong-Fast: “McEnany is Trump’s most despicable mouthpiece yet.”
■ In a piercing monologue, CNN’s Anderson Cooper ripped McEnany a new one.
■ Stephen Colbert condemns as “completely unnecessary” Trump’s use of teargas to clear the way to his church-front photo op: “When people see Trump walking toward them on the street, they naturally cry and vomit.”
■ Profiles in Non-Courage Dept.: Remember when, as noted in yesterday’s Chicago Public Square, Defense Secretary Mark Esper was opposing the president’s threat to use the U.S. military against protesters? Yeah, by the end of the day, he caved.
Shy cops. Chicago police have launched an investigation into some officers’ violation of department rules—covering up their badge numbers and name tags during Chicago’s protests.
■ A new symbol of the resistance: 8:46.
■ A Sun-Times editorial praises Naperville cops for rising above.
Eating, Chicago-style. Eater Chicago describes what it’s like to dine at the city’s cautiously and only partly reopened restaurants.
■ Binny’s Beverage Depot pledges to reopen all 11 stores damaged in the rioting. (Cartoon: Keith J. Taylor.)
■ Mayor Lightfoot wants a similar promise from Walmart.
■ Pharmacies closed in the devastation spell “catastrophic” trouble for patients who need medication.
■ The pandemic has crippled an agency that provides services for the blind.
■ Milwaukee’s Summerfest is off.
Chicago’s racial ‘fault line.’ The Trib’s Dahleen Glanton says confrontations over the last week have exposed tension between blacks and Latinos.
■ Residents of the largely Latino Little Village neighborhood took to 26th Street yesterday to assert that Black Lives Matter.
■ Anti-racism protests have spread even to Chicago’s largely white suburbs.
Outside agitators. The feds accuse three men allegedly affiliated with the far-right extremist “Boogaloo” movement of conspiracy to cause destruction during protests in Las Vegas.
■ Esquire explains “Boogaloo”: “Rightwing Shitheads Are Trying to Ruin Hawaiian Shirts.”
■ Snapchat is tamping down on Trump’s account, which it says incites “racial violence and injustice.”
Sorry about that ‘They can all f— off.’ A Lincoln
■ But the damage to her Yelp ratings is done.
Wrigley wriggle. The sign outside the Cubs’ home field proclaimed “END RACISM” …
■ … not long after Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, whose family owns the team, apologized for referring to African Americans as “you people.”
Thanks to Pam Spiegel for some typographical clean-up on this edition, and to Al Solomon for catching the Lincoln Square error.