How it ends. Close to two dozen “novelists, journalists, politicos, poets” have given Vanity Fair their visions of The Trump Show finale—“next week, or … 40 years from now.”
■ The Tribune’s Mary Schmich channels President Trump in verse: “I’ll keep this house as mine, all mine! / I’ll win by trick or tweet.”
■ Neil Steinberg: “Even if Joe Biden wins … Trump will still have 10 weeks to make everything worse. (Cartoon: Keith J. Taylor.)
■ Former Sun-Times and Trib editor Mark Jacob offers historians options for referring to this period of American history.
Trump’s Illinois play. The president hasn’t visited the state in this campaign, but he did phone in praise last night for ice-cream magnate and congressional challenger Jim Oberweis.
■ CNN’s Brian Stelter: “Trump is campaigning against reality—and reporters shouldn’t be afraid to say so.”
■ The AP: The presidential election has become a referendum on the future of race relations.
■ The early vote in Texas now exceeds the state’s total for all of 2016.
■ Looking for a pattern in Supreme Court last-minute rulings on election rules across the country? Good luck.
■ The Girl Scouts are in a bind for tweeting—and then deleting—congrats to new Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
‘That there are too many to remember is the reason why we all have to get out and vote.’ The families of Black people killed by police officers spoke to a pre-election rally in Grant Park yesterday.
■ Surveillance footage and police camera video raise fresh questions about a Waukegan cop’s killing of a Black teenager.
■ A Trib editorial condemns Mayor Lightfoot’s plan to issue more speed-camera tickets: “A lopsided share of the cash from this change would come out of the pockets of poor and minority residents.”
■ The Redfin real estate brokerage faces a lawsuit accusing it of offering fewer services to homebuyers and sellers in minority communities.
‘Don’t be taken in. The super-rich are looking out for themselves.’ A Sun-Times editorial recommends a yes vote for the “Fair Tax Amendment.”
■ The Trib’s Eric Zorn concurs: “I want lawmakers to be able to keep rates as low as possible on people toward the bottom of the income scale.”
■ A Chicago Public Square editorial concurs.
■ Ready to vote? Check the Square voter guide before casting your ballot …
■ … mail-in versions of which you’ll be able to drop off Tuesday at Wrigley Field and Sox Park.
Restaurants’ plight. After spending big money to protect indoor health in the pandemic, Chicago restaurateurs are feeling screwed by the renewed state ban on dining-in.
■ Lightfoot is cutting Chicago bars and restaurants an extra hour—until 11 p.m.—to serve people outdoors.
■ The state is pumping $94 million in relief cash to small businesses and local governments.
■ Illinois has broken a new record: 6,363 new COVID-19 cases reported over 24 hours.
Paintball plague. Chicago police say the total for attacks with paintball guns last month amounted to five times the total for the year’s first eight months.
■ Critic Aaron Barnhart: Season 2 of the Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian, arriving today on Disney+, “is better than all those mediocre Netflix and Hulu shows you’ve whiled away the lockdown watching.”
■ The Chicago History Museum marks Halloween Saturday with free online discussions of the HBO series Lovecraft Country’s Chicago settings, “History, Horror & Afrofutures.”
■ Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes record their podcast Jay and Silent Bob Get Old at the McHenry Outdoor Theater Sunday.
■ Spotify is in a pinch for host Joe Rogan’s decision to spotlight conspiracy spewer Alex Jones on his Spotify flagship podcast.
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