If you vote and then die before Election Day, your vote survives. A Chicago Board of Elections spokeswoman tells Chicago Public Square: “Your ballot doesn’t have your name on it so if you mailed it in … and then died it would still count.” From the Illinois Board of Elections: “Even if there’s a problem and the paper ballots need to be re-run, the dead voter’s ballot gets counted.”
■ Ready to vote? Cook County has an online “wait time viewer” for its 52 early voting locations—each of which is open to all the county’s suburban voters. (Image reflects wait times at 8:44 a.m.)
■ But first check the Square voter guide.
‘Trump was on the defensive.’ The Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet recaps last night’s presidential debate, praising the president for “remarkable self-control,” but declaring Joe Biden the winner.
■ Sweet’s colleague, Mark Brown: When Trump attacked Biden’s son’s business dealings, Biden was ready.
■ Brookings Institution senior fellow John Hudak: The debate’s mute button was a gift to Trump, forcing him into civility.
■ Trump’s lies kept the fact-checkers up well into the night.
■ CNN’s lead fact-checker, Daniel Dale: Trump was “even worse … than in the first debate.”
■ Praise for moderator Kristen Welker has been near-unanimous—even from Trump.
■ What an expert in nonverbal communication saw when watching the debate with the sound off.
■ Wonkette: “The 4264 Stupidest Moments In The Final Trump Biden Debate.”
‘You both have insulted 60 Minutes.’ In White House-released video of her interview with Vice President Pence, CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl lays into Pence and Trump.
■ Commentary from your Square publisher: Stahl’s interview with Trump was poorly prosecuted.
No bull. Confronting unprecedented budget challenges, Mayor Lightfoot says she’s ready to tackle Chicago government’s “sacred cows”—including requirements for three employees per garbage truck and minimum staffing for fire department equipment.
■ Addressing disappointed members of a working group charged with reviewing cops’ use-of-force policies, Lightfoot tells them their work was “not in vain,” even though only five of their 155 recommendations got a green light.
■ In Waukegan, where a police officer shot and killed a 19-year-old man this week, more than 100 protesters marched on City Hall.
Year without Santa. For the first time in 159 years, Macy’s stores won’t be visited by Santa Claus—because of the pandemic.
■ Gap and Banana Republic stores are bowing out of shopping malls.
■ Kids living in Chicago Housing Authority buildings are getting 7,500 free coats.
Conflict on the menu. As COVID-19 cases spiral up in Illinois, Gov. Pritzker is threatening to lower the boom on suburban bars and restaurants that don’t stop seating customers inside …
■ … but some joints plan to flout the governor’s order.
■ Southwest Airlines is going to resume filling every seat.
■ Yesterday’s nationwide tally brought a record number of new coronavirus cases.
■ Chicago’s top doc: Up to one in every 54 Chicagoans is now potentially spreading COVID-19.
■ ProPublica Illinois dives deep into how Illinois has spent $1.6 billion in its pandemic response …
■ … including thousands of grenades.
‘Did we try to turn the tables and show the affair for the mockery it was? You bet your damn ass.’ A member of the Chicago 7 trial staff (yes, the defendants had a staff) and friend of Square Mike Gold reflects on the events behind the Netflix movie.
■ Longtime WLS-TV anchor Joel Daly died right after watching his old station’s newscast.
