Sporting bads. The Illinois High School Association says it’ll ignore Gov. Pritzker’s pandemic hold on student basketball and begin the season as scheduled.
■ Pritzker warns that individual school districts ignoring state guidelines “would probably be taking on legal liability.”
■ Tribune sports reporter Shannon Ryan: “The Big Ten didn’t get through even one game without a COVID-19 outbreak.”
■ The Trib’s Steve Chapman condemns “toxic narcissist” and Illinois Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mark Curran for seeming to believe “we shouldn’t let the prospect of death postpone Friday night lights.”
Political peace. Mayor Lightfoot’s backed away from a challenge to Pritzker’s new ban—effective Friday—on indoor service at Chicago’s restaurants and bars.
■ Lake and McHenry counties on Saturday join the roster of Illinois regions where indoor dining is banned.
■ A longtime Oak Park restaurant has been ignoring the governor’s order.
■ The head of Infectious Diseases at the University of Illinois at Chicago tells Block Club Chicago that outdoor-dining igloos and greenhouses are “cute,” but that, without ventilation, they won’t protect people from COVID-19.
National mask mandate? Dr. Anthony Fauci says it’s time to consider a nationwide order requiring face coverings for all—but he doesn’t expect the Trump administration to issue one.
■ The Mayo Clinic warned about the pandemic risks of a Trump campaign rally today at Minnesota’s Rochester International Airport.
■ Addressing a Chicago conference, Fauci says a vaccine could be identified by the end of the year, but don’t count on a return to “what you and I knew was normal before December of 2019” for at least another year.
■ Kaiser Health News: “Scientists warn Americans are expecting too much from a vaccine.”
‘There is only so much the government can do to protect us from us.’ Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell says two sisters accused of stabbing a store security guard who asked them to wear masks are “extreme examples of people … too selfish to think about anything but their own wants.”
■ The Chicago Public Schools board president tells parents schools will reopen “probably before 100% of you are satisfied that it is safe.”
‘Must have struck a nerve.’ The Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet analyzes President Trump’s reaction to a New York Times story about how he managed to dodge taxes as he built his Chicago hotel and tower.
■ The Wisconsin Republican Party says hackers stole $2.3 million targeted for Trump’s reelection.
■ The United Center will be a polling place for all Chicagoans on Tuesday.
■ Ready to vote? Check the Chicago Public Square voter guide.
‘Illegal … in other media.’ The Markup: “Facebook Charged Biden a Higher Price Than Trump for Campaign Ads.”
■ Testimony to Congress yesterday by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his counterparts at Google and Twitter was, in The Washington Post’s assessment, “rife with hyperbole and misstatement … on the part of lawmakers.” (Cartoon: Keith J. Taylor.)
Rat case. The National Labor Relations Board wants public comment on whether Scabby the Rat—the Chicago-born inflatable rodent that has become a nationwide mascot for labor protests—should be banned.
■ The National Law Review: “Unlawful coercive secondary picketing” or free speech? (2012 photo: Roy Smith.)
‘Chicago, you should watch it.’ Trib critic Michael Phillips gives his highest rating to filmmaker Steve James’ new documentary, City So Real—“a stirring Chicago symphony in five movements” premiering on National Geographic this evening and on Hulu Friday.
■ The Times’ James Poniewozik calls it “an election story pulsing with life.”
■ Two years ago, James joined the Chicago Public Square podcast to talk about his series America to Me.
Time for a change. Sleep experts recommend dumping daylight saving time, which departs for the year this weekend.
■ From the archives: A ridiculously detailed 2005 guide to falling back.
A reader writes. John Culver, listed last in yesterday’s random roundup of Chicago Public Square supporters, emails: “Thank you for the distinction of the appropriate use of the Oxford comma,” which preceded the word “and” and his name. In fact, that comma appeared in error—a violation of common journalistic style. But in recognition of Mr. Culver’s succor, the comma will remain on that page.
■ Thanks to tech and media journalist Simon Owens for a flattering take on the rise of Square.
■ And thanks to Gene Daly, first (of many) to spot that bad link above.