… aaaaand we’re back:
‘I must kill.’ That was part of an “inappropriate” email that triggered an avalanche of others to Chicago Public Schools elementary students for about an hour Sunday morning.
■ The school system says the problem is fixed, sort of.
■ A Sun-Times editorial calls on schools to conduct standardized tests, pandemic or not.
■ Public school policy analyst Jan Resseger: “Nobody should be wasting time worrying about when to administer standardized tests.”
Murderous ’hood. The Sun-Times reports that one Chicago police district’s “body count towers above the other districts” this year—and exceeds that of all Minneapolis.
■ Tribune reporter William Lee: “I was supposed to talk with Chicago-born rapper Dayvon Bennett, aka King Von, but never got the chance before he was gunned down.”
■ Mayor Lightfoot’s police security detail has been running red-light and speed cameras with impunity.
‘Surge upon surge.’ National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci warns that the coronavirus isn’t done with America and not to expect a relaxation of social distancing recommendations before Christmas.
■ Moderna’s asking for emergency clearance to administer its vaccine.
■ Homeland Security: Beware COVID-19 vaccine scams.
■ Merriam-Webster’s word of the year: Pandemic.
‘Lie after lie.’ CNN’s Brian Stelter eviscerates once-acclaimed journalist Maria Bartiromo’s Sunday sitdown with Donald Trump on Fox News.
■ Poynter’s Tom Jones: “Bartiromo has seemingly sold her journalistic soul.” (Cartoon: Keith J. Taylor.)
■ The Conversation: Twitter challenger Parler “is bringing together mainstream conservatives, anti-Semites and white supremacists.”
Trouble afoot. President-elect Biden may be stuck in a walking boot for weeks to come after breaking his right foot while playing with one of his dogs.
■ Jill Biden says the family will bring a cat—along with its two dogs—to the White House.
Rahm’s birthday treat. On former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s birthday Sunday, his name was floated as a possible Transportation secretary under President Joe Biden …
■ From the Chicago Public Square archives in 2018: The dark side of that plan.
■ And from your Square proprietor’s personal files: “My year of Rahm,” 2011-12—including “Mayor Emanuel jokes about journalists’ handcuffing.”
‘Springfield is messed up beyond the office of House Speaker Michael Madigan.’ Politico’s Shia Kapos sifts through the pre-Thanksgiving dump of emails related to the ComEd investigation.
■ Three Illinois Congress members are on the bubble as the decennial redistricting process unfolds.
■ Sun-Times columnist Laura Washington names five Illinois political turkeys of the year.
Funny thing. A Chicago alderman whose campaign funds have received $2,000 in contributions from the owner of a store that sells dogs has reversed his defense of an ordinance to crack down on so-called “puppy mills.”
■ A multimillion-dollar plan to overhaul Logan Square’s Congress Theater is apparently dead.
‘There are many ways to find out you’ve been fired.’ Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg feared he had been—before determining he was just another victim of widespread unemployment fraud …
■ … a problem addressed toward the end of the Nov. 10 edition of Square.
Even though every day now feels like Cyber Monday … it’s apparently still a thing, so Consumer Reports runs down some of the best deals under $50 and the best Cyber Monday TV sales.
■ BuzzFeed: 38 toys under $50.
■ And you can of course also help Square reach new heights by kicking in a one-time tip (spectacular!) or a continuing pledge (spectacularer!) anytime.