Masks at midnight. As of 11:59 tonight, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention order will require all travelers on U.S. public transportation—including airplanes—to wear face masks in defense against COVID-19.
■ Police arrested a Chicago woman accused of smashing a grocery store window with a baseball bat after an employee gave her a mask and asked her to put it on.
■ Chicago’s moving to a more-relaxed Phase 4 of the state’s “Restore Illinois” plan …
■ … but not that relaxed.
‘I’m just as confused as you are.’ A Chicago Teachers Union member calls for more transparency in negotiations over when and how in-school learning should resume.
■ As the standoff between the union and Chicago Public Schools dragged on, no in-school classes again today.
■ Derek Thompson at The Atlantic: “The Remote-Work Revolution Will Be Bigger Than We Think.”
The sky is ‘a shield put up by the Government to prevent individuals from seeing God.’ That’s just one of the deranged theories a coworker attributes to a Wisconsin pharmacist accused of intentionally sabotaging hundreds of doses of coronavirus vaccine in December.
Chicago’s ‘hottest gun market ever.’ The region’s firearms dealers tell the Sun-Times sales since the storming of the Capitol have been on pace to eclipse even records set during last year’s civil unrest and the early days of the pandemic.
■ For the second time in a little more than half a year, someone shot a Near West Side apartment window displaying a Black Lives Matter sign.
‘I’ve gotten … a certified letter, twice from the same people … claiming I’m possessed by the devil.’ Illinois Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, who’s become the face of a party rebellion against the legacy of Donald Trump, says friends and family are turning against him.
■ The New York Times paints a panoramic picture of “77 Days: Trump’s Campaign to Subvert the Election.” (Cartoon: Keith J. Taylor.)
■ An Indiana University law prof explains how Congress could use the 14th Amendment to hold Trump accountable for the Capitol attack.
■ CNN: At least eight of the yahoos facing charges in the riot “did not vote in the November 2020 presidential election.”
Dig it. Chicago-area snowfall over the weekend totaled about a foot …
■ … the region’s biggest dump since 2015.
■ WGN Radio host and Blackhawks announcer Jon Hansen polled people on Twitter about furniture someone put in a parking spot he shoveled out: “Is it wrong to throw those chairs immediately into the dumpster?”
■ Still to come: An arctic blast.
Everybody wants you. 60 Minutes explains how the DNA people provide in at-home genealogy tests can be hoovered up by an international market worth trillions—“for uses that you never imagined” …
■ … and why you should guard it as carefully as any private data.
■ The Times: Artificial intelligence research around the world has been fueled by personal images people shared on social media.
■ A website can show you whether your Flickr photos have been used to build facial recognition software.
‘If keeping Kass means that Eric Zorn will have a job a little longer, I am all for that.’ The Sun-Times’ Neil Steinberg backhandedly defends the Tribune’s John Kass* from condemnation by Reader columnist John Greenfield.**
■ Newcity reviews award-winning Chicago broadcast news veteran*** Nancy Johnson’s debut novel, The Kindest Lie.
And so, Chicago Public Square enters its fifth year. Some ways you can mark the occasion:
■ Cast a ballot for Square in the Chicago Reader’s Best of Chicago poll.
■ Share Square with a friend.
■ Support Square with a continuing pledge—and get rewarded.
■ Advertise in Square—like Loud Interactive:
■ Advertise in Square—like Loud Interactive:
* Former comrade to your Square publisher at the Trib.
** Occasional defender of Square.
*** Former comrade to your Square publisher at Rivet.