‘Trump is pissed.’ Politico says the ex-president was unhappy with his legal team after Day 1 of his second impeachment trial.
■ A person familiar with Trump’s reaction tells The New York Times: “On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the angriest, Mr. Trump ‘was an eight.’”
■ Why one of Trump’s lawyers covered his head after each of many (many) sips of water.
■ Molly Jong-Fast at The Daily Beast: “Impeachment no longer feels like a punishment for Trump so much as a necessity for democracy.”
■ Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has signaled he’s still on the fence about conviction and has cleared other Republicans to vote their conscience. (Cartoon: Keith J. Taylor.)
Uncensored. A haunting, obscenity-laden supercut of the Capitol riot—broadcast to the nation unbleeped—was the centerpiece of the House’s opening case against Trump.
■ Tribune columnist Mary Schmich: “The video brought the Capitol siege alive as vividly as the day it occurred, maybe more so.”
■ The Washington Post’s Margaret Sullivan: “The Jan. 6 images were already disturbing. The impeachment-trial video makes them terrifying.”
■ Still to come, CNN reports: Previously unreleased Capitol security footage from that day.
■ Watch the trial live this afternoon.
‘Dad, I don’t want to come back to the Capitol.’ The moment that brought people around the nation to tears came as lead impeachment manager Jamie Raskin shared his daughter’s words after the Jan. 6 insurrection.
■ A New York University lecturer looks critically at the Capitol: “Its design history does not exactly embody the values of a democratic government by and for the people.”
Unrelated developments.
■ A herd of about 75 Holstein calves escaped a farm and barreled down an Indiana highway.
■ The Arizona guy who wore horns during the Capitol insurrection has apologized.
Back to school. Chicago teachers have approved a deal to reopen classrooms as soon as this week …
■ … but the union president says it still sucks.
■ Chicago Public Schools basketball and other athletic programs can resume tomorrow.
‘What was this strange feeling I was experiencing? Relief? Happiness? Yes, happiness.’ Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown gets his COVID-19 shot.
■ Suburban Cook County residents are getting vaccine text messages, and they’re real—but confusing.
■ Suburban Cook County residents are getting vaccine text messages, and they’re real—but confusing.
■ Struggling to get the vaccine to some of Chicago’s poorest communities, hospitals are stepping up their outreach strategies.
■ Uber’s offering free rides to those who’ve booked shots at Walgreens.
■ Even though Lausch was appointed by Trump, Illinois’ two Democratic senators have asked Biden to reconsider.
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■ A Trib editorial: They “should be working to reverse it immediately, not shrugging their shoulders with a lame news release.”
■ Gov. Pritzker’s new budget avoids spending hikes and tax increases.
■ The Trib’s Eric Zorn says the new “law and order” chairman of the Illinois Republican Party has skirted the law himself.
■ The New York Times: “Thousands of Republicans Are Leaving the Party.”
Mug shots mothballed. Aiming for fairer coverage of “people who enter the criminal justice system—the majority of whom come from underprivileged backgrounds,” the Trib is scaling back its publication of photos of people arrested for crimes—but yet to face trial …
■ … and it’s seeking help identifying photos that should be removed from older online stories.
‘Like something out of a Stephen King novel.’ Columnist Phil Kadner recounts his neverending battle with the snowplow that always blocks his driveway.
■ It’s not over yet.
Oh, say: You can’t see … The Star-Spangled Banner performed before home games of the Dallas Mavericks anymore.
■ Owner Mark Cuban tweeted last year: “The National Anthem Police in this country are out of control.”
■ USA Today columnist Nancy Armour: “Long overdue.”
■ Major League Baseball will require players and on-field staffers to wear electronic wristbands to track their movements—and face discipline if they break pandemic safety rules.
Thank you, one and all. Here begins a fresh salute to those whose support helps keep Chicago Public Square coming—including Mark Mueller, Tim Brandhorst, Andrew Stancioff, Heather Alger, Ed McDevitt, Rebecca Ewan, Larry Dahlke, Sandy Kaczmarski, Robert Feder, Wendy Greenhouse, Ellen Cutter, Louise Donahue, Werner Huget and Robert Toon. You can see your name in this space by joining them—for any amount you choose.
■ Thanks to Pam Spiegel for catching the misspelling of Mary Schmich’s name above.
Graham Crackers is a Chicago Public Square advertiser. How about you?