Delta danger. PolitiFact digs into what makes the COVID-19 variant so menacing.
■ For the first time since May, Illinois on Wednesday reported more than 2,000 new cases over 24 hours.
■ A Sun-Times editorial brings the hammer down: “Enough with the nonsense. Every government and business should require the vaccine.”
■ Google and Facebook are doing just that.
■ Netflix, too.
■ Pfizer says a third dose of its COVID-19 shot can “strongly” improve protection against the delta variant.
■ Only one of four Republican candidates for Illinois governor says he’s been vaccinated against the coronavirus …
■ Need an Illinois driver’s license? Get a mask.
■ An NPR map shows whether you need a mask indoors in your county.
Morons in the news. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy “a moron” after he criticized a renewed requirement for masks at the Capitol …
■ … a statement that Vanity Fair’s Bess Levin says demonstrates that Pelosi is “done f**king around.”
■ Given a chance to take it back—asked, point-blank, “Is Kevin McCarthy a moron? And if so, why?”—she didn’t.
■ McCarthy ally Chip Roy of Texas took to the House floor for an anti-mask rant: “We are absolutely sick and tired of this.”
■ The Daily Beast: “Pandemic politics have rendered the U.S. Capitol a uniquely toxic environment.” (Cartoon: Keith J. Taylor.)
■ Columnist Matt Taibbi: “Democratic politicians … are compounding the very problem they claim to care about.”
■ If it is a problem, you might look back to Mel Brooks.
■ Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera to his co-host Greg Gutfeld: “If you come into my grandchildren’s house and you are not vaccinated, I’m going to kick you in the ass!”
Nuclear confusion. Exelon, the parent company of Illinois’ Byron and Dresden nuclear power plants, is threatening to close them both—laying off hundreds of workers—if the state doesn’t offer it more cash.
■ You can’t blame environmentalists for being conflicted (February link).
■ The Conversation: “Children raised in areas with more atmospheric lead pollution grew up to have less adaptive and less mature personalities.”
‘Most folks on the street didn’t remember Brown at all until I brought up his decision to detonate a robot bomb.’ Pulitzer-winning Patch columnist Mark Konkol, on the road in Texas, raises fresh questions about Chicago Police Supt. David Brown’s time as Dallas police chief.
■ University of Chicago research concludes 2020’s spike in gun violence has disproportionately hurt Chicago’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.
■ A Chicago Jewel grocery store ransacked by looting last year is finally open again—with extra community space for practice by the South Shore Drill Team …
■ … which traces its origins to neighborhood children twirling wooden rifles.
■ The president of Chicago’s influential MacArthur Foundation sees a “fierce urgency” to get reparations to African Americans.
■ See video of his speech to the City Club yesterday.
Obit-o-matic. Unavoidable 20th century TV pitchman Ron Popeil is dead at 86.
■ He displayed an early ability as a teenager to sell things on the streets of Chicago …
Lollapalooza, free. The music festival opens today in Chicago …
■ … but if you’re inclined to avoid potential super-spreader events, you can watch on Hulu from the comfort of your own home …
■ … at no charge—if you’re a new customer.
■ Lolla organizers are pledging $2.2 million for Chicago Public Schools arts programs.
■ The FBI warns: Faking vaccine cards for Lolla could lead to prison time.
TV transitions. PBS is canceling the Arthur TV series after 25 years.
■ Doctor Who’s first female Doctor is departing.
■ Columnist Irv Leavitt: Dora the Explorer provides guidance for our second summer of COVID.
‘Being a journalist and standing up for human dignity are not mutually exclusive.’ NPR’s new ethics policy: “It’s OK for journalists to demonstrate (sometimes)” …
■ … pretty much the same conclusion your Chicago Public Square columnist expressed as a student 45 years ago today.
■ Speaking of which: Gawker is back.
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