‘Don’t assume this too shall pass.’ Columnist Rex Huppke, reflecting on the COVID-19 death of QAnon conspiracy theorist and ivermectin advocate Veronica Wolski: “Don’t tolerate this poison or anyone who spreads it, whether it’s a politician or a pundit or a family member or a friend.”
■ Wolski, who drew national attention last week when she insisted a Chicago hospital give her the deworming medication, was a fixture on a Kennedy Expressway bridge.
■ An unsuccessful Republican candidate for governor is fueling an anti-mask furor in one Chicago suburb’s schools (middle of today’s Politico Illinois Playbook).
■ Add another anti-mask, anti-vax radio host to COVID’s book of the dead.
‘No end in sight.’ Charged by her Bloomberg editors with looking into “what’s next for the world as we enter the final quarter of the second year of the pandemic,” Michelle Fay Cortez concludes: “Infections will continue until most of the world has been touched by the virus, either through infection or inoculation.”
■ Chicago was reportedly set to take two of the other 49 states off its pandemic travel advisory list.
■ Parents rallied outside Mayor Lightfoot’s home last night demanding a return to remote learning for their kids.
■ Illinois is sending child care workers one-time bonuses of $1,000 to help ease a pandemic staffing crisis.
‘Provisions will continue to hurt those who are the victims of police misconduct.’ Civil liberties groups are lining up against a new police contract at the threshold of Chicago City Council approval.
■ The FBI is reportedly investigating charges Ald. Jim Gardiner retaliated against constituents for political purposes.
■ At a rally outside his home last night, protesters chanted, “Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! Gardiner has got to go!” …
■ … and one T-shirt read “Giardiniera = Good; Gardiner = Bad.”
Electric car rebates. The massive energy overhaul on its way to Gov. Pritzker would pay Illinoisans $4,000 to buy an electric vehicle.
■ Arab- and Asian-American gas station owners are calling on aldermen to investigate complaints inspectors have been shutting them down for racial reasons.
■ University of Illinois experts explain which foods generate the most greenhouse gases.
Banks under the microscope. The City Council was on track to OK an ordinance that would require financial institutions holding the city’s money to provide demographic information on who they lend to, who they hire, and why loans get denied.
■ Chicago’s second-largest bank by deposits, BMO Harris, is closing nine Chicago-area branches.
It’s not just about California. The whole nation may be affected by today’s recall election for Gov. Gavin Newsom …
■ … who’s on the hot seat for, among other things, presiding over a fraud scandal at the state unemployment agency and dining out maskless with friends and lobbyists at an exclusive restaurant a year ago as he told Californians to stay home.
■ University of California professors say California’s 1911 recall law is “reckless.”
■ It could put control of the U.S. Senate on the line.
■ The Onion: “Joe Manchin Slammed For Stealing Spotlight From Other Democratic Senators Who Also Oppose Progressive Legislation.”
En garde! Ahead of a rally Saturday in support of the people who rioted Jan. 6, temporary fencing is coming back to the Capitol.
■ The Capitol police chief: “I urge anyone who is thinking about causing trouble to stay home.”
Emergency iPhone update. A security flaw that could let hackers jam spyware onto Apple phones, tablets, computers and watches—even if users do nothing—has prompted Apple to release an urgent software patch.
■ Here’s how to get it.
■ Don’t confuse that patch with the updated operating systems Apple’s poised to reveal this afternoon (Chicago time)—along with new devices.
■ Here’s how to watch that.
Turbochimp. Mailchimp—the company that distributes Chicago Public Square—is getting bought by Intuit, maker of TurboTax and QuickBooks, for about $12 billion …
■ … a heckuva windfall for Mailchimp’s two founders, who never sought outside funding or venture capital …
■ … and who pledged to customers yesterday, “Our mission to empower the underdog will always be our north star.”
■ A Tribune editorial mourns the rise of Lyft and Uber: “We need our cabs back, fast.”
Thanks to Pam Spiegel for making this edition better.