At last. President Biden’s signed a law that for the first time defines lynching as a federal hate crime.
■ It’s named for Emmett Till, a Black 14-year-old from Chicago murdered in 1955 by white men in Mississippi. (Photo: The White House.)
■ It’s a victory for Chicago Congressman Bobby Rush, who championed the bill for years …
■ … and a tribute to Chicago journalist Ida B. Wells, who crusaded after the Civil War to outlaw lynching, and whose great-granddaughter spoke at the signing.
■ Two teachers at Chicago’s acclaimed Whitney Young Magnet High School—one white, one Black—got into a heated argument after the white teacher hung an African American doll from a projector screen’s pulldown string.
Nice while it lasted. Remember Russia’s pledge to scale back military operations in two key locations in Ukraine? Russian forces pounded those areas just hours later.
■ CNN: “Putin’s war has triggered an exodus out of Russia—but the escape options are shrinking.”
‘GQP.’ That’s Gov. Pritzker’s shorthand—as in the “Grand QAnon Party”—for Illinois Republicans who derailed his appointment of two people to the “incredibly thankless job” of serving on the state parole board.
■ Patch columnist Mark Konkol: Pritzker’s cash is helping to fuel former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s fight to stay out of jail.
‘One of the most egregious violations of media ethics I’ve ever witnessed.’ Journalist Christopher Ingraham is astounded that CBS News has brought Donald Trump’s former chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, on as a contributor—positioning him as an “impartial news analyst without disclosing any of his past or current conflicts of interest.”
■ Democratic National Committee advisor Kurt Bardella, writing in the Los Angeles Times, calls it “an act of journalistic malpractice.”
Last call. Citing the widespread availability of free at-home tests, an end to federal funding, and low demand—an average of fewer than 50 patients per site daily—Illinois tomorrow will close its remaining state-run COVID-19 testing and vaccination locations.
■ The Conversation: “Still coughing after COVID? Here’s why it happens and what to do about it.”
■ Poynter’s Al Tompkins paraphrases the latest FDA guidance on a fourth COVID shot for people 50 or older: “Get one if you want to. It is OK with us.”
Facebook’s TikTok offensive. The Washington Post reveals that Facebook’s parent company, Meta, has been paying one of the biggest Republican consulting concerns in the country—a firm that claims to bring “a right-of-center perspective to solve marketing challenges”—for a campaign to turn the public, and lawmakers in particular, against TikTok.
■ Google’s pouring $1 million into a job-training collective for Chicago’s South and West Sides.
‘I look forward to coming back healthier than I’ve been in a long time!’ Channel 2 meteorologist Ed Curran took to Facebook to reveal his transplant of a kidney from his sister.
‘Inhumane.’ Congressional candidate and Chicago Ald. Pat Dowell condemns public station WTTW-TV’s threat to cut health insurance Friday for technicians on strike.
■ BuzzFeed workers have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike.
‘The problems Byrne faced are the same problems facing Chicago today.’ Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg previews a WTTW documentary on Chicago’s first female mayor.
■ Mayor Byrne granted your Square columnist interviews in 1991 and 1992.
Warm storms. Mild temperatures and heavy rains were in the offing for the Chicago area today.
■ Is your T-shirt wardrobe set for summer? Not without one of these.