Strike derailed. President Biden said a tentative deal would avert a railway labor walkout that threatened to strangle interstate commerce and cripple the economy …
■ … and so Metra has un-canceled its service for this evening. (2020 photo: Harry Carmichael in the Chicago Public Square Flickr group.)
■ Amtrak’s working on it.
■ In City Council testimony yesterday, the Chicago Transit Authority ’fessed up to major staff shortages.
■ Its president is catching flak for skipping the hearing.
■ Prosecutors: A suspect in a deadly CTA station robbery said the victim “might still be alive” if he hadn’t resisted.
Guilty, guilty, guilty. Guilty, guilty, guilty. Singer R. Kelly has been convicted again—this time in Chicago—on three counts each of child pornography and enticing a minor …
■ … but his ex-business manager got off on charges of coordinating for decades the cover-up of Kelly’s misdeeds.
■ The Kelly verdict is the culmination of journalist Jim DeRogatis’ relentless coverage of Kelly’s crimes since 2002.
■ DeRogatis on a Chicago Public Square podcast last year: “Every system in this city failed … to protect these young black girls.”
‘This represents a major shift.’ The Washington Post reports that insurance companies—on the hook for the rising cost of cop misconduct settlements—are forcing police departments to change.
■ Last night in Chicago, two different shootings wounded 3- and 8-year-old kids.
‘Our city is in crisis.’ Even as he announced plans to expand McDonald’s corporate footprint in Chicago, the company’s CEO warned that other corporations’ departures reflect justified concerns about crime.
■ The founder of the Patagonia outdoor apparel and gear maker is donating his company in its entirety to the fight against climate change.
■ Economist Umair Haque: “Climate change is the express train to hell—and we’re on it.”
■ Chicago’s sunsets will precede 7 p.m. beginning tomorrow.
‘Get a load of the weirdos running for office in Illinois.’ Esquire’s Charlie Pierce turns a critical eye on Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey, “a nuclear-powered gaffe machine.”
■ Bailey yesterday visited the scene of a South Side mass shooting to make the case that Gov. Pritzker isn’t doing enough to prevent violence in Chicago’s Black communities.
■ Reversing an earlier decision, Bailey has released his tax returns—confirming that voters in November will choose between a millionaire and a billionaire.
■ Columnist Eric Zorn on the Republicans’ attorney general candidate: “DeVore is DeSpicable.”
Texas’ Illinois ‘disaster.’ Pritzker has issued a disaster declaration and called up the National Guard to help care for the asylum-seekers Texas has dispatched to Illinois.
■ As of Wednesday, the tally was 11 buses, bearing more than 500 refugees.
■ Without advance notice, Florida’s Republican governor yesterday shipped 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard …
■ … a stunt that columnist Will Leitch says backfired.
Welcome, Veep. Vice President Kamala Harris will turn the spotlight on abortion rights tomorrow in a visit to the University of Illinois at Chicago.
■ Wired: “The end of Roe will spark a digital civil war.”
Riot Fest dawns. Axios Chicago previews the three-day music festival that has enraged neighbors.
■ The Chicago Park District could put the breaks brakes on future “mega-fests.”
Things You Can’t Always Trust Dept.
■ New research from NewsGuard concludes that TikTok’s search engine is pumping toxic misinformation—about COVID-19 and more—to its young users.
■ An epidemiologist tells Bloomberg a reported decline in the accuracy of at-home COVID tests is almost certainly due to earlier testing: “People tend to stick a swab in their nose these days before the virus has had a chance to grow.”
■ Beware this scam on PayPal: “Invoices” disguised as “purchases.”
‘No serious injuries were found.’ Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy survived a car collision yesterday in Kyiv.
■ From March: Why Putin hasn’t had Zelenskyy assassinated.
Happy Democracy Day. Celebrate responsibly.
■ The Democracy Fund: Journalism is good for democracy.
CNN shakeup. Don Lemon’s leaving nighttime to wake up early.
■ TV critic Aaron Barnhart tracks the rise and fall of the TV news magazine.
‘I’m sorry I did do that.’ ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel last night apologized to the creator of ABC’s Abbott Elementary, Quinta Brunson, for a bit that kept him on-stage, playing comatose, during her Emmy acceptance speech.
■ That came after she crashed his monologue in retaliation.
‘Sincerely, don’t buy the book.’ An acclaimed ex-Sports Illustrated writer who published a glowing biography of ex-football player Brett Favre is telling people, “Leave it. … I prefer … Favre shuffle off into the abyss” …
■ … his reaction to news that Favre sleazed his way into welfare funds supposed to have helped the nation’s poorest residents.
Thanks. Mike Weiland made this edition better.