Midnight tonight. That’s the deadline for you to see your contribution to the third annual Chicago Independent Media Alliance fundraiser matched 2 for 1 by civic-minded foundations. And if you designate $60 or more specifically to Chicago Public Square, you’ll get a Square T-shirt or cap (your choice). Here’s how.
■ And now the news:
‘Be bold with me.’ Mayor Lightfoot’s pitching a new Chicago budget that, believe it or not, calls for prepaying future pension obligations—without a property tax hike.
■ A Tribune editorial: Good.
We’re No. 1—again. For the sixth year in a row, readers of Condé Nast Traveler have voted Chicago the best big city in the U.S.
■ Plus, as Block Club Chicago reports, the West Loop is likely to get private security after at least two attempted kidnappings.
‘If I would’ve waited, she wouldn’t be here.’ A 49-year-old Naples, Florida, man tells The Washington Post how he swam a half-mile to save his mom—who uses a wheelchair and was trapped in her home by Hurricane Ian, with water rising to her chest.
■ Ian’s Florida death toll has passed 100.
■ The fire chief in what once was a vacation paradise, Sanibel Island, reports “alligators running around and … snakes all over the place.”
Candidates Behaving Badly Dept.
■ The Daily Beast reports that Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker, who’s said he wants to ban abortion completely, paid for a girlfriend’s abortion—and that she has the receipts and a “get well” card to prove it.
■ Jezebel: Scientific experiments conducted by Pennsylvania’s Republican Senate pick, Mehmet Oz, killed more than 300 dogs.
■ A Republican running for Minnesota governor is spewing crap about schoolkids using litter boxes.
■ Columnist Rex Huppke: Time to “call the MAGA movement what it is. … They’re not a political movement. They’re a dangerous and swiftly worsening cult.”
Zelle hell. A new U.S. Senate report cites a growing problem of fraud and scams on the banking industry’s answer to Venmo.
■ The Sun-Times last week: Neo-bank apps like Chime Financial face thousands of consumer complaints.
Get BOOsted! The White House COVID response coordinator says those eligible for one of the new bivalent booster shots should get it by Halloween …
■ … but a new survey concludes half of Americans haven’t heard about the boosters.
‘The Onion now enjoys a daily readership of 4.3 trillion and has grown into the single most powerful and influential organization in human history.’ The Onion has filed a satirical—but real, and persuasive—amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, in defense of an Ohio man who says his First Amendment rights were violated when he was arrested for creating a fake Facebook page that looked like the local police department’s site.
■ Read the whole 23-page filing—which concludes, in part: “The Onion intends to continue its socially valuable role bringing the disinfectant of sunlight into the halls of power. … And it would vastly prefer that sunlight not to be measured out to its writers in 15-minute increments in an exercise yard.”
‘With the type of bullshit that’s coming out nowadays, you really should know where your news is coming from.’ Veteran Chicago journalist Dave Hoekstra talks about his new book, Beacons in the Darkness, profiling newspapers that have been locally owned for decades.
■ Columnist Eric Zorn’s readers escalate a debate over the value and credibility of the crime news website CWBChicago.
No problem. Retired astronaut James Lovell’s sold his Lake Forest home for the full asking price.
■ In 1987, Lovell recalled his return to earth after the Apollo 8 mission: “After we came back ... we got sued.”
‘A must-see piece of living history.’ Critic Richard Roeper gives 3 1/2 stars to Punch 9 for Harold Washington, a new documentary about the rise of Chicago’s first Black mayor.
■ And here’s that time Washington recorded an introduction to ’XRT’s newscasts.
■ Rest in peace, former ’XRT music director Bob Gelms.
Chicago Public Square mailbag.
■ A reader writes of frustration with “horrible cable. … Looking to change, but aren’t sure how to do it. … Any resources you can recommend for us to educate ourselves?” Square’s answer included these resources: Consumer Reports and tech journalist Jared Newman’s free email newsletter Cord Cutter Weekly. Because viewing and data preferences can vary so widely, one size won’t fit all. But your Square columnist opted for internet from Comcast and TV services from YouTube TV. And YouTube offers a $15 discount on the first bill to new customers referred by existing customers—who also get a discount. If you want one of those referral links, email YT@ChicagoPublicSquare.com.
■ Reader Barry Koehler takes issue with an item linked from yesterday’s edition—about Republican Governors Association ads that ask: “Where should GOP governors send Biden’s buses of illegal immigrants?” He writes: “They are here legally, seeking asylum—at least those sent to Martha’s Vineyard are. It would’ve been nice if the article bothered to point that important fact out. Otherwise, it just reaffirms a BS Republican talking point. … I just wish that, if the term illegal is going to be attached wrongly to migrants, the reporter would point that out at least once.”