R.I.P., Sun-Times paywall. Now owned by nonprofit WBEZ parent Chicago Public Media, the paper’s following public radio’s lead—making its online content free for “nothing more than an email address” …
■ … but asking everyone to help with (um, this may ring a bell) voluntary contributions.
■ It’s a move the Sun-Times’ new executive editor discussed in a Square podcast over the summer (at 18:15 here).
■ This vaults the paper into the ranks of “most favored nations” for Square linkage—to spare you paywall pain.
Ready to rumble. Tonight marks the first debate between Gov. Pritzker and his challenger, Darren Bailey.
■ Politico’s Shia Kapos previews five issues to watch.
■ As Chicago trims the number of polling places for November, the Tribune reports, most of the city’s residents will be voting someplace new.
■ Early voting at Chicago’s downtown “supersites” begins Friday.
■ Ready to dive into the ballot? Here’s the Square voter guide.
■ PolitiFact: Expect results on election night to be delayed—as usual.
■ Popular Information: Anonymous donors are dominating the 2022 midterm elections.
‘Disparage them with personal attacks.’ That’s the way the Trib let reactionary propagandist Dan Proft characterize Democrats’ campaign playbook in an opinion piece this week …
■ … but Trib veteran Eric Zorn had no trouble unearthing plenty of personal disparagement by Proft—“body-shaming JB Pritzker.”
■ Streetsblog Chicago co-editor John Greenfield has launched a Twitter account specifically to keep tabs on Proft …
■ … and Proft promptly blocked it.
■ If you’ve gotten a robocall from ex-ABC 7 political reporter Charles Thomas shilling for Proft’s political action committee People Who Play By The Rules, Greenfield explains why.
■ Here’s an embarrassing moment from a decade ago, when your Square columnist and Thomas were covering the news side-by-side.
‘It kills us.’ Ken Dunn, whom the Trib’s Nara Schoenberg describes as the founding father of Chicago recycling, accuses the city of trashing his North Park Village Recycling Station—even removing shelves of free books and toys for kids.
■ Back in the ’80s—long before curbside recycling—Dunn used to swing by the alley door of WXRT’s old studios at 4949 W. Belmont Ave. to collect lots and lots of old newspapers.
■ WTTW News picks through the facts of Chicago’s lousy recycling record.
■ But, hey, this weekend’s Chicago Marathon will give those who cross the finish line “self-destructing” plastic bags.
‘Not just responsible, but transformative.’ Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s proposed budget carries no new taxes …
■ … but she says the county needs to hire many more workers.
■ Beginning today, county residents can apply for $500 a month in financial aid for two years.
■ Lightfoot Preckwinkle calls it “the largest publicly funded guaranteed income initiative in American history.”
‘Anti-police sentiment expressed by this particular offender has us all concerned.’ That’s Chicago Police Supt. David Brown on the police shooting and wounding of a man who walked into a police station yesterday.
■ It’s the second time in two weeks a Chicago police station was the scene of a shooting.
■ WBEZ: A Chicago cop trainer got probation for shooting an unarmed teen driver.
■ The Onion: “Cop Has Weird Feeling He Forgot To Cover Something Up.”
Requiem for red-light rolls? In what could be a sign of things to come amid rising pedestrian and cycling deaths, Washington, D.C., is set to become the first U.S. city in 80 years to ban right turns on red.
■ New safety measures are on the way for a main thoroughfare into and out of downtown Chicago.
Game of chicken. Tyson Foods is yanking 1,000 jobs from the Chicago area.
■ But Amazon’s posted 3,500 openings in Illinois …
■ … even as it freezes hiring on its retail business’ corporate side.
Save your pumpkins. A professor of mycology and plant pathology explains how to keep your squash from getting squishy.
‘This was his final flight and there was something he wanted to do before retirement.’ The Associated Press has the story of a pilot suing Southwest Airlines, her union and a former colleague who pleaded guilty last year to dead-bolting the cockpit door in-flight and stripping naked in front of her.
■ For the first time in 20 years, NASA sent a (fully clothed) Russian cosmonaut into space.
Michelle + Dave. When Michelle Obama brings her book tour to the Chicago Theatre in December, she’ll bring along her own inquisitor: David Letterman.
A Square public service announcement …
‘Most important election in history? This time they’re right!’ That’s the topic as The Nation’s national affairs correspondent John Nichols speaks—online and in-person—Oct. 9 at Chicago’s Third Unitarian Church (just off the Green Line’s Austin stop). To join online, call 773-626-9385 or email thirdunitarianchurch@gmail.com.
… brought to you by Square Boosters David and Mena Boulanger.