Zip ties and duct tape. Sources say the man alleged to have attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, as he slept in their San Francisco home came prepared.
■ Chicagoland Pro-Israel Political Update columnist Steven Richard Sheffey: “The parallels between the rise of fascism in 1930s Germany and the fascism of today’s Republican Party are undeniable. … Political violence and intimidation is a hallmark of fascism.”
■ Popular Information: “Since September 5, Republicans have spent about $37 million [on] TV ads attacking Pelosi.”
■ Politico: The one congressional Republican not to condemn the attack was Illinois’ Mary Miller.
■ Columnist Will Bunch slams The New York Times for downplaying the Pelosi attack: “Editors of the nation’s most-read legacy newspaper rated Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, with two articles, and developments around the U.S. economy and Britain’s new prime minister, as well as the deaths of rocker Jerry Lee Lewis and Harlem minister Calvin Butts, as more or at least equally important as an assault on our democracy.”
■ Musk yesterday tweeted a bullshit article about Pelosi—before deleting it.
Twitter quitters. Columnist Will Leitch: Musk bought Twitter “specifically so more people could tweet things … like what he tweeted. … It’s about to multiply. So you need to get off the site. Get off it right now.”
■ In the days since Musk cemented his control over Twitter, a growing number of celebrities have broken up with the service.
■ Chicago Public Square’s backing away.
■ Need a Twitter alternative? Here are some.
■ And here are tips on what to do before you leave.
■ The Verge: “Twitter is planning to start charging $20 per month for [blue checkmark] verification, and if the employees building it don’t meet their deadline, they’ll be fired.”
■ Musk’s team reportedly worked through the weekend on plans to lay off a quarter of the company’s workers.
‘Bailey brings crime to CTA.’ Axios Chicago’s Justin Kaufmann says the Republicans’ law-and-order candidate for Illinois governor has been breaking the law by campaigning on train platforms.
■ Political analyst Lauren Martinchek is conflicted by Barack Obama’s 2022 campaign rhetoric: “His speeches are excellent … but … where was this energy when he had power?”
■ Poll workers across the country are bracing for tension and conflict on Election Day.
■ Ready to make your decision? Check the Square voter guide.
‘We shouldn’t hold people captive in shitty conditions simply because they can’t buy their way out. That is what Spirit Airlines is for.’ HBO’s John Oliver calls out law enforcement officials and politicians lying about bail systems that keep the innocent in jail …
■ … citing Mayor Lightfoot as one of those “only too happy to blur the line between charge and conviction.”
■ WBEZ defuses incendiary rhetoric about Illinois’ massive “SAFE-T” criminal justice reform law.
■ CWBChicago: A former prosecutor who quit in July—expressing “zero confidence” in Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s administration—has taken a new job with a firm that defends Chicago cops against criminal charges filed by Foxx’s office.
■ A cop caught making racist comments on Facebook has retired.
‘Like a pressure wave spreading out from a blast zone.’ A data set shared with FiveThirtyEight shows that, in the two months after the Supreme Court decision to reverse abortion rights, thousands of Americans crossed state lines seeking abortions—and that, in that same period, legal abortions nationwide fell 10,000 short of previous expectations.
■ On the court’s docket today: The future of affirmative action in higher education …
■ … and The Washington Post was live-blogging the proceedings.
‘At my age and stage in life, this diagnosis is not to be taken lightly.’ Veteran journalist Dan Rather—who turns 91 today—has COVID.
■ A COVID outbreak shut down Shanghai Disney—with visitors stuck inside.
■ A spike in young kids hospitalized with RSV—respiratory syncytial virus—may be COVID’s doing.
■ The Conversation: How hip are you to the notion that what you flush is subject to wastewater surveillance?
‘Dangerous Halloween candy.’ Cartoonist Gemma Correll has a list:
■ No joke: The Cook County Department of Animal and Rabies Control has released a map highlighting recent rabies-positive bat sightings.
■ The forecast: Light rain should move on before prime begging hours.
A ‘clear violation.’ A Loyola University Chicago law professor is among those sounding an alarm in a ProPublica investigation: “Churches Are Breaking the Law by Endorsing in Elections, Experts Say. The IRS Looks the Other Way.”
Sunny assessment. The Tribune’s Nara Schoenberg takes a critical look at confusing “community solar” programs—and concludes they are indeed helping Illinoisans cut planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions while saving on their electric bills.
■ Consult the Citizens Utility Board guide to “Solar in the Community.”
Patty Reilly-Murphy is a Chicago Public Square advertiser.
Rad hatter. Fashion-forward Chicago Public Square reader Scott Watson sports one of those new Square caps—now available simply for purchase …
■ … or get one free this week if you support Square at the Booster level or higher.
■ Of note: The worker-owned sports website Defector reports taking in $3.8 million during its second year—and nearly every dollar came from readers.
Square mailbag. Reader Barry Koehler writes about Thursday’s edition and a Central Illinois radio station bringing the right-wing misinformation effort local:
“Bloomington/Normal is my home. … My advice to Chicago-area residents: You better show up at the polls next month. The downstate hatred for Pritzker is strong and it’s everywhere around me. … We need our northern Democrats to show up to counter what will be a strong turnout by downstate conservatives if we expect to keep Gov. Pritzker in office.”
“Bloomington/Normal is my home. … My advice to Chicago-area residents: You better show up at the polls next month. The downstate hatred for Pritzker is strong and it’s everywhere around me. … We need our northern Democrats to show up to counter what will be a strong turnout by downstate conservatives if we expect to keep Gov. Pritzker in office.”