Byrne, baby. Byrne. After nine years of traffic misery, today brings ceremonial completion of the reconstruction of the heart of Chicago’s expressway system, the Jane Byrne Interchange …
■ A Sun-Times editorial: “The City Council can do an immeasurable civic good … by giving the green signal to … the long-awaited 5.6-mile extension of the CTA Red Line” …
■ … for which Block Club Chicago reports the CTA’s primed to buy land.
■ A Tribune editorial: If the RTA—the CTA’s parent agency—wants more money, it needs to rethink how it provides service in a post-pandemic era.
■ Also before the City Council today: Near-final approval of a Chicago casino district.
‘Good riddance.’ The Reader’s Ben Joravsky bids a not-so-fond farewell to retiring indicted Ald. Ed Burke.
■ One of Mayor Lightfoot’s supporters is sounding an alarm about cash support for mayoral challenger Rep. Chuy Garcia from indicted cryptokid Sam Bankman-Fried.
‘Blame Chicago’s failure to address homelessness.’ Streetsblog Chicago editor John Greenfield notes that Chicago’s widely recognized “Walking Man,” Joseph Kromelis, might still be alive had his home not been converted to upscale housing—pushing him into living on the street.
■ Updated charges were pending against the man accused of fatally burning Kromelis as he slept on Lower Wabash in May.
■ The city’s reportedly agreed to stop removing those orange tents donated to the homeless.
‘I respect John’s decision to resign.’ Sun-Times Executive Editor Jennifer Kho responds to the item most tapped (by far) in yesterday’s Square, Eric Zorn’s account of columnist John Fountain’s choice to quit the paper:
■ “I wish we could have resolved this issue. … My approach is to be highly collaborative with writers, whether they are reporters or columnists, to elevate their voices in the editing process. My goal is to help them not only reach, but also touch, our readers and make their work as impactful as possible. John’s departure is not the outcome any of us wanted. I’ve enjoyed reading his columns and I appreciate his voice and his work to inform our community over 13 years.”
■ From July: A Square interview with Kho.
‘A Chuck E. Cheese of sedition.’ Esquire’s Charlie Pierce says those leaked text messages sent to Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, “are so full of far-right trolls, you’d think it was a Lord of the Rings sequel.”
■ Stephen Colbert: “These members of Congress communicating with Meadows were—and it’s not my place to editorialize—stupid, evil traitors who were trying to do crimes against democracy, for which they should be punished with decades of jail time.”
■ Popular Information: Supreme Court Justice—and cerevisaphile—Brett Kavanaugh spent Friday night partying with a who’s who of the far right.
‘This probably represents the tip of the iceberg.’ The independent Project on Government Oversight: A leaked list shows the Department of Homeland Security —whose mission includes countering domestic violent extremism—has hired hundreds of members of the domestic violent extremist Oath Keepers group.
■ A Chicago City Council member wants hearings on a Chicago cop suspended over his ties to the white nationalist Proud Boys.
■ A jury says a Chicago cop demoted after blowing the whistle on an off-duty officer who shot an unarmed autistic teenager deserves $1 million from the city.
Update your Apple gadgets. A fresh round of software for iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and Macintosh computers brings a raft of new features—including a karaoke music option …
■ Under legal pressure in Europe, Apple reportedly is getting ready to open its walled garden to third-party app stores.
Friendlier skies. United Airlines seeks to add 2,600 jobs in Chicago.
■ The Art Institute’s roster of unionized workers is doubling as nontenured faculty members join.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is a Square advertiser.
The Found’s Chicago Pigeon Pin is just one of the many gift ideas from local artists and designers at the MCA Store. Your purchase at the MCA Store sustains Chicago’s creative ecosystem and supports the museum’s programs and exhibitions as well. Visit in-person and check out the newly opened Forecast Form: Art in the Caribbean Diaspora, 1990s–Today, or shop online now.
Killer weather. As deadly tornadoes and blizzards have blitzed the South and the Great Plains, the Chicago area’s escaping with rain and blustery winds …
■ … but leading up to Christmas: An arctic blast.
■ The Conversation: Pandemic leaps in remote education mean that schools’ snow days are getting rarer.
‘Some of the most dazzling, vibrant and gorgeous images ever seen on screen.’ Critic Richard Roeper gives Avatar: The Way of Water three-and-a-half stars overall, but just two-and-a-half for story.
■ Michael Phillips: “More of a technological win than … a cinematic or narrative one.”