‘The man should be in prison already.’ Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg is astonished at the muted response to Donald Trump’s call for “termination” of the Constitution.
■ Journalists Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner: “He wants to destroy the very foundation of our country.”
■ The Bulwark’s Dennis Aftergut: “Trump Stands in the Middle of Fifth Avenue and Shoots the Constitution.”
■ Aftergut’s colleague Charlie Sykes: “In the last two weeks, Donald Trump pledged solidarity with the Jan. 6 rioters, dined with two Holocaust-denying fans of Adolf Hitler, and called for the termination of the Constitution. … No wonder the right would rather talk about Hunter Biden’s dick pix.”
‘It wasn’t random.’ A North Carolina sheriff says a criminal act—damage by gunfire—took out two power substations, leaving tens of thousands without electricity and closing schools today.
Georgia on our mind. The degree to which Democrats control the U.S. Senate—and to which they have to play ball with regressive Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema—is on the line as Georgia voters decide Tuesday between incumbent Raphael Warnock and his Trump-backed Republican challenger, Herschel Walker.
■ Early balloting in the runoff has attracted first-time voters and broken records.
■ The AP: What to watch in the results.
CTA safety questioned. Raising concern about long hours’ damage to employee performance, WTTW’s analysis shows the Chicago Transit Authority increasingly relying on overtime to cover for a severe staff shortage.
■ Streetsblog Chicago asks: What kind of CTA rider are you—one who checks the schedule or one who just just shows up, figuring a ride will eventually show up? (October photo: Seth Anderson in the Chicago Public Square Flickr group.)
2 hours, 10 armed robberies. After a particularly violent run on the North and West Sides, police are advising Chicagoans to beware miscreants who’ve been striking people on the head with guns.
■ The Sun-Times: 122 candidates for Chicago’s new civilian councils overseeing the police fall into two sharply different camps.
Table set for cash. Chicago’s landed a $10 million settlement from Uber Eats and Postmates over a series of complaints, including listing restaurants on their platforms without the restaurants’ consent.
■ Restaurants have until Jan. 29 to file for their piece of the pie.
■ Workers at an Evanston Starbucks have filed a petition for a vote to let them form a union.
■ Popular Information calls a provision that Kroger (parent company to Chicago’s Mariano’s and Food 4 Less grocery stores) hopes will persuade regulators to let it acquire Jewel parent Albertsons—an offer to sell off a few hundred stores, post-merger—“a spinoff designed to fail.”
Year’s earliest sunset. It’s coming to Chicago Thursday.
■ The Conversation: Shorter days can lower people’s moods—but simple measures can help.
‘Imagine an entire system based on continuously recycling stuff.’ Issuing a holiday plea—“I for one don’t want anything more, thank you”—columnist and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich envisions an economy in which “all the stuff people no longer want is continuously recirculated to people who want it.”
■ A Tribune editorial concludes that “American consumers are sending a sensible message: Enjoy the holiday season, but not too much.”
■ WTTW sees reasons for holiday optimism among small Chicago businesses.
From Ottawa, Illinois, to Sesame Street. Illinois-born Bob McGrath, one of the four original stars of the show when it debuted in 1969, is dead at 90.
■ Robbins native Keke Palmer, who hosted what The A.V. Club calls Saturday Night Live’s best episode of the season, took the opportunity to reveal she’s pregnant.
■ ABC has yanked a couple of Good Morning America anchors for an evaluation of their recently disclosed romantic relationship.
Down to the last week. Nominations close Friday in the Reader’s Best of Chicago poll.
■ Still time to give Square a nod for best newsletter and best blog.
■ After that, you can cast a ballot in Men Yell at Me columnist Lyz Lenz’ quest to determine her Dingus of the Year.