‘Knock-down, drag-out.’ That’s how Politico’s Shia Kapos characterizes a Chicago mayoral debate broadcast yesterday on WCPT-AM …
■ … at which crime and policing took center stage.
■ Streetsblog Chicago: Just about all the candidates except Lightfoot agreed the CTA is in trouble …
■ … which is our cue to flash back to May 2020, when Lightfoot dismissed as “racist” a question from Chicago Public Square about the notion that the pandemic could trigger a public transit “death spiral” (39:43 in this video).
■ Newly revealed records show that Lightfoot’s deputy campaign manager emailed at least 73 Chicago Public Schools teachers asking them to recruit students to work for the Lightfoot campaign …
■ … and that, hours after a school official notified the campaign that such solicitations weren’t allowed, the campaign publicly defended its initiative as “common practice.”
■ The mayor today reportedly was ready to back a ban on natural-gas stoves for new construction in Chicago.
■ The mayor was set to address the City Club of Chicago at noon—with video to livestream here.
■ Candidate Kam Buckner spoke yesterday, and you can see that here.
■ Ready to vote early? Here’s where.
■ But first check the updating Square voter guide.
‘Acts that defy humanity.’ Memphis’ police chief is warning people to brace for tonight’s release of video—on YouTube, in four parts—showing the police beating that left a 29-year-old Black man dead.
■ The cops, who are all Black, face charges of second-degree murder.
‘$1.4 million of pandemic relief checks to a single address.’ A Sun-Times exposé finds clusters of government cash went to the same Chicago locations.
■ Your Local Epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina offers an overview of the FDA’s move toward annual COVID-19 boosters.
‘He tries not to dwell on what’s under his feet.’ The interim director of Illinois’ Dickson Mounds Museum—the first tribal citizen on the museum’s payroll—talks to ProPublica about the thousands of indigenous people whose remains remain in the state’s custody.
■ It’s part of an ongoing series, The Repatriation Project: The Delayed Return of Native Remains.
‘Shakespeare is just collateral damage.’ Esquire’s Charlie Pierce launches a rant against a transphobic Nebraska bill that would outlaw the presentation of, among others, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It and Twelfth Night.
■ The FDA reportedly plans to relax longstanding restrictions on blood donations by gay men.
Not very ‘Jew-ish’ of him. Patch reports that U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-Malarkey) years ago posted hateful antisemitic remarks on Facebook.
■ Daily Beast: Santos “looks as if he’s trying to prevent at least one thing from leaking: his Spotify account.”
Mr. ChatGPT Goes to Washington. A California congressman used the artificially intelligent chatbot to write a resolution calling for an investigation of artificial intelligence.
■ Amazon’s warned its workers not to share “any Amazon confidential information” with ChatGPT …
■ … but BuzzFeed’s all in.
■ Tribune food critic Nick Kindelsperger challenged ChatGPT to review restaurants.
■ Bloomberg: ChatGPT turns out to be a not-bad law or business student.
■ Radio news veteran Nick Young assigned it to retell Goodnight Moon in the style of Joseph Conrad.
■ Artist Chaz Hutton asked it to envision cartoons and then he drew them.
■ Want to take ChatGPT for a spin yourself? Here you go (but you may be asked to wait because of surging demand).
‘We need the government to get out of the way.’ A Tribune editorial: “Nonalcoholic drinks should be freed from the Beer Industry Fair Dealing Act; there is no logical reason for that regulation, except for lining the pockets of current players.”
■ A Chicago woman’s suing the maker of Fireball Cinnamon Whisky, complaining its mini-bottles sold in gas stations and convenience stores contain no whisky.
Out of Jeopardy! Three-time Jeopardy! winner (and Illinois Math and Science Academy grad) Yogesh Raut is drawing fan ire for a Facebook post criticizing the show.
■ Columnist Neil Steinberg says Donald Trump’s return to Facebook “wouldn’t be a problem if … he were already in prison.”
■ The Onion again: “Trump Returns To Facebook After 2 Years To Find Everyone Engaged And Having Babies.”
Vengeance is yours. Here’s hoping you can beat Chicago Public Square’s disappointing 50% on this week’s eight-question news quiz prepared by veteran Jeopardy! champ Fritz Holznagel.
■ You know who gets to see the quiz a day early? Square Advocates.
■ One more question: Have you voted yet in the Reader’s Best of Chicago poll?
Adjective objection. TV critic Aaron Barnhart takes issue with yesterday’s Square’s characterization of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis—under fire from Gov. Pritzker—as “demagogic”: “Pritzker’s demagogic, too. ‘Darren Bailey is a threat to democracy (whose campaign I boosted with millions of dollars of attack ads on his more reasonable primary opponents).’”
■ Reader comments are always welcome. Email anytime.
■ Pam Spiegel made this edition better.