‘This is the second mass shooting that I have now lived through.’ A Michigan State University senior who survived the Newtown, Connecticut, massacre as a sixth grader on Dec. 14, 2012, took to TikTok to share her perspective on Monday’s MSU attack.
■ The 43-year-old gunman, who killed himself, had no known ties to the university.
■ University alerts urged students to “Run, Hide, Fight.”
■ Slate’s Nitish Pahwa, a Michigan State alumnus: “A world that seemed hopelessly violent to me when I first walked by the Red Cedar [River] only seems more so to those who are now scared of even going to class.”
■ Charlie Pierce at Esquire: “We have accepted living like this.”
■ Michigan Democrats, in full control of that state’s government for the first time in decades, are moving to speed up gun control legislation.
■ Developing coverage: A white supremacist convicted of gunning down 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket last May was removed from a courtroom today after someone in the audience for his sentencing rushed at him.
‘Negligence and incompetence.’ A previously secret report from Chicago’s inspector general blasts the developer and three officials of the city’s Buildings and Public Health departments for the demolition dust storm that smothered the Little Village neighborhood in 2020.
■ The report recommended disciplinary action against those three—only one of whom got a written reprimand, as another got a promotion.
Thanks. And no thanks.
‘This is absurd.’ Gov. Mike DeWine is calling on Congress to overhaul regulations that let a train that derailed in rural Ohio—with devastating consequences—be considered non-hazardous.
■ Columnist Will Bunch condemns the Biden administration and the nation’s news media for mostly ignoring the story …
■ … but Popular Information grudgingly credits Fox magpie Tucker Carlson for his late-to-the-party acknowledgment that the Environmental Protection Agency is underfunded.
■ Norfolk Southern’s pledged $1 million to help the community.
■ Cartoonist Mattie Lubchansky is not impressed.
‘Choose wisely.’ The Tribune editorial board, which isn’t making endorsements in the Feb. 28 election of Chicago’s groundbreaking civilian police district councils, nevertheless offers guidance for picking the best candidates.
■ The Reader and South Side Weekly have created a guide to the council elections.
■ That and much more can be found at the Chicago Public Square voter guide.
‘The best place in the nation to raise young children.’ That’s the vision for Illinois that Gov. Pritzker will lay out in his budget address today …
■ … including $75 million to fund preschool for 5,000 kids in need.
■ Politico: After a COVID-centric first term, “the governor is returning to a long-held interest in early childhood education.”
■ Columnist Julie Vassilatos reflects on the upcoming “triggering” 10th anniversary of the Chicago school board’s decision to shutter 50 of the city’s schools.
‘If you weren’t considering that he’s probably not at all mentally sound … this probably removes any and all doubt.’ Columnist Lauren Martinchek assesses reports that Donald Trump wants to bring back firing squads and group executions.
■ Vanity Fair’s Bess Levin: “Trump is a disturbed individual.”
■ Stephen Colbert on former UN Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s Republican presidential declaration: “The only way this could make a smaller splash is if Haley had whispered it into a bowl of soup.”
■ The Onion: “Adam Schiff Seeks Dianne Feinstein’s Endorsement By Playing Into Delusion He’s High School Sweetheart Who Died In WWII.”
■ Elon Musk’s Tesla will open thousands of its electric vehicle chargers across the country to other companies’ vehicles.
■ Platformer: Musk created a special system that shows Twitter users his tweets first.
■ YouTube’s reportedly cut its small team of experts policing misinformation down to just one.
The end’s near. Voting in the Chicago Reader’s Best of Chicago poll closes at noon, so this is your last call to support Square for Best Email Newsletter and Best Blog.
■ Tomorrow, we begin recognition of those whose financial support helps keep Square coming. If you’d like that roll call to include you, you have time.