Supt. Brown is leaving town. In what columnist Eric Zorn refers to as “an upraised middle finger” to both finalists for the Chicago mayor’s job, the city’s top cop is quitting …
■ … and moving back to Dallas …
■ … before either of them could deliver on pledges to fire him.
■ A 32-year-old Chicago cop wounded in a shootout with a gunman on the Southwest Side has died.
■ He reportedly had been chasing the suspect in a domestic incident.
‘Democratic civil war.’ Zorn sees the possibility for “illuminating debates” in the unfolding mayoral campaign, in which “the most progressive of the leading contenders … will face the most conservative”—but, he says, “I’m not optimistic.”
■ Gloves were nowhere in sight as Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson came out swinging.
■ The Sun-Times’ Neil Steinberg looks back to Vallas’ 2000 pledge to “discourage all forms of prejudice by others at every opportunity”—a promise Steinberg says Vallas “blithely violated … when he allowed the caustic Fraternal Order of Police to climb into bed with him without a murmur of protest.”
■ Axios Chicago: Although the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce hadn’t backed a candidate, parts of its statement released last night “seem pulled from Vallas’ campaign website.”
‘Cities like … Chicago can use … the remote-work shift to reinvent themselves.’ Insider: “We’re about to experience the Big City Renaissance.”
■ A group founded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is committing $250 million to a Chicago biotech hub.
‘Don’t say [that other stuff, either].’ Popular Information details a Florida Republican lawmaker’s move to expand the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law to, among other things, “ban the use of pronouns that don’t align with a student’s or employee’s sex at birth.”
■ Bess Levin at Vanity Fair: A Texas Republican wants to forbid people from reading online about how to get an abortion.
Speaking of Dallas … The Dallas Morning News has fired a reporter for calling that city’s mayor “bruh” on Twitter.
■ The Middle West Review at the University of Nebraska Press surveys “The Shredding of Midwestern Newspapers,” noting “the once-mighty Chicago Tribune had a newsroom of 670 people in 2006*; now it is about 120.”
‘Extensively drug-resistant.’ Illinois health leaders are flagging a rise in Shigella infections that can trigger inflammatory diarrhea.
■ Your Local Epidemiologist looks ahead to the first RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccines, likely this fall.
■ The Associated Press: Within hours of the Energy Department’s confirmation that a classified report determined—with low confidence—that COVID-19 escaped from a lab, online mentions of conspiracy theories began to rise.
D.C. performance art. Ex-Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger dispatched a team of demonstrators dressed in straightjackets to House offices, wordlessly bearing QR codes …
■ … that linked to a website encouraging lawmakers to “reject conspiracies and stand for truth, courage and integrity.”
■ Surprise: Trump-backed Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. (Hillbilly Elegy) Vance has been working with Democrats on a rail safety bill.
■ Semafor details what those close to Donald Trump refer to as a “soft ban” by Fox on his appearances there.
‘Coachella for people who post on Facebook in all caps.’ Jimmy Fallon hails the start of the Conservative Political Action Conference.
■ Daily Show guest host Hasan Minhaj deleted his Twitter account during last night’s show.
Medical bill warfare. The Arm and a Leg podcast offers counsel on how to dispute emergency room and other charges …
■ … with sample letters to debt collectors—disputing charges, demanding verification and limiting their rights to harass you.
Shovel-ready? Friday could end the Chicago area’s string of relatively good weather luck with the biggest snow of the season …
■ … or maybe it’ll be rain.
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A public service announcement from Square supporter Frank Heitzman:
Saturday afternoon, the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation presents The Vintage Home Show, a comprehensive showcase for remodeling inspiration and advice for historic homes. See exhibits from 20 craftspersons and seminars presented by architects, contractors and owners—and swap ideas with other homeowners. Your $20 ticket also gets you a visit to the recently restored Unity Temple, a National Historic Landmark and World Heritage site.
* One of whom was your Square columnist.