‘A brand new Chicago.’ With a stirring address that nevertheless acknowledged the challenges ahead, Brandon Johnson has taken office as the city’s 57th mayor.
■ Columnist Eric Zorn says Johnson avoided “the mistake his predecessor Lori Lightfoot made.”
■ He’s pledging to reopen the city’s shuttered mental health clinics.
■ The ceremony was thick with religion—of many flavors.
■ His first four orders included creation of a new role: Deputy mayor for immigrant, migrant and refugee rights.
■ Hundreds lined up to congratulate Johnson at City Hall.
■ An inaugural ball drew hundreds last night.
A new City Council, too. It’s the city’s—and the nation’s—gayest yet.
■ The Sun-Times serves up profiles and contact information for all of ’em.
Not so sunny. A lawsuit accuses Sun Badger Solar of swindling dozens of Chicagoans who’d paid thousands to convert their homes to solar energy.
■ Get ready for a big temp plunge tonight in Chicago.
■ The Biden administration’s planning to offer conservationists the same leasing rights on federal lands now enjoyed by oil companies and cattle ranchers.
‘Ask for a refund from wherever you were brainwashed at.’ A benighted reader of columnist Neil Steinberg accuses Steinberg and other “regressive socialists” of hypocrisy.
■ After billionaire Holocaust survivor George Soros’ investment fund dumped its stake in Elon Musk’s Tesla, Musk took to Twitter to compare Soros to X-Men villain (and sometimes hero) Magneto.
■ Falling short of Donald Trump’s prediction that it’d reveal the “crime of the century,” a special prosecutor’s investigation concludes that the FBI flubbed its probe of ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Not just Hollywood. The Writers Guild of America strike is making itself felt in Chicago …
■ … but the guild says it’ll give a pass to the Tony Awards.
Homeless. Chicago’s Museum of Broadcast Communications—sponsor for the nation’s only Radio Hall of Fame—has moved out of 360 N. State St. and now is seeking a new place for all its stuff.
■ The museum’s endured many a controversy over the years (2016 link).
‘The story involves a male character … expressing feelings for another male character.’ Popular Information: A Florida teacher’s under state investigation for showing fifth-graders a Disney movie.
■ The Lever: As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has campaigned against “woke” investments by his state employees’ retirement funds, he’s overseen a billion-dollar transfer of retirement dollars into underperforming firms linked to some of the Republican Party’s biggest donors.
■ USA Today columnist Rex Huppke: DeSantis “did the white thing Monday, signing a bill that pulls all state funding from diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the state’s public universities.”
■ The Onion: “DeSantis Holds Press Conference To Slurp Custard Off The Ground.”
News under attack. On this, primary day in the Philadelphia mayor’s race, The Philadelphia Inquirer closed its offices, citing “anomalous activity on select computer systems.”
■ It’s the paper’s largest disruption in decades.
‘Launch a digital news site with as few ideas as possible.’ That’s New York University journalism prof Jay Rosen’s perception of the debut of a new news site, The Messenger.
■ Poynter’s Tom Jones: “The Messenger was met with scorching criticism.”
Every breath you take. The Conversation: Genetic sequencing technology is advanced enough that identifiable information about your gender, genetic ancestry and health risks can be pulled straight from the air.
■ It’s the end of the road for phone notifications when you’ve been exposed to someone with COVID-19.
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