‘Horrific.’ That’s Gov. Pritzker’s word for a dust storm that yesterday engulfed vehicles and blinded drivers along I-55 through Central Illinois—causing crashes that left at least six dead and dozens hurt.
■ That two-mile stretch just south of Springfield finally reopened early today.
■ Expect more of this as Earth heats up (2017 link).
■ Speaking of which: A new study warns that “Ultra-Rich Private Jet Travel Costs the Rest of Us and Burns Up Our Planet.”
■ The Onion: “Ominous New Report Just Lists Places To Hide.”
‘We just are not equipped to do this.’ The president of Chicago’s police union is among those sounding an alarm about the city’s dispatch of homeless immigrants to police stations.
■ Unswayed by Mayor Lightfoot’s threatening letter, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vows to send more this way.
■ Lightfoot’s reportedly planning to turn the old South Shore High School building into a migrant shelter.
Who’s riding the CTA? Not its president, much, according to records obtained by Block Club Chicago.
■ Cops want the public’s help identifying two guys who last week robbed CTA passengers at gunpoint outside the Racine Blue Line station.
Exit interviews. Snubbing Chicago’s newspapers, Lightfoot’s granted just a few farewell sit-downs with local media …
■ … telling Channel 7 that she’s “done with electoral politics for myself” …
■ … and, on Newsradio WBBM, dismissing criticism of her “abrasiveness”—especially considering the volatility for which her predecessors were known.
■ The Tribune’s Rick Kogan praises the mayor for a “parting gift”: Three new libraries.
Cat call. The Illinois House has sent the Senate a bill to severely limit the practice of declawing cats.
■ Insider: “As long as humans have been sailing the seas, cats have been by their side.”
‘Should CNN really host a Donald Trump town hall?’Poynter media writer Tom Jones’ answer is “absolutely”—as it will, a week from Wednesday night.
■ A Tribune editorial: “Enough with fake newspapers where propaganda masquerades as news.”
Chicago’s ‘finance exodus.’ Investment banking firm Guggenheim Partners—a firm that manages more than $300 billion—is reportedly abandoning most of its pandemic-closed offices in the city and considering moving its base to Florida.
■ U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the U.S. could default on its debt as early as June 1 …
■ …threatening millions of Americans’ jobs, benefits and financial security.
Journalism trailblazer. Linda Lenz, founder and publisher of the groundbreaking Catalyst publication on education in Chicago, is dead at 77.
■ As news and public affairs director at WNUA-FM in the ’90s, your Chicago Public Square columnist was honored to bring Lenz and Catalyst to the radio monthly.
‘Thank the Galaxy we have the Guardians.’ Critic Richard Roeper gives three stars to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 …
■ … but The Verge’s Charles Pulliam-Moore says “its saccharine attempts at sentimentality and a by-the-numbers plot keep it from ever reaching lift-off.”
■ Hollywood writers today were set to strike.
%20(1).JPG)
A Chicago Public Square advertiser
This Saturday at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, dance maker Barak adé Soleil premieres a new work, SHIFT.
On May 6, a promenade of disability community members move through inaccessible museum staircases, challenging simplistic depictions of Black disabled bodies in real time.
Museum admission is included. Get tickets now.