#DeSaster. That hashtag blew up on Twitter after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ hapless campaign launch yesterday on Twitter’s glitch-prone audio service, Spaces.
■ In a laugh-out-loud take from the usually staid New York Times, reporter Matt Flegenheimer recounts “the conference call from hell.”
■ Media watcher Tom Jones calls it “a big Twitter mess.”
■ Once the thing got running, the Los Angeles Times’ Michael Hiltzik describes the general theme as “what my mother used to describe as ‘I like me, who do you like?’”
■ USA Today columnist Rex Huppke: DeSantis’ promise to “Make America Florida” sounds “more like a threat than a campaign slogan.”
■ CNN’s Oliver Darcy: “Rupert Murdoch must have been all smiles.”
■ Politico notes that, although half a dozen Florida men have run for president over the last 50 years, not a one has been elected.
■ Scorecards, get your scorecards: CNN runs down all the Republican presidential candidates so far.
Where will he rest his feet in prison? The guy who put his feet on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk during the 2021 Capitol insurrection faces 4 1/2 years in the slammer.
■ A couple of brothers—one from Chicago, the other from La Grange—have pleaded guilty to assaulting officers that day.
‘Kissinger … has spent half his life lying about his role.’ Documents obtained by The Intercept shine new light on the responsibility ex-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger—who turns 100 Saturday—bears for atrocities committed by U.S. forces in Cambodia.
■ It says one 1973 attack killed many more than previously disclosed.
‘Grace … and plenty of jokes.’ City Hall newsroom dean Fran Spielman praises Mayor Johnson’s performance at his first Chicago City Council meeting, noting that he “even joked about all of the jokes” …
■ He passed his first hurdle, reshaping the council along progressive lines …
■ … but falling short on votes for a plan to address the city’s influx of migrants.
■ R.I.P., alderman. It’s now alderperson.
‘Level the playing field for transit versus driving.’ An urban planning professor offers Johnson counsel for solving the city’s transportation problems.
■ Recovering from injuries suffered when he was struck by a driver while biking in southern Illinois, Streetsblog Chicago editor John Greenfield is back on the beat.
■ You can sign up for the free Streetsblog newsletter here.
Cops neutered. The TRiiBE reports that hundreds of Chicago police officers can’t be called to testify by the Cook County state’s attorney’s office because they have histories of misconduct or untruthfulness that would undermine their credibility.
■ A carjacking suspect sought for days died in a shootout with Kane County cops in Geneva …
■ … an encounter that also left a police dog dead.
‘Historic investments that will benefit our state for years to come.’ Color Gov. Pritzker excited about a new budget close to approval by the Illinois General Assembly …
■ … but lawmakers have buried a bill that would have allowed for “human composting.”
■ Your state tax dollars not at work: An Illinois Department of Children and Family Services worker’s been charged with stealing more than a million dollars meant for child care—and blowing most of it on slot machines.
‘Tina went home with some treasures of her career.’ WXRT DJ Terri Hemmert recalls a memorable visit to the station by iconic singer Tina Turner …
■ … who died yesterday at 83.
And now, some good news. Your Local Epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina: COVID-19 “is nosediving across all metrics in all regions of the U.S.: Hospitalizations, deaths, emergency room departments, and wastewater.”
■ Resident docs at New York’s “epicenter of the epicenter” of the pandemic have ended their strike.
‘I assume it has a regular meeting somewhere nearby.’ Add Chicago Public Square reader Tim Mennel to the roster of those who’ve spotted foxes hanging around Millennium Park.
■ He shares March video of one patrolling the Metra tracks nearby: “I actually saw one there on consecutive Tuesdays around 9 o’clock.”
Names of note. Here’s another batch of generous humans who’ve stepped up to help cover the cost of producing Square each day: Jeannie Affelder, Susan S. Stevens, Bob Saigh, Charlene Thomas, James Haglund, Robert A. Shipley, Mike Chamernik, Holly Wallace, Chris Ruys, Donna Barrows, Patrick Stout, Frank Heitzman, Reed Pence, Deb Humiston, Catherine Johns, Steve Ignots, Doug Strubel, John Meissen, Melissa Leeb, Tim Colburn, Bruce Dold, Tom Petersen, Jennifer Packheiser, Evan McKenzie, Katherine and Michael Raleigh, Randall Kulat, Kurt Wehrmeister, Charlie Pajor, Cynthia Farenga, Harla Hutchinson, John Gehron, Libbey Paul, Tom O’Malley, Jordan Wilkerson, Thomas Gradel, Mary Bunker, Peggy Fogelman, Molly Allscheid, Jessica Mackinnon, Collin Canright, Steve Carlson, Bruce Robert Pfaff, Joan Richmond, Andrew Nord and Ruth Hroncich.
■ Join them for any amount you choose—one-time or recurring—here.
A Square advertiser
Join a two-day celebration of comics from small-press and independent creators. Attend panels and workshops, meet cartoonists and buy comics right from the source. CAKE—the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo—happens June 3-4 at the Broadway Armory in Edgewater. And it’s free. Learn more at cakechicago.com.