‘A major blunder.’ A Sun-Times editorial praises Gov. Pritzker for derailing Mayor Johnson’s plan to house migrants on contaminated land in Brighton Park.
■ The Tribune calls it “a scathing rebuke of the city’s evaluation of the land’s potential environmental hazards.”
■ Visiting Venezuelan refugee students at Chicago’s Sullivan High School, columnist Neil Steinberg meets a 17-year-old girl whose family survived being captured by guerrillas, held hostage and robbed.
‘Look for it wherever you get your computer viruses.’ Late Night host Seth Meyers has set a low bar for audience during tonight’s Trump-free Republican presidential primary debate …
■ … featuring the only four non-Trump contenders still standing.
■ Media writer Tom Jones: It’s a big night for NewsNation, the right-leaning channel that replaced the old WGN America.
‘A man who spoke glowingly of killing gay people … and another … who went on to record himself endorsing the hanging of government officials.’ The Daily Beast surveys “the violent and extreme history” of House Speaker Mike Johnson’s old legal clients.
■ Popular Information reports that AT&T’s made a small but flawed move toward addressing a disconnect between its stated values and its political donations …
■ … which include cash to Johnson (Oct. 30 link).
■ At the conservative-oriented Bulwark, Jonathan V. Last praises President Biden’s “truly excellent economy,” marveling that “most people are better off than they were before COVID. And America’s economy is the envy of the world. So. Much. Winning.”
Close call. The FAA’s investigating the matter of two planes that clipped wings last night at O’Hare.
Dog disease discovery. Researchers have some new clues to what’s ailing canines in Illinois …
■ … and at least 13 other states.
Cure for the internet’s ills? Columnist and author Cory Doctorow endorses a new approach to what he calls “a vicious polycrisis: child safety, surveillance, discrimination, disinformation, polarization, monopoly, journalism collapse.”
■ The Conversation: “Your car might be watching you to keep you safe—at the expense of your privacy.”
‘The Fight Book Bans Act.’ It's been introduced to Congress by a Florida representative.
■ Popular Information: Florida contends school libraries’ purpose is to “convey the government’s message.”
■ Crawling back from widely criticized concessions to Florida’s retrograde Gov. Ron DeSantis, the College Board is restoring content about racial justice to its AP course in African American studies.
America’s ‘low-rizz epidemic.’ Fear not: Let USA Today’s Rex Huppke introduce you to the cure for rizz dysfunction.
He transformed TV. Revolutionary writer-producer Norman Lear—who brought politics and social relevance to American comedy—is dead at 101.
■ Also gone: The father of Chicago-area serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
A smashing evening. Smashing Pumpkins founder Billy Corgan will co-host a live New Year’s Eve special on Chicago’s Channel 5—from his Highland Park teahouse.
■ Hollywood’s longest-ever labor battle is history, with ratification of a new contract by members of SAG-AFTRA.*
Readers who read all the way to the bottom of Chicago Public Square are special. Because it means they’re paying attention—which is a gift all its own. Thanks.
■ They’re also just the kind of folk who’ll want to check the Chicago Reader website after noon today—to see whether Square made the finals in this year’s Best of Chicago ballot. Voting begins a week from today.
* Of which your Square columnist is a member on honorable withdrawal.