Not so fast. Citing health concerns spotlighted in a Friday night news dump, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has halted Chicago’s construction of a Southwest Side tent camp for migrants. (Update, 12:02 p.m.: CANCELED.)
■ The Tribune reports that the state drafted, but never sent, a Spanish-language flyer warning asylum-seekers at the southern border about the rough weather and a lack of support available in Illinois.
■ Ald. Bill Conway warns that West Loop homeless encampments are “increasingly dangerous.”
■ But, hey, Chicago made No. 16 on a list of America’s best cities for 2023.
Not so fast. A Sun-Times editorial cheers on the adoption of auto tech to warn drivers when they’re speeding.
■ The head of Chicago’s civilian committee overseeing police recommends relaxation of reviewing rules limiting cops’ ability to pursue suspect vehicles—contending that crime is thriving because robbers believe they’re unlikely to be chased.
■ The hunt’s on for two masked men who tied up downtown Walgreens employees during a Sunday night robbery.
‘A huge blow to the architectural heritage of Chicago and Bronzeville.’ Architecture critic Lee Bey mourns the possible loss of the historic Swift Mansion on South Michigan Avenue …
■ … ravaged by a fire Sunday, days after tenants filed a lawsuit over their eviction.
■ Police have opened an arson investigation.
Grammer policed. Frasier star Kelsey Grammer’s public relations team cut short a BBC Radio interview after he acknowledged that he still supports Donald Trump.
■ Promoting her new book, former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney sat down last night with her longtime critic Rachel Maddow to detail her “nauseating” realization about Trump’s plans to contest the 2020 presidential election results.
■ Cheney tells the Sun-Times she’s considering a run for the presidency.
■ Trump’s not disputing—and even seemingly has embraced—a Washington Post column warning that a second term for him would be a “dictatorship.”
■ The Atlantic’s latest issue collects 24 writers’ fears for another Trump presidency (behind a paywall).
■ Ex-Chicago City Council member and ex-Sun-Times CEO Edwin Eisendrath endorses Joe Biden’s reelection: “America is stronger, healthier, safer, more prosperous and fairer. He’s earned a second term. It’s time to say it out loud.”
Wonkette’s owner is not happy. Rebecca Schoenkopf says she’s “really sad” about a podcast her team produced while she was on vacation: “I don’t care if Israel’s shitty, it is not okay to physically torture and massacre people on purpose. … A lot of points were made that seemed very explicitly to say that Israel had it coming.”
■ Separate strikes left relatives of CNN’s Gaza reporter dead and his childhood home destroyed.
■ The Onion sarcastically recounts “Every Word Besides Children Used To Describe Palestinians Under 18.”
‘America’s School Internet Censorship Machine.’ A Wired investigation concludes that “widespread use of filters to censor health, identity and other crucial information … makes the web entirely unusable.”
■ Literary Activism updates a list of lawsuits challenging book bans across the nation.
■ A University of Chicago study concludes that Chicago Public School graduates rarely make it through college in less than six years.
■ ProPublica: “When confronted with a mass shooter, the children and the teachers of Uvalde knew what to do. Many officers did not.”
‘The fossil fuel phase-out is phasing out.’ Reporting from the international climate conference in Dubai, Chicagoan Mike Fourcher foresees “a train wreck” for the notion of weaning civilization off climate-destroying practices.
■ Heated: “COP29 has more fossil fuel lobbyists than ever.”
■ The Onion: “COP28 Attendees Take Turns Posing With Duck From Dawn Commercial.”
‘Will Kwame Raoul stand up to the Tribune?’ Columnist Eric Zorn cheers on a complaint from his fellow Trib alumnus—why, that would be your Chicago Public Square columnist!—to the Illinois attorney general’s office about the paper’s shady subscription practices.
■ If you’ve been similarly abused by the paper, here’s where to file a gripe of your own.
■ The tech entrepreneur who oversaw the merger of the Sun-Times and WBEZ is stepping down as CEO of the combined enterprise.
■ End-of-year layoffs at media companies include New Yorker satirist Andy Borowitz.
■ Wired: Massive layoffs at Spotify suggest the company is screwed.
A lot of Chicago newsletters round up the news. But most of them are beholden to a specific organization—unlike Chicago Public Square, which independently connects you with great reporting and commentary, regardless of publisher.
Thanks. Thom Clark made this edition better.