Don’t be ‘ruled by the few.’ A Tribune editorial makes the case for getting out there and voting today …
■ … but first check the Chicago Public Square Voter Guide Guide.
■ Politico spotlights 11 races to watch as tonight’s results roll in.
… and no sooner than this election ends, another begins. Gov. Pritzker’s signed legislation to create a partially elected Chicago School Board—with petitioning to begin next week for 10 seats to be filled in November.
■ Chalkbeat: Education advocates say Pritzker’s budget shorts funding for schools to help migrant students.
‘Any foreign adversary seeking to buy a president knows the price.’ That’s Illinois Rep. Sean Casten, quoted by Donald Trump’s niece, Mary L. Trump, who says “the fact that Donald owes such a vast sum of money—and does not seem to be able to cover his debt—should prompt the media to take a much closer look at what is really going on with Donald’s finances.”
■ Columnist Brian Beutler: “Trump is a desperate man and believes achieving power is his ticket to freedom and renewed wealth.”
■ The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin: Trump’s ex-White House advisers have a “duty to warn” voters about his “fundamental threat to national security and democratic institutions.”
■ Gary Legum at Wonkette: “When he used the word bloodbath in a rally speech in Ohio on Saturday, no one needed to give him the benefit of the doubt by shrieking, ‘WELL ACTUALLY, he was talking about the auto industry, libtards!’”
■ Ex-New York Times public editor Margaret Sullivan: “The mainstream press is giving us … far too much pointless debate about how seriously to take Trump’s individual utterances.”
■ Jimmy Kimmel says he loves it when Trump attacks him by name.
‘The first step toward a more fair-minded judiciary.’ Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik hails a move by the Judicial Conference of the United States to end right-wing judge shopping.
■ Ahead of the biggest election since the Supreme Court overturned the right to abortion, The New Republic details “the terrifying global reach of the American anti-abortion movement.”
■ The Lever warns that a case before the court could “legalize bribery.”
■ Time’s almost up for Justice Clarence Thomas to accept Last Week Tonight host John Oliver’s offer of $1 million a year to leave the bench.
■ Popular Information: Congress has a “stock trading addiction.”
Water worries. A new JAMA study concludes that almost 70% of Chicago’s kids under 6 are getting lead in their drinking water.
■ Chicagoans can get free kits to test their water.
Gee—one full day! Acknowledging an embarrassing and scary run of mishaps on its flights, United Airlines’ CEO says it’s planning an extra day of training for pilots.
■ Insider: “United’s string of scary safety events likely has nothing to do with Boeing.”
‘Calling Musk a right-wing shitposter is no longer provocative. It’s simply accurate.’ CNN’s Oliver Darcy says Twitter X overlord Elon Musk “is showing the world just how radicalized he’s become.”
■ Poynter media watchers Tom Jones and Rick Edmonds: “Musk not only allows questionable speech on his platform, but he often likes it publicly.”
■ Ex-CNN star Don Lemon’s posted his full interview with Musk.
SNL’s second thoughts. A Saturday Night Live bank-robbery skit set in a Chase bank has been altered online—scrubbed of the Chase logo.
■ Esquire peeks behind the curtain on an upcoming movie dramatizing the run-up to SNL’s 1975 debut.
About ‘Shrimp Jesus.’ 404 explains: “Hundreds of AI-generated spam pages are posting dozens of times a day … rewarded by Facebook’s recommendation algorithm.”
■ The Stanford Internet Observatory: “That capacity to produce captivating, novel and immersive imagery, cheaply and instantly … makes the technology appealing to spammers.”
■ The Onion: “FCC Announces All Messages Offering Free iPad Seem Pretty Legit.”
Pandemic flashback. Chicago Public Square on this date in 2020: “As concern rises that coronavirus tests are more accessible to the rich and famous, President Trump shrugged: ‘Perhaps that’s been the story of life.’”
■ Four years ago today in the Tribune: “He realized his dream and bought FitzGerald’s Nightclub. The next week, coronavirus happened.”
■ Last month: “FitzGerald’s in Berwyn may soon be a landmark.”
Square’s not a landmark. But you help keep it coming with your support—as little as $1, once.