Progressives’ ‘primary pickle.’ That’s how Politico’s Shia Kapos reads the sense of Tuesday’s vote …
■ … including seeming failure of the “Bring Chicago Home” referendum to send real estate transfer tax money to programs for the homeless (here’s a map of who voted how where) …
■ … and a likely Democratic primary win for Cook County state’s attorney candidate Eileen O’Neill Burke …
■ … who Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg says has “found herself in the delicate position of being supported by rich Republicans.”
Other Democratic primary winners:
■ Mariyana Spyropoulos over incumbent Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez …
■ … Joy Virginia Cunningham, to become the second black female justice on the Illinois Supreme Court …
■ … and Michael Crawford, snatching the nomination from the state’s longest-serving Black lawmaker, Rep. Mary Flowers.
‘Shockingly low.’ Chicago’s turnout yesterday was looking like the lowest in at least 80 years …
■ … which may have helped the region’s congressional incumbents reclaim their party’s nominations.
■ WBEZ and the Sun-Times are updating returns here.
Illinoisans for Haley. Nikki Haley’s out of the race, but she still got more than 14% of the Republican presidential primary vote.
■ Donald Trump got 80%, just days after he mocked Gov. Pritzker’s weight.
■ Pod Save America co-host Dan Pfeiffer: Trump “can’t seem to stop saying insane, deeply politically damaging stuff.”
■ Press Watch columnist Dan Froomkin: “What Donald Trump said on Monday about Jews—and Democratic Jews in particular—… requires more than stenography. But that’s what we got in most mainstream news outlets.”
■ Popular Information wants your help in a crowdsourcing project to nail down where U.S. senators—including Illinois’ Tammy Duckworth—stand on President Biden’s nomination of the first Muslim American to serve on a federal appellate court.
‘Trump is being hit where it hurts.’ Author, journalist and filmmaker Jonathan Alter: “With 30 companies unwilling to help him post bond, he may face forfeitures or have to liquidate assets at fire sale prices to pay … millions in damages he owes.”
■ Columnist Brian Beutler: “Trump isn’t running a presidential campaign. It’s a campaign for immunity from the law, and Democrats aren’t doing nearly enough to counter it.”
■ The Onion: “What Trump Meant By There Would Be A ‘Bloodbath’ If He Loses.”
■ Democratic political strategist Johnny Palmadessa’s created a live Trump debt tracker and court-case countdown clock.
Gunning for Glock. The City of Chicago’s suing gunmaker Glock, accusing it of knowingly selling weapons that easily can be converted into illegal machine guns.
■ Here’s the complaint.
■ Block Club Chicago: A daytime armed robbery spree has Northwest Side neighbors on alert.
‘Why ban books when you can ban book awards?’ Literary Activism columnist Kelly Jenson notes that a far north suburban school board has canceled participation in a statewide program where fourth through eighth graders get to vote on their favorite books.
■ Marketplace: Authors of books banned for kids and young adults have seen invitations to speak at schools—a significant source of income—dry up.
■ The Conversation: A century ago, one state tried to close religious schools.
‘A stunning development in American news media.’ Two of the country’s biggest newspaper chains are cutting ties with the backbone of U.S. journalism, The Associated Press.
■ The AP sees “a disservice to news consumers.”
Everybody’s doin’ it. Ex-New Yorker humor columnist Andy Borowitz is back in the email newsletter biz.
■ Here’s the first installment of his new thing.
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AI’s inside story. Wired’s Steven Levy recounts “the most consequential tech breakthrough in recent history”: How eight Google employees invented modern artificial intelligence.
■ Cipher: AI’s a climate boon and an energy hog.
■ The Lever: “Fossil fuel cash is fracking Democrats’ climate support.”
■ The UN: We’re losing ground as electrical and electronic waste piles up around the globe.
Lollapalooza lineup. Here’s who’s set to appear in Chicago Aug. 1-4.
■ Tickets go on sale tomorrow.
Thanks. Eric Zorn and Ron Schwartz made this edition better.