Hair-raising bill. The Sun-Times says Mayor Johnson’s political campaign—funded by his supporters—reports spending more than $30,000 on his personal grooming over the last year.
(2023 photo: Jacob Waller)■ The City Council’s advanced an ethics rule—opposed by Johnson—that would outlaw City Hall lobbyist contributions to incumbent mayors or mayoral candidates.
■ WBEZ says Johnson’s administration is hoping to cut a deal with protesters suing for the right to be seen and heard by attendees of August’s Democratic National Convention at the United Center.
■ Politico: Today’s confidential meeting is “a huge step” in the convention lead-up.
‘He can’t have a hunting rifle but he can drop the A-bomb on Bambi?’ Count Daily Show host Ronnie Chieng among the late-night hosts incredulous that criminal convict Donald Trump’s about to lose his right to own a gun—but can still become president.
■ Columnist Jeff Tiedrich names the judge “presiding over the Big Trump Stolen Classified Document F**kery Trial,” Aileen Cannon, “Trump Employee of the Month.”
■ Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon on Republicans pandering to become Trump’s pick for vice president: “Good luck. It’s like signing up to be the babysitter in The Exorcist.”
■ Trump fanboy Steve Bannon has been ordered to report to prison by July 1.
■ The Onion is, um, let’s say, celebrating its coverage of Bannon over the years.
InfoSores. Conspiracy theorist and Sandy Hook massacre denier Alex Jones has agreed to liquidate his assets, including the InfoWars brand, to pay grieving parents the $1.5 billion he owes.
■ Wonkette’s Robyn Pennacchia: “Jones has made his entire fortune through the magic of straight-up lying to people’s faces, so it feels especially apt that lying … has now caused him to lose it.”
‘Was it responsible for Democrats to increase revenue so spending on services can simply keep pace with inflation? The databased answer is a resounding yes.’ Debunking Republican gripes, the respected executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, Ralph Martire, says the new Illinois budget signed by Gov. Pritzker “accurately reflects statewide priorities, is balanced, and is funded responsibly.”
■ Donald Trump reportedly plans to claim authority to cancel federal programs altogether, even if Congress has funded them.
Dingus of the Week. Lyz Lenz’s pick: Atlantic columnist David Frum, who complains that Mexico’s first female president-elect, Claudia Sheinbaum, “lacks … charisma and popular appeal.”
■ LateNighter: You couldn’t tell by watching Jimmy Kimmel’s interview with Vice President Kamala Harris Tuesday, but antiwar protesters disrupted the show …
■ … as seen in this video.
■ DePaul University students are petitioning for reinstatement of a professor fired over an optional assignment about the impact on human health of “the genocide in Gaza.”
‘Will Lewis must go.’ Press Watch columnist—and Washington Post alumnus—Dan Froomkin says the Post’s new publisher violated “a core doctrine of American journalism.”
■ NPR: Lewis “tried to kill a story about himself. It wasn’t the first time.”
■ Poynter’s Tom Jones: “This is, reportedly, two times when Lewis has pressured the media to try to influence coverage of him.”
■ CNN: “Lewis is quickly losing the confidence of his newsroom.”
■ Handbasket columnist Marisa Kabas: The Post “is in fascist-guided freefall.”
Junk-fee plague. Tech rabble-rouser Cory Doctorow says airlines were “patient zero” in a blight that’s spread across the U.S. economy …
■ … and he encourages everyone to file complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
■ Post columnist Alexandra Petri: “I’m your new AI search assistant! I want you to eat glue and die.”
FAR▢W▢LL. Pat Sajak today signs off as Wheel of Fortune host—ending a run of 41 years and more than 8,000 episodes.
■ Vanna White paid tribute on yesterday’s show.■ Although Sajak’s a Chicago native and a Farragut High School and Columbia College alumnus, columnist Neil Steinberg says “Chicago never stuck to him—he became one of those celebrities like Harrison Ford, born here yet not really associated with the place.”
■ Buddy Guy’s Sunday night performance at the Chicago Blues Festival may be one of his last.
■ Chicago historian Robert Loerzel: Guy’s influence on Chicago and the blues is undeniable.
■ Devastated by a fire seven months ago, Chicago’s celebrated seafood shack Calumet Fisheries reopens Saturday.
■ From the archives: A 2014 interview with Schmich.
Thanks. Mike Braden made this edition better.