‘Jacked up’ / Journalism’s ‘red-letter day’ / Square loses a reader / Need something?

‘Jacked up.’ Politico’s Shia Kapos says Mayor Johnson’s news conference yesterday to announce the Chicago School Board members he’s appointing to replace the Chicago School Board members he appointed “took a page out of Donald Trump’s playbook.”
When a reporter asked who’s paying for Johnson’s trip to London—including attendance at a Bears game—Johnson played the racism card …
Chicago magazine’s Edward McClelland: “The mayoralty hasn’t changed him. He’s changed the mayoralty. … He’s still that hip young teacher and radical union organizer, and he’s running the city with that point of view.”
Columnist Eric Zorn: “You are embarrassing us and yourself, Mr. Mayor.”
The Sun-Times sees the board shake-up as a play for more state funding …
 … and, in an editorial, appeals to the mayor: Enough of the self-inflicted turmoil.

‘Tax debts, arrests and residency questions.’ Surveying the field of Cook County Circuit Court judges seeking to keep their seats in November, nonprofit Injustice Watch’s Dan Hinkle concludes “the races have made barely a ripple in public,” thanks in part to “the high-stakes presidential race and the first-ever Chicago school board elections.”
Injustice Watch’s election guide, which makes no recommendations or endorsements, has been added to Chicago Public Square’s evolving Fall 2024 Election Voter Guide Guide.
Eric Zorn again, on civil rights icon Jesse Jackson’s endorsement of Trump-backer Bob Fioretti for Cook County state’s attorney: “It’s never too late to tarnish one’s legacy.”

Journalism’s ‘red-letter day.’ Press Watch columnist Dan Froomkin: “The New York Times … has created a permission structure for others to … address the issue of Trump’s mental fitness.
Columnist Jeff Tiedrich: “Now we know that the Times can do actual, critical reporting … will they keep it up?

‘Watch his rallies. You’re gonna hear conversations that are about himself and all of his personal grievances.’ In the last minutes of her 60 Minutes interview, Vice President Harris slammed Trump for bailing on the show.
See the segment here.
The show began with a detailed explanation of Trump’s historic decision not to sit down for an interview of his own.
The Daily Beast: The broadcast left Trump “unhinged, even for him.”
Columnist Charlie Madigan doesn’t foresee an “‘October surprise’ … unless you consider the contest itself a continuing surprise, a man with the values of a gutter rat running against an intelligent, competent woman.”
Seth Meyers on Trump’s rallies: “You’re supposed to leave them wanting more. Trump leaves them wanting out.”
Trump’s scheduled to address the Economic Club of Chicago a week from today—a day after his running mate, JD Vance, shows up in the suburbs.
Cartoonist Tom Tomorrow channels Vance defending Trump’s insurrection of 2021: “Would someone who poses a ‘threat to democracy’ step aside when his attempts to overturn the election were unsuccessful and there was no possible way to hang on to power?”

Hundred-year hurricane. Milton could be the first major hurricane since 1921 to directly hit Tampa Bay …
 … which one assessment calls the U.S. location most vulnerable to storm surges.
As the magnitude of the storm dawned on him, one weather forecaster came close to tears on-air.
A mass exodus was underway along the Gulf Coast ahead of landfall late Wednesday.
USA Today’s Rex Huppke, who grew up in Florida but now lives in Illinois: “Trump’s lies in the wake of Hurricane Helene have done real harm.”
Public Notice: “Trump’s climate denial is appalling and getting worse.”
Actually, I’m a Very Nice Person columnist Julia Gray says Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis “would rather see his constituents suffer and die than accept the federal government’s help.”
The Biden administration’s requiring Chicago to step on it for replacement of toxic lead water pipes.

Chicago Public Square loses a reader. One who asked to remain anonymous unsubscribed after registering her concerns about yesterday’s edition: “Not even a mention of Oct. 7? Of the hostages? … There are a lot of articles that address the first anniversary. … What happened … has a lasting impact on the Jewish community. … Not all of your readers know the importance.” Well, then …
Memorial events across the Chicago area yesterday brought prayers for peace and hostages’ release …
 … as hundreds of college students walked out to protest the war.
Journalist Bob Woodward’s latest lift-the-curtain White House book quotes President Biden calling Israel’s president, Benjamin Netanyahu, “that son of a bitch … a bad fucking guy.”
Cartoonist and columnist Mark Fiore: “We can show support for the victims in Israel … but do we have to keep supplying the weapons that have killed over 40,000 Palestinians and left thousands of children missing limbs?
Author and Emmy-winning veteran CNN NBC and NPR broadcast journalist Jeff Kamen—whose career began as a Chicago rock radio news reporter: “I fully expect [Netanyahu] to extend this current war as long as he possibly can, based on my belief that he thinks that so long as Israel is at war, he runs close to zero risk of facing criminal prosecution. In that way, he and Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the Oct. 7 rape, kidnapping and murder attack by Hamas, support each other’s personal interests quite well. Both leaders have become addicted to the madness.”
The Hollywood Reporter: CBS News executives have told staffers that a contentious interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates, whose new book “passionately argues that Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is immoral and should be condemned,” didn’t meet editorial standards.
The network today planned an all-staff meeting about the issue with a self-described “mental health expert, DEI strategist and trauma trainer.”

One of our guys made it. Chicago native John Hopfield is one of two winners for the Nobel Prize in physics …

Tick, tock, TikTok. More than a dozen states—including Illinois—are suing the company, accusing it of hooking kids with addictive product features.
They complain that kids can easily skirt the platform’s 18-and-over requirement.

Need something? Wired is tracking sales —including “a surprising number of laptop and tablet deals”—for today and tomorrow’s Amazon Prime Day promotions.
So’s Wirecutter.
ZDNet, too.

Help fix the news. The Chicago Independent Media Alliance—now under the auspices of Public Narrative—wants your insights and ideas for sustaining Chicago’s media. Take less than a minute to fill out this application to serve in a one-hour online focus group and, if you’re selected, get a $100 stipend.
Questions? Email CIMA@PublicNarrative.org.

Thanks. Mike Braden made this edition better.

A Square public service announcement
How can you help children who’ve experienced significant trauma? Join a free in-person panel discussion with Friends of the Children-Chicago, Oct. 18 at 8:30 a.m., to hear experts explain how positive relationships with professional mentors can help kids thrive. Register here.

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