‘Keep us from shutting down.’ Citing “unexpected obstacles,” the nonprofit Chicago Reader says it’s in a tough spot. (Note: The date atop that statement should read “2025,” not “2024.”)
■ At “imminent risk of closure,” it’s laying off six employees …
■ … and seeking fresh financial support from the public.
‘We need a clear vision we can believe in.’ More than 400 Washington Post journalists are begging owner—and Amazon founder—Jeff Bezos to address the paper’s “broken” leadership.
■ Humorist Andy Borowitz: “Bezos Offers WaPo Journalists $50 Amazon Gift Cards Not to Quit.”
■ Columnist Jeff Tiedrich: “America’s CEOs are … pumped they can act like dicks again.”
■ Looking ahead to a cold inauguration Monday in Washington, Jimmy Fallon fretted that “Jeff Bezos’, Elon Musk’s, and Mark Zuckerberg’s lips could all freeze to Trump’s butt.”
Beware the ‘tech industrial complex.’ Echoing President Eisenhower’s 1961 farewell address, President Biden last night warned Americans “an oligarchy is taking shape in America.”
■ Columnist Robert Reich calls for three critical steps to tame the tech plutocracy.
■ Stephen Robinson at Public Notice: Biden “accomplished a lot—except the most important thing.”
■ Biden’s set what’s been billed as his “final interview as president” for MSNBC tonight.
■ Columnist Eric Zorn: “I’m sorry, MSNBC, but I’m part of your problem.”
‘Does it bother you that the likely next U.S. attorney general is an election denier?’ Sun-Times D.C. bureau chief Lynn Sweet: Under oath before the Senate yesterday, President-elect Trump’s nominee declined to acknowledge that Joe Biden won the 2020 election.
■ Law prof Joyce Vance: “If you won’t say no to Donald Trump when it comes to the Big Lie, what will you say no to him about?”
■ Updating coverage: Today’s hearings spotlight Trump’s choices for Interior, Housing and Urban Development, Treasury, and the EPA.
■ ProPublica: “Trump’s pick to lead the federal health agency has vowed to … shift research away from infectious diseases and vaccines.”
Not so fast. Updating coverage: Israel’s prime minister said a “last-minute crisis” was holding up a long-sought ceasefire with Hamas.
■ ProPublica: The Biden administration’s “empty threats … let Israel get away with horrors in Gaza.”
■ Harold Meyerson (no relation) at The American Prospect: “Hamas’s murder raid of October 7, 2023, was both strategically imbecilic and morally outrageous, enabling the Israeli government to launch a war that was also strategically imbecilic and morally outrageous—and quantitatively, a lot more deadly.”
‘It’s going to be worse this time around.’ An advocate for immigrant families tells WBEZ about the community’s emergency plans in the face of Trump’s threats of mass deportation.
■ The City Council’s blocked a rollback of protections for Chicago’s undocumented immigrants.
■ In a historic pivot, the city’s first elected school board members were sworn in yesterday.
‘Hurt and frustrated.’ That’s how a Chicago City Council member describes his reaction to the latest round of Walgreens closures here.
■ The chain’s CEO admits the obvious about the company’s shoplifting deterrent strategy: “When you lock things up … you don’t sell as many of them.”
■ Robyn Pennacchia at Wonkette: “As a former retail worker I would be happy to let Walgreens … in on a super creative solution for reducing ‘shrinkage’: HIRE MORE PEOPLE!”
■ The Federal Trade Commission has concluded that UnitedHealth Group—employer of slain exec Brian Thompson—along with Express Scripts and CVS Caremark Rx, have been overcharging for cancer drugs by more than 1,000%.
Bike lane liberation. The first iteration of a program to crack down on vehicles blocking bike and bus lanes has generated more than 3,500 warnings and violations.
■ The City Council’s hit the brakes on a push to impose a citywide 25 mph speed limit.
■ Taking over as acting chief of the Chicago Transit Authority: Departing president Dorval Carter’s chief of staff.
■ Streetsblog Chicago: The neighborhood around the United Center could evolve “from a sea of sprawling parking lots to a bustling, walkable pedestrian district.”
A fireable offense. Chicago’s government watchdog says Fire Department employees covered up for and then lied about an assistant deputy chief found unconscious behind the wheel at a traffic light.
■ The City Council’s OK’d a payout of $38 million to resolve four lawsuits alleging misconduct by Chicago cops.
‘A plastic city burns.’ Surveying the devastation of the Los Angeles fires, The Atlantic observes that “the smoke pouring out of neighborhoods in Southern California is a poisonous soup, in part because of the ubiquity of plastics and other petrochemical products inside them. … From a fire perspective, a typical couch is akin to a block of gasoline.”
■ CNN: For many victims, return to homes is likely months away.
Funny business. Popular Information lists lawmakers—from both major parties—who last year made a fortune in the stock market.
■ An Illinois congressman is part of a bipartisan push to forbid members of Congress, their spouses and dependents from owning or trading individual stocks.
Travel trouble. Ahead of another blast of frigid weather, Amtrak’s canceling trains to and from Chicago Monday.
■ A United Airlines plane returned to O’Hare after striking a coyote during takeoff.
■ The Transportation Department’s suing Southwest and fining Frontier Airlines over chronic flight delays.
Zoo flu. Lincoln Park Zoo’s bird house has been shuttered for now, following two animals’ deaths related to avian influenza, or bird flu.
■ The zoo sees no elevated risk to humans.
‘I hope you get a TV soon that allows you to change the channel.’ Seth Meyers last night offered only a muted comeback to Trump’s social media threats against Meyers and parent company Comcast.
■ With a Sunday ban looming for the TikTok app in the U.S., the Biden administration’s in the hunt for ways to keep it running.
■ Wired’s Makena Kelly: “The government messed up. Big time.”
Wardrobe upgrade. During this eighth anniversary month, support Chicago Public Square for at least $80 a year and get a free Square T-shirt—a perk that normally comes only with pledges of $250 or more.
■ Another—free!—way to help Square grow: Follow along on Bluesky.