Airplane! The Associated Press explains the ethical and security concerns raised by President Trump’s plan to accept a free replacement for Air Force One.
■ Today’s vocabulary word: “Emolument.”
■ David Graham at The Atlantic says “there’s no such thing as a free plane.”
■ Popular Information’s Judd Legum: “Why Qatar is bribing Trump.”
■ Describing the acceptance of such gifts as a “family tradition,” Trump niece Mary L. Trump calls on Republicans, “who control both the Senate and the House of Representatives … to put a stop to this.”
■ Poynter’s Tom Jones: Instead of answering a legitimate question about the ethics of accepting that gift, Trump attacked ABC’s Rachel Scott.
■ Media critic Mark Jacob says the weekend’s first reports of the story were weak tea, possibly because weekend reporters and editors “may be less willing—and less authorized—to be interpretive.”
■ Stephen Colbert: “With a gift, of course it’s not the money, it’s the thought that counts. That thought? ‘Let’s bribe the president.’”
■ White House reporters traveling with Trump to Saudi Arabia are protesting a lack of wire service reporters in the scrum.
Speech chilled in Chicago. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Sunday detained a U.S.-born American citizen—progressive Twitch pundit Hasan Piker—at O’Hare …
■ … apparently, Wonkette’s Evan Hurst says, for “no other reason besides his political beliefs and the fact that he says them out loud, to people who subscribe to him.”
■ Piker says, “They straight up tried to get something out of me that … they could use to basically detain me permanently.”
■ Marisa Kabas at The Handbasket: “The Trump administration is willing to sic its agents on media personalities.”
■ Block Club’s suing the feds, demanding release of records showing how many people ICE rounded up during January sweeps in Chicago and what happened to them afterward.
■ A Trump-appointed federal judge is refusing to block the IRS from sharing tax data for the purpose of deporting people from the U.S.
■ Columnist Walter Olson asks, “At what point have we as a nation crossed into having a secret police?”
■ One judge is pushing the Trump administration to reveal plans for a mass layoff of federal workers.
■ The Trump-overhauled Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is moving to fire a New York administrative judge who’s resisted Trump’s directives—including one decreeing just two “immutable” sexes.
■ Law Dork Chris Geidner: “Trump’s effort to take over the Library of Congress could come down to whether Congress says, ‘Don’t mess with Congress.’”
■ A University of Illinois at Springfield emeritus professor of philosophy whose book has been removed from the U.S. Naval Academy library writes for the Tribune (gift link, underwritten by Chicago Public Square supporters) “Thanks to Pete Hegseth, I’m censored more here than in China.”
■ Robert Kuttner at The American Prospect: “Trump has been on a rampage of DEI for unqualified white people. Does it get more unqualified than … Hegseth?”
‘Bro, I’m here to tell you: Trump’s coming for your toys with his dumb*** tariffs.’ Author and former Obama speechwriter David Litt for The Daily Beast: “Golf clubs. Power tools. Mixology equipment. Fishing gear. Videogame consoles. Kitchen gadgets that take up a square yard of counter space and that you use exactly once. They’re about to become much more expensive—if they’re available at all.”
■ Columnist Dan Pfeiffer says Democrats can stop Trump’s plans to cut Medicaid.
■ Lawyer and columnist Robert Hubbell: “Repeat and remember: Republicans want to
• Cut $715 billion from Medicaid.• Take away health coverage from 8 million Americans.• To pay for billionaire tax cuts that will cost $5 trillion.”
Family holler. The Sun-Times reports that the public Facebook account of the older of Chicago-born Pope Leo’s brothers is rife with hateful stuff—such as “anyone with a transgender child is ‘a sh__ty parent,’ former House Speaker and fellow Catholic Nancy Pelosi is a ‘drunken c___’ and ‘anti-Trump Democrats’ should ‘be arrested and tried for subversion and even treason against the U.S.A.’”
■ But Louis Prevost has acknowledged he needs to tone it down for his brother’s sake: “I don’t want to get him in trouble or raise any grief.”
■ The new pope says he doesn’t expect to visit Chicago or the U.S. anytime soon.
■ Columnist Eric Zorn: The Sun-Times doesn’t deserve credit for the headline “DA POPE.”
■ Hasn’t kept Chicagoans from trying to trademark the phrase.
Troubled cops. The Trib reports that a police officer assigned to Mayor Johnson’s security detail was given—but has yet to serve—a 25-day suspension after allegedly showing up drunk for work following a celebration of Trump’s inauguration.
■ The Sun-Times: A police recruit accused of carrying crack cocaine during a simulated search at the police academy has had the case dropped.
Bad blood. Politico’s Shia Kapos sums up a New York Times story (another gift link) laying out the “deep animosity” separating Illinois U.S. Senate candidates Gov. Pritzker’s lieutenant, Juliana Stratton, and Reps. Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi.
■ Pritzker’s the first governor to block federal access to personal data on autism.
New Apple software. Updates for iPhones, iPads and Macintosh computers and more are now available free.
■ Most of the changes are security-related.
Last call. Although your support for Chicago Public Square is welcome anytime, today’s your final chance to get a shoutout in this month’s roll call of contributors—joining notables such as Joan Pederson, Frances Brady, Paul Noble, Marc Blesoff, Jack Bizot, Stephen Brown, Debi Gordon, Rick Blankenbaker, Joanne Rosenbush, Cynde Seegers, Diane Scott, Al Hoyt, Rick Baert, Jerry Role, Scott Watson, Marianne Goss, k.h., Jo Patton, Mike Gold, John Meissen, Mike Salerno, Alexander Domanskis, Tim Colburn, Ralph Culloden, Steve Carlson, David Boulanger, Deborah Stone, Athene C, Ben Orzeske, Thomas Gradel, Tim Spencer, Neela Marnell, David Layden, Meredith Schacht, Clifford Johnson, Cathy Sullivan, Kevin Shotsberger, Sally Noble, Len Jaster, Joseph Fedorko, Jeannie Affelder, Jon Langham, Cindy Allara, Maria Garvy, Christine Cupaiuolo, Kristina Zaremba, Deb Abrahamson, Lana O’Brien, Steve Chapman, Valerie Morrow, Mark Zegan, Ken Shiner, Ila Lewis, Molly McDonough, Scott Baskin, James Madigan, Kate Arias, Teresa Savino, Gil Herman, Victoria Long, Gene Paquette, Jeremiah Woods, Timothy Jackson, Ken Davis, Maureen Kennedy, Jim Kelly, Ann Keating, Joan Berman, Mark Ruda, David Heisler, Andrea Agrimonti, Cat Reis, Matthew Brenner, Charles C. Allen II, Tony Marturano, Catherine Tokarski, Barb Powers, Libbey Paul, Deirdre Walton, Jill Brickman, Bennett Hart, Tim Ward, Janean Bowersmith, Paul Kubina, Darryl Roberts, Shayna Robinson, Chris Ruys, John Kowalski and—in memoriam—Marianne Matthews.
■ Pitch in any amount—even just $1, once—and see your name atop tomorrow’s roster.
■ Pitch in a bit more and get a free Square T-shirt …
■ … or a Square hoodie.
■ Mike Braden made this edition better.