‘An assault on the public’s right to know.’ A coalition of Chicago news organizations and broadcast workers, including the Chicago Headline Club*, is suing the Trump administration, alleging First Amendment violations and “widespread government violence” outside the ICE facility in Broadview.
■ The American Civil Liberties Union** is taking the lead.
■ Here’s the suit, which cites “attacks on individual journalists … too numerous to list in full.”
■ Lawyer/journalist Aaron Parnas: “Reporters on the ground are documenting raids that resemble military operations, and yet many large media companies are ignoring the story entirely or burying it under lighter news.”
■ The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is compiling a database of attacks on journalists here and around the world.
■ Separately, dozens of news organizations—including, notably, Fox News—have signed an amicus brief supporting The Associated Press in its ongoing fight for White House access.
On guard. As a federal judge weighs Illinois and Chicago’s lawsuit hoping to block the deployment, hundreds of National Guard troops from Texas—and Illinois—were targeted for the Chicago region today.
■ Trump’s team has until tomorrow night to respond.
■ Columnist and former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance: “The judge described herself as ‘very troubled by the lack of answers’ the government provided in court on the deployment. This is hardly a win for the Trump administration.”
■ Gov. Pritzker’s threatening to quit the National Governors Association if it doesn’t condemn Trump’s invasion of U.S. cities.
■ WTTW’s Heather Cherone: Pritzker’s “furious.”
■ The American Prospect: Governors across the country now face a constitutional crisis.
■ Law Dork Chris Geidner: “This could be a very complicated, difficult week in Chicago.”
‘A dark milestone.’ That’s how traditional conservative columnist Charlie Sykes predicts historians will recognize the military-style attack on a Chicago apartment building.
■ The Economist says that raid and others “seem designed to produce content.”
■ The New York Times: “Neighbors warn neighbors as fear of ICE ripples across Chicago.”
■ As body-cam video casts doubt over the government charges against her, a Chicago woman accused of driving toward Border Patrol officers—one of whom shot her—has been ordered released from jail.
■ Wonkette’s Evan Hurst: “A good rule is that ICE is lying, no matter what ICE says. … If ICE says this woman they shot in Chicago did something to deserve it, fuck off.”
ICE vs. cops. Chicago’s police superintendent says 27 officers were hurt by tear gas during weekend protests.
■ Video shows a protester appealing to some of those cops: “They just teargassed you! … Why you protecting them?”
■ A Chicago gang member’s been charged with soliciting the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino.
■ The Atlantic: Even with billions in new federal funding, ICE arrests have declined and jail overcrowding is worse.
‘Republicans will try to steal 2026.’ But columnist Christopher Armitage says state and federal laws could put them in prison—and he recommends concerned citizens make “three phone calls this week” to support pending legislation that could ramp up those defenses.
■ Politico: Trump’s considering invoking the Insurrection Act if the courts block his guard deployment …
■ … which author and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich says has been Republicans’ plan all along.
Ready to march? The ACLU last night hosted a plainspoken guide on how to protest smartly, safely and effectively …
■ … in what organizers say could be the biggest protest in modern American history, the Oct. 18 “No Kings” rallies …
We’re No. 1—again. For the ninth year in a row, Condé Nast Traveler readers have voted Chicago the best big city in the U.S. …
■ … but under Mayor Johnson’s executive order, at least some parts of that great city will be off-limits to ICE agents.
■ Here he is signing that order …
■ … which The New Republic says prompted the White House to flip out.
■ The mayor of Broadview’s issued an executive order limiting protests at the immigration facility there to the hours of 9 a.m. through 6 p.m.
■ Broadview’s police chief accuses ICE agents of making fake 911 calls to local cops.
‘Plenty of good news.’ Your Local Epidemiologist celebrates—finally—a green light for COVID-19 vaccines.
■ Lurie Children’s Hospital tops U.S. News and World Report’s list of Illinois’ best facilities for kids.
‘Apple has thrown in with the Trump regime’s most violent, human-rights invading program.’ Author and tech watchdog Cory Doctorow condemns the company’s removal of the ICEBlock immigration-enforcement reporting app—noting that Apple founder Steve Jobs was “exactly the sort of person that Trump wants to deport.”
■ Popular Information takes a critical look at the long and troubled history of the “anti-woke crusader” now in charge of CBS News …
■ … a moment about which Poynter’s Tom Jones says “it’s hard to overstate the enormity.”
■ Oligarch Watch: TikTok’s new boss is a close ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
■ If you’re inclined to patronize Jeff Bezos’ baby, Consumer Reports offers its favorite “Amazon Prime Big Deal Days” sales.
■ Wired, too.
■ Ars Technica: The survival of Amazon’s Alexa smart voice assistant hinges on people buying newer, more expensive Amazon gadgets.
Thanks. Mike Braden made this edition better.
* Of which your Chicago Public Square publisher is a member.
** This, too.
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