Pics, please. With an eye toward bringing Homeland Security thugs to justice—eventually—Gov. Pritzker’s launched the Illinois Accountability Commission to centralize the collection of video, photos and other evidence of federal agents’ misdeeds.
■ It’s still setting up, but here’s where you’ll be able to share evidence of things like the feds’ assault on Little Village yesterday, deploying tear gas and detaining a high school student …
■ … an incident that prompted a federal judge yesterday to more than double the amount of time she’ll let Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino be questioned under oath.
■ The feds are accusing a Tribune reporter of interference after he reported on Twitter X that ICE agents were out in Little Village.
Scorecards, get your scorecards. The New York Times (gift link) sorts out who’s who in the federal immigration crackdown—Border Patrol, National Guard, ICE …
■ The Trib (another gift link, courtesy of Chicago Public Square supporters like you) finds downtown Chicago businesses on edge about the court-delayed-but-still-possible Guard deployment here.
■ Zeteo video goes “Inside Trump’s War on Chicago.” (Link corrected.)
■ Block Club Chicago: South Shore residents made thousands of distress calls to the city before that massive federal raid.
■ Chicago School Board members are encouraging the authorization of “emergency” remote learning programs for kids whose families worry about sending them out amid the federal incursion.
■ The Onion: “National Guardsman Awakes Screaming From Nightmare About Americans Going About Daily Lives.”
‘Make that stupid office square.’ USA Today’s Rex Huppke encourages the president not to stop his White House renovation with the East Wing—and to take a wrecking ball to the Oval Office.
■ Pod Save America cohost Dan Pfeiffer: “One of the first orders of business of any authoritarian movement is to destroy national symbols and historic landmarks.”
■ Sun-Times architecture critic Lee Bey: “Those who support protecting the nation’s architecture and the country’s capital still have much work to do.”
■ Among corporations facing criticism for donations to the project: Comcast, whose MSNBC has as a consequence endured some awkward moments.
■ Columnist Lyz Lenz’s Dingus of the Week: “White House ‘renovations.’”
■ Andy Borowitz mocks: “Mike Johnson had no comment on Thursday after Donald J. Trump demolished the House Speaker’s family home.”
‘Unimaginable loss.’ The son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren of Republican candidate for Illinois governor Darren Bailey have died in a Montana helicopter crash.
■ Gov. Pritzker says he’s devastated by the news.
‘Mr. Smith respectfully requests the opportunity to testify in open hearings.’ Former special counsel Jack Smith’s dispatched a letter asking Congress and the Justice Department to let him speak publicly about his investigations that led to criminal charges against Trump.
■ Wonkette’s Evan Hurst: “We’re sure he’s prepared to answer whatever questions these hallucinating Republicans have.”
‘One of the greatest drops in gun violence—ever.’ An analysis by The Trace finds a trend that cuts across red and blue cities and states in every region.
■ That includes Chicago …
■ … where the Sun-Times shares this portrait of a convicted gun trafficker.
Fire alarm. Chicago’s inspector general says the city’s falling woefully short in inspecting buildings for fire code violations.
Target on their backs. Struggling with a shrinking customer base, Target’s planning 1,800 corporate layoffs.
■ Amazon’s offering an AI tool to help you decide what to buy …
■ … evidence, Gizmodo says, that “the Great Mental Outsourcing continues.”
Ask an old person to pick up the dinner tab. Social Security recipients are in for a 2.8% cost-of-living hike.
■ The Sun-Times’ Elvia Malagón explains what to know about the expiring health insurance tax credits at the heart of the ongoing government shutdown.
■ PolitiFact details who stands to lose food-stamp benefits next month if the shutdown drags on.
■ Pulitzer winner Dave Barry: “As we enter Day Whatever of the federal government shutdown, the most urgent question on the minds of all Americans, regardless of political affiliation, is: How is Dave Barry doing? … The answer is: Not great.”
‘New anthropological research shows that polygyny—the marriage of one husband to multiple wives— may actually …’ That’s one of the questions in the latest news quiz from past Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions winner Fritz Holznagel.
■ Your Chicago Public Square columnist’s score? 80% correct.
■ 1998 never seemed so long ago as it did while taking Axios Chicago’s 1998 quiz (just 3/10 right here).
■ And nothing to write home about with that 3/5 score on City Cast’s weekly Chicago news quiz.
Brrrr. Chicago’s enduring its first freeze warnings of the season.
■ Consumer Reports: A space heater’s “not a magic workaround for a high utility bill.”
CTA shutdown. Four different lines will suspend service in the Loop through much of the weekend.
■ Here’s the nitty-gritty of what’ll work and what won’t.
■ Transit leaders are appealing to state lawmakers for financial help to avoid major service cuts.
Brrrr. Mike Braden and Lisa Rivers made this edition better.