‘Bye Fel-ICE-a!’ Columnist Eric Zorn says the U.S. Border Patrol’s decision to fly south for the winter ends a Chicago “reign of terror” that “looks more and more like a reign of error.”
■ Former Politico editor Garrett Graff: “Border Patrol retreated from Chicago in defeat, not victory” …
■ … but, WBEZ reports, a coalition of Chicago minority groups is prepping for a return in the spring …
■ … and Chicago museum leaders are training for ICE raids—the way they conduct active shooter drills.
■ At least six people arrested in Homeland Security’s horrific raid on a South Shore apartment building could be freed.
■ Popular Information: The Trump administration sparked a health crisis for ICE detainees.
‘It’s not safe. My kid’s scared to go to school.’ Citing a death threat and a bomb threat, the mayor of Broadview—home to the Chicago area’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center—declared a civil emergency and took last night’s board meeting virtual.
■ Mayor Johnson says police are investigating a Friday night arson attempt at Chicago City Hall.
Charlotte-Chicago connection. As immigration agents target North Carolina, Chicagoans are offering help—and whistles.
■ The granddaughter of author E.B. White is condemning the Trump administration’s co-option of his book’s title, Charlotte’s Web.
‘10 times worse than I thought.’ More than 60 lawyers who quit or were fired from Trump’s Justice Department talk to The New York Times (gift link).
■ Three Times staffers share their stories in video: “We followed the rules. ICE jailed us anyway.”
■ 404 Media: ICE has an app capable of tracking vehicles and owners across the country—tech enabled by Chicago-based Motorola Solutions and media conglomerate Thomson Reuters.
■ Chicago-area demonstrations have been targeting AT&T’s stores to protest its contracts with “the federal agencies running Trump’s deportation machine.”
■ AT&T’s announced a nationwide speed boost for 5G phones and internet service.
‘Ashamed.’ Ex-Harvard president, Clinton administration Treasury Secretary and Obama-era National Economic Council director Larry Summers says he’s stepping back from public commitments after release of emails showing he sought romantic advice from Donald Trump’s pal, now-dead sex offender Jeffrey Epstein …
■ … but he says he’ll keep teaching at Harvard.
■ As the House headed toward a vote on a bill that would force the Justice Department to release its Epstein files, The Bulwark says “it sure looks like Marjorie Taylor Greene’s winning her breakup with Donald Trump.”
■ Lawyer and Human Rights Campaign board member Jay Kuo: “Donald and Marjorie are really going at each other’s throats. And honestly, I kind of love this for them.”
■ ProPublica: In what experts say was a highly inappropriate move, the White House intervened in a federal investigation of accused sex trafficker Andrew Tate.
‘Journalists … should make Trump’s desperation abundantly clear.’ Press Watch columnist Dan Froomkin praises a few who are doing just that: “The media turns on a president when he appears weak. They’re like sharks smelling blood. And Trump is starting to hemorrhage.”
■ Stop the Presses columnist Mark Jacob: News outlets are papering over “the ugly pasts of right-wing extremists.”
‘Our lives will be a lot worse off.’ A senior adviser to the Federation of American Scientists warns that presidential orders and the government shutdown have gutted access to demographic and health data—sending journalists, researchers and communities scrambling.
■ The Times: The federal government has, for the first time, linked a measles outbreak in Texas with Utah and Arizona—endangering the United States’ status as a nation that’s eliminated measles.
■ After six inept months on the job, Trump’s acting Federal Emergency Management Agency chief has quit.
‘You guys! They said my name on TV!’ Seth Meyers was uncowed last night by Trump’s latest attack on him.
Chicagoans of the Year. Chicago magazine’s out with its 2025 list …
■ … including a lawyer who quit her job with a big law firm ahead of its capitulation to the Trump administration.
Christkindlmarket’s back. Chicago’s outdoor holiday bazaar returns to three locations Friday.
■ Metra’s holiday-themed trains have already sold out.
■ Block Club’s assembled a guide to shopping local in Chicago for the holidays.
Ben vs. Ben & Jerry’s. The ice cream brand’s cofounder, Ben Cohen, has launched a MoveOn petition demanding its corporate owners stop silencing its progressive political values.
■ Signatories get a chance to win a pint of his new, independently produced sorbet—but you can also enter the raffle without signing.
■ Speaking of corporate tension: Disney’s lost its Roger Rabbit rights.
Thanks. Chicago Public Square’s monthly delivery charge from Mailchimp took a leap this month, which means extra gratitude for those who underwrite the cost of producing and distributing this service—readers including Heather Kenny, Barry Koehler, Peggy Kell, Steve Ignots, Randall Kulat, Joe Sjostrom, Mana Ionescu, Tom O’Malley, Rick Lunt, Ronald Paulson, Diane Meiborg, Susan Benloucif, Rosalind Rouse, Bridget Hatch, Joyce Winnecke, Sandra Slater, Paulette Cary, Sue Omanson, Laurie R. Glenn, Alan Hommerding, Christine Koenig, Mark Ruda, Dave Kraft, Charles Sudo, Matthew Pestine, Mary Cronin, Owen Youngman, Patrick Dahlstrom, Susan Berkes, Kathy Burger, Lynne Duffy, Doug Strubel, Deborah Kadin, Joe Hallissey, Jan Kieckhefer, Harlene Ellin, Ryan Arnold, Susanne Riedell, Susann Slinic, Elaine Soloway, Ken Saydak, Leslie Hodes, Charlene Thomas, Cathy Schornstein, Elan Long, Cate Cahan, Daniel Parker, Martin Yeager, Sheila Flaherty, Susan Tyson, Mary Szpur, Brian Rohr, Jim Walz, Lynne Taylor, David Henkhaus, Peter Economos, Judy Karlov, Ian Morrison, Frances Brady, Tracey Thomas and Neela Marnell.
■ Join their esteemed ranks today by contributing as little as $1, just once, and see your name atop tomorrow’s roll call.