‘The quiet part out loud.’ Poynter’s Tom Jones: Trump’s words to reporters yesterday—“I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation”—hands Democrats a ready-made political ad.
■ Columnist Jeff Tiedrich: “Lying liar who lied about bone spurs and lied about hush money and lied about his dead pedo bestie and lied about how tariffs work … just accidentally committed an honesty.”
■ The Wall Street Journal’s analysis of thousands of the president’s “late-night Truth Social storms” quantifies his spread of conspiracy theories and attacks on his opposition.
■ Historian Heather Cox Richardson: “The biggest story in the country, today and always, is that the president of the United States is mentally unwell.”
■ Jordan Klepper on The Daily Show: “Trump and [FBI chief] Kash Patel have split up blinking duties.”
Grilled. Speaking of Patel: He fought back before Congress yesterday against reports that he drinks excessively …
■ … and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced lawmakers’ questions about the war on Iran …
■ … as the White House lists a couple of the president’s one-time fanboys turned skeptics, Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes, as possible domestic terrorists.
■ Under criticism from anti-abortion groups and vapemakers, Trump’s Food and Drug Administration chief is out.
‘Chicago is in a different league.’ A New York Times analysis (gift link) analyzes the region’s warehouse boom: “Few places in the nation have been transformed so completely, so quickly.”
■ Block Club: The Gage Park neighborhood’s getting another Amazon hub.
J*AI*L. WBEZ reports that Cook County Jail is considering spending more than $1 million on AI-powered surveillance tech …
■ … even as Illinois lawmakers consider ways to put new restraints on AI tech.
‘Dismantling America’s secular foundation.’ Columnist and former U.S. Rep. Marie Newman—a Catholic but also “a fully locked and loaded supporter of the Constitution, who believes deeply in the separation of church and state”—inventories the ways “the new theocracy … has accelerated its efforts to fundamentally reshape the United States into an explicitly Christian nation.”
■ Meanwhile, a Tribune editorial (gift link) calls on Gov. Pritzker to opt into a new federal program to send public tax dollars to private schools.
■ Axios: Illinois remains one of the few states with legal protections against school and library book bans.
■ Chicago Public Schools are headed toward teacher layoffs and bigger classes.
■ A Sun-Times/WBEZ analysis finds many of Illinois’ public colleges and universities haven’t established the required protocols for what to do if immigration agents invade campus.
Overpaying for internet? Tech watchdog Kim Komando says chances are good you’re not getting the service you’re paying for—and offers a three-move, 15-minute plan to fight back and get a better deal.
■ Gov. Pritzker’s pressing the Trump administration to deliver long-promised cash to upgrade Illinoisans’ internet access.
■ Google’s targeting Apple MacBook fans with a new Googlebook laptop.
‘A climate opportunity.’ The American Prospect: “Thanks to Trump’s war … gas prices are shooting through the roof.”
■ CNN: With China’s help, “Cuba is pulling off one of the fastest solar revolutions on the planet.”
Food in the news. The Trib’s revealed (gift link) the winners of its 2026 Readers’ Choice Food Awards.
■ The Chicago Fire’s new stadium will be named … McDonald’s Park …
■ … and, yeah, it’ll serve McDonald’s food.
Lolla lineup. This year’s Lollapalooza schedule’s out …
■ … and four-day tickets are already waitlist-only.
‘Watching Trump’s war on my beloved profession is painful.’ Veteran Chicago journalist and former Better Government Association chief Andy Shaw: “The modern right-wing assault on journalism … is a sustained campaign to convince millions of Americans that … any reporter who asks hard questions is corrupt.”
■ Popular Information: “Pulitzer-winning newsrooms are quietly publishing mountains of gambling slop.”
■ The Trib’s launched a regular column covering Chicago media moves and news.
Thank you. Voluntary support from readers keeps Chicago Public Square coming your way, free for all.