Democrats rising / Some ceasefire / ‘Why is AT&T being such a dick?’

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Democrats rising. Virginia voters have OK’d a constitutional amendment clearing the way for a new congressional map that could give the party four more U.S. House seats—and control of the chamber after November’s election.
■ Bill Kristol at The Bulwark: “Dems remember they can play hardball, too. … Two cheers for gerrymandering (for now).”
■ On the other hand: A Democratic Florida representative—facing charges of using $5 million in federal disaster funds to buy stuff including a 3-carat yellow diamond ring—is quitting before she can be expelled.

Scandalwatch. In a case that the Sun-Times says may or may not have been referred to federal prosecutors, City Hall’s former chief operating officer allegedly “used his position … to secretly get his son a paid internship with a city contractor, and then tried to get that contractor nearly $10 million more in payments from taxpayers that the company may not have been entitled to.”
■ Gov. Pritzker’s signed an order forbidding state workers from using nonpublic information to place bets—or help others place bets—on prediction markets …
■ … an industry John Oliver eviscerated on this week’s Last Week Tonight.

ICE ain’t gone. Block Club: “Midway Blitz” may be history, but “ICE is still quietly targeting Chicago immigrants—especially at court” …

‘Grateful to be alive.’ The principal of Chicago’s Whitney Young High School tells the Sun-Times he’s still processing the shooting of his car Friday night—possibly by someone who was aiming for another vehicle—as he drove on the South Side.
■ A photo shows the bullet holes in his car.

Some ceasefire. As President Trump declared an extension of the Iran war truce, Iran attacked three ships in the Strait of Hormuz …
■ … as the conflict threatened to drive up costs for products ranging from clothes to crayons. (Cartoon: Jack Ohman.)
■ Columnist Jeff Tiedrich: “Even Iran is getting tired of Donny’s sideshow act.”
■ Popular Information: Trump’s considering a financial bailout with taxpayer money for the economic downturn the war’s inflicted on the United Arab Emirates—“a country that has partnered extensively with the Trump Organization and the Trump family.”

Civil rights schism. Trump’s Justice Department has filed fraud charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center—a nonprofit that, since 1971, has investigated and monitored hate groups—accusing it of money laundering in connection with the use of paid informants …
■ … even though the Center for many years worked with the FBI (New York Times gift link)—and the Justice Department has done much the same thing.
■ Read the indictment here.

‘Political megalomania meets biblical fanfiction.’ Columnist and former Illinois U.S. Rep. Marie Newman assesses “a divine comedy in which the president mistakes himself as the Messiah (again).”
■ Setting the stage for a Supreme Court showdown, a federal appeals court says Texas can require the Ten Commandments displayed in public schools.
■ The Daily Show’s Jordan Klepper last night exposed Trump supporters’ hypocrisy on religion.
■ Columnist Neil Steinberg—a diabetic: “Praise the Lord and pass the Ozempic.”

‘Like the Sierra Club inviting an arsonist to be guest of honor.’ Free Speech Center director and former USA Today editor Ken Paulson says the White House Correspondents Association “contorted itself” to get Trump to attend this weekend’s annual dinner: “For what? A group photo with the man who destroyed their profession?”
■ Trump left a MAGA-ish CNBC host squirming yesterday when he revealed that he’d been promised a more critical host wouldn’t be there at the time.

‘The most dangerous AI model in the world allegedly has a giant security hole.’ Gizmodo: “Some unknown group is reportedly using Claude Mythos without permission.”
■ Bloomberg: That “raises questions about whether anyone else may be using Mythos without permission, and for what purpose.”

‘Time is running out.’ The Tribune’s Robert Channick assesses all-news WBBM Newsradio’s options for replacing CBS News Radio when the network and its legendary top-of-the-hour newscasts disappear next month (gift link).
■ For now at least, nostalgiacs can download a collection of the network’s jingles as phone ringtones.

‘Why is AT&T being such a dick?’ Columnist and Chicago Tribune alumnus Charlie Madigan: “Time for a worst service ever award!”
■ Still have an AT&T landline—or know someone who does? Time’s almost up.

Happy Earth Day. It began 56 years ago—in Wisconsin.
■ Block Club offers some ways to honor the planet in Chicago.

Who could resist an invitation to appear on a podcast titled Misfits Among Us? Not your Chicago Public Square columnist.
■ Thanks, Joey Marcus.
■ Stephen Colbert last night interviewed a guest he identified as his favorite ever.

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Sorry about ‘hellhole,’ Chicago / ‘How stupid it is’ / ⌘-Shift

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Sorry about ‘hellhole,’ Chicago. In a new campaign video, Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey admits he “said something dumb” about the city in his last campaign …
■ … and then proceeds to hit the town.
■ You’re not alone if that reminds you of a scene from Blazing Saddles.

‘The court has declared the Trump administration’s unlawful orders defunct.’ Illinois’ attorney general hails a federal judge’s decision to toss a lawsuit over President Trump’s plans to send the National Guard into Chicago—because the plan’s not in effect anymore.
■ Gov. Pritzker: “Trump’s deployment … was a reckless and illegal abuse of power.”
■ Nevertheless, immigration enforcement fears have prompted Chicago to cancel its Cinco de Mayo parade for the second successive year.

‘She is beholden to law enforcement.’ A coalition of elected officials, clergy, journalists and lawyers seeking a special prosecutor to investigate “Operation Midway Blitz” has uncovered emails that it says show Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke has failed to challenge the Trump administration’s immigration actions for fear of compromising her office’s “excellent working relationships with … federal partners.”
■ Investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein: “The Department of Homeland Security is developing specialized smart glasses that will allow federal agents on American streets to automatically identify ‘illegal aliens’ from a distance.”

‘You've disgraced yourself and a great department.’ Columnist and ex-U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich to resigning Trump Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer: “Goodbye and good riddance.”
■ She’s leaving after what the AP describes as “multiple allegations of abusing her position’s power, including having an affair with a subordinate and drinking alcohol on the job.”
■ Columnist Jeff Tiedrich: “Donny is in way over his head, overmatched and totally unaware of just how horribly everything is going.”

‘Here’s how stupid it is.’ Political analyst Rachel Hurley has read FBI Director Kash Patel’s lawsuit against The Atlantic for its reporting about his problematic behavior: “Let’s start with the typos …”
■ Popular Information: The suit “puts Trump in a difficult position. If Trump fires Patel now … it effectively confirms The Atlantic’s reporting”—which you can read here in a gift link.
■ Poynter’s Tom Jones: “That the story was still prominent on its website … tells you all you need to know about The Atlantic’s confidence in its reporting.”
■ Columnist Neil Steinberg says the only question remaining is “which is shitcanned first, the lawsuit or Patel.”
■ An independent news ratings site is cautiously celebrating “a big win against government censorship. … The FTC dropped its investigation of NewsGuard. Now it’s organizing a boycott instead.”

Trump vs. English. The U.S. Education Department is dissolving the office supporting the teaching of English to public school students for whom it’s not the native language (Washington Post gift link).
■ Education columnist Jan Resseger calls that move “disturbing” …
■ … but it ups the chances for parody as Trump was slated to appear in a video reading a passage from the Bible.

CTA double-dipper? WTTW reports that a former Chicago Public Schools employee declared ineligible for rehiring after allegedly defrauding the district through a dual-employment scheme now has a six-figure job at the Chicago Transit Authority.

‘We’ll build this into a bigger comedy network.’ The Chicago-based Onion has a new plan to take over conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars by the end of the month.
■ Although a Texas judge has yet to approve the deal, The Onion’s make-believe CEO sounds optimistic: “Nothing can stop us now that we’re in charge of a website” …
■ … and it’s already designed a new logo:
■ The Onion’s real chief, Ben Collins—a.k.a. “Tim Onion”—more seriously explains “why we decided to persevere through all of the bullshit. … There's just gotta be a line somewhere.”
■ The company’s hired Cartoon Network “Adult Swim” alumnus Tim Heidecker to run the new Infowars …
■ … even as Jones vows to keep spewing the same crap under the banner Alex Jones Show.

⌘-Shift. Apple’s getting a new CEO—the guy who’s been overseeing iPhones’ design.
■ Journalism critic Margaret Sullivan is “baffled by the [New York] Times’ decision to devote its entire Sunday business cover to a fluffy feature story on [Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ spouse] Lauren Sánchez Bezos, who professes how much fun it is to be rich.”

‘Implications are vast, exciting and troubling.’ Columnist Eric Zorn assesses “the hilarious, ominous trailer … for Pi Hard, a movie not coming soon to a theater near you.”
■ YouTube’s offering actors, athletes, creators and musicians at risk of seeing their likenesses co-opted a proprietary detection tool to identify and request removal of deepfakes on its platform.

Chicago Public Square mailbag. Reader Benjy Blenner writes: “Trump is clearly not running the country. Who is? And why is that not a bigger story?”
■ Related: Stop the Presses columnist Mark Jacob writes, “More than a year into Trump’s second term … journalists— even lazy journalists—can’t miss this authoritarian rot. It’s not cluelessness anymore. It’s cowardice and complicity. And it’s inexcusable.”
■ Recapping this month’s Illinois Local Media Summit, Chicago Media Journal proprietor Igor Studenkov writes, “It was a good concept, and it had some interesting discussion—but I have some notes.”

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