Outta there / Behind the shift / ‘Thoughtfully thrilling’

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Chicago Public Square will take Wednesday off. Back Thursday. As ever between editions, check the Square account on Bluesky for breaking news and commentary.

Outta there. Amid fallout from the murder of Alex Pretti—which The New York Times (gift link) says has “posed one of the gravest political threats to Mr. Trump since his inauguration”—Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, who’s become the poster boy for ICE behaving badly, was reportedly set to leave the Twin Cities today …
■ … to be replaced there by Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan.
■ Columnist Jeff Tiedrich celebrates: Bovino “is being sent to a big farm upstate where he’ll have lots of room to run around and pepper spray all the other dogs.”
■ Flashback to September: Trump’s Justice Department shut down an investigation into Homan for accepting a bag of cash during an undercover FBI operation.
■ A Wall Street Journal headline: “Homan In, Bovino Out as Trump Hits Panic Button.”
■ CNN: Homeland Security’s reportedly suspended Bovino’s access to his social media accounts.
■ The Atlantic: “Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her close adviser Corey Lewandowski, who were Bovino’s biggest backers at DHS, are also at risk of losing their jobs.”
■ Former AP D.C. bureau chief Ron Fournier: “Trump and his team lied about what we all saw in Minneapolis. Now they want us to believe they’re atoning. Don’t.”
■ Evan Hurst at Wonkette: “No matter how much they send Tom Homan to Minneapolis to slur and mush-mouth fascism at the locals … we’re stronger than we understood yesterday, and they know it.”
■ The Atlantic: “Minnesota proved MAGA wrong.”
■ Columnist Robert Hubbell declares “a victory by the people of Minnesota and a tactical retreat by Trump. Do not relent!”
■ Salty Politics proprietor Julie Roginsky: “I know it’s hard to believe, but we’re winning.”

Behind the shift. The AP: Trump’s about-face in Minnesota after Pretti’s death is the latest in a pattern of sudden shifts …
■ … this one seemingly at least partly driven by backlash from Second Amendment advocates (link added) …
■ … and following a letter from Minnesota-based corporations—including Target, Best Buy and General Mills—asking ICE for “immediate de-escalation of tensions” …
■ … although Adweek’s Robert Klara says that letter amounted to weak tea.
■ Popular Information asked all 68 companies that signed the letter: “Do you condemn the killing of two Minnesotans by federal officers?” None had an answer.
■ Michael Hiltzik at the Los Angeles Times: “The refusal of the American business community to take a strong stand against Trump’s policies has been a long-lasting scandal.”

‘They all blame the shooter, one of their own.’ Investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein, talking to federal agents on the ground, finds them “uncomfortable with the mission creep that is taking them away from actual immigration enforcement. … ‘Fuck this,’ a senior ICE officer said.”
■ The Conversation: Minnesota’s trauma raises unprecedented constitutional issues.

‘Alex Pretti was brandishing his gun. Wait, no, he was carrying it but deserved to be shot. Wait, no, we have to wait for an investigation.’ Columnist Eric Zorn is gobsmacked by “the unbelievable, ever-evolving excuses from the Trump regime about the tragedy in Minneapolis.”
■ Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel were more blunt: “Bullshit!”
■ Kimmel was in tears as he honored Pretti: “An ICU nurse who treated veterans, which is about as patriotic as it gets.”
■ Jon Stewart raged at Republicans, who he says “jettisoned the entire integrity and belief of their political worldview” for Trump, “a guy who really doesn’t give a fuck.”

‘We cannot look away.’ Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot talks to Chicago magazine about her ICE Accountability Project—gathering evidence from anyone, anywhere, about federal immigration agents’ abuses.
■ A Chicago woman shot and wounded by a federal agent during “Operation Midway Blitz” is asking a federal judge to let the public see the evidence against her—including bodycam video.
■ A federal judge in Minnesota’s threatening the acting director of ICE with contempt: “The Court’s patience is at an end.”

Places, everyone. In the first debate of this year’s Illinois race for U.S. Senate, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton was the only one of three candidates to call for abolishing ICE …
■ … complaining that U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi “voted to thank” ICE and took “funding from ICE contractors.”
■ You can watch the whole session here.
■ Alex Vindman—the former U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who provided key testimony against Trump in that first impeachment—is running for Senate from Florida.

New AirTag. Apple’s unveiled the next-gen version of its help-you-find-stuff device …
■ Apple CEO Tim Cook’s brown-nosing attendance at that White House screening of the Melania Trump movie is fueling calls for an Apple boycott.
■ Pinterest’s laying off 15 percent of its staff—because AI.

End of an era. Southwest Airlines today abandons open seating in favor of assigned seats.
■ Here’s how it works now.

‘Thoughtfully thrilling.’ The Tribune’s Rick Kogan (gift link) recommends the new HBO documentary about Mel Brooks.
■ Stephen Colbert revealed last night that his final Late Show will air on CBS May 12 21.

R.I.P., a classic newspaper competition. The Detroit News is getting bought by the Detroit Free Press’ parent, USA Today Co.
■ Media critic Simon Owens: “Jeff Bezos has given up on The Washington Post.”
■ Mediaite: “Post journalists are appealing to owner Jeff Bezos to step in and ‘save’ the paper … amid reports ‘massive layoffs’ are about to decimate … the newsroom.”
■ Chicago Media Journal scouts the field of potential buyers for The Daily Herald.

Chicago news needs you. If you can spare about 10 minutes for a survey, you can help news organizations working with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism to better understand the public they serve—and you could win a $100 gift card.
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■ Mike Braden, Beth Kujawski and Lee Coleman made this edition better.

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