Supercell suffering. Big storms that ravaged Illinois and Indiana spun off at least four tornadoes …
■ … including one that ripped through Kankakee …
■ … demolishing homes and killing at least two in Indiana …
CTA safety plan. Threatened with a loss of federal funding if it doesn’t do more to fight crime on trains and buses, the Chicago Transit Authority’s promising sheriff’s deputies on trains, more secure entry gates and farecard spot-checks to keep out nonpaying riders.
■ The Sun-Times: A man shot and killed by a Chicago cop Monday night was wanted in connection with a shooting earlier that day on the Eisenhower Expressway near Oak Park.
■ Also from the Sun-Times: A 36-year-old man’s been arrested, accused of randomly attacking three women downtown last Thursday.
Dems on a roll. The Downballot: A Democrat’s win in a race for a traditionally Republican New Hampshire House seat is the party’s 10th straight election flip: “Since the start of Trump’s second term, Republicans have flipped zero Democratic seats.”
■ A new poll suggests a nailbiter in the Chicago area’s hotly contested 9th Congressional District Democratic primary race.
■ Pro-Israel Political Update columnist Steve Sheffey: The American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s decision to dump $5 million in the race might blow up in its face.
■ 7th District voters in the city and the western suburbs have a mind-blowingly large field of candidates from which to choose.
■ The Tribune’s A.D. Quig takes a close look at the race for Cook County Board president.
■ Wary of Trump interference in elections, Mayor Johnson’s proposing no-immigration-enforcement “democracy zones” outside polling places in next week’s election.
■ Ready to make your call? Check the Chicago Public Square Voter Guide Guide.
‘Fake explosions, fake missiles, fake troops.’ CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale says AI-generated crap is clouding news of the Iran war …
■ … which independent journalist Ken Klippenstein says merits the title World War III.
■ The Present Age proprietor Parker Molloy: “They can’t agree on whether it’s a war, a mission, regime change or self-defense. They don’t need to. They just need Congress to stay out” …
■ … a thing it’s doing pretty well …
■ … with some Democrats’ help.
■ Popular Information: Trump says his son-in-law Jared Kushner helped convince him to go to war. (Cartoon: Jack Ohman.)
■ Columnist Jeff Tiedrich: “Billions wasted on an illegal war, but at least Marco Rubio’s shoes don’t fit” …
■ … a reference to Wall Street Journal reporting: Trump “has the strangest habit of buying cheap dress shoes for people without their consent.”
■ Dan Froomkin at Press Watch: “The war makes it more urgent for journalists to call out Trump’s derangement.”
War’s upside? As the conflict drives up fuel prices, environmentalists hope renewable energy will get a boost (Monday link).
■ Ryan Cooper at The American Prospect: “Most presidents can’t be directly blamed for gas prices going up. This one is the exception.”
■ The Onion: “MAGA Voter Claims She Loves High Gas Prices.”
‘As Paul Revere declared on his famous ride: One if by surf, two if by turf.’ That’s Stephen Colbert last night, mocking Defense Secretary Hegseth after a government watchdog’s report that the Pentagon blew billions of dollars on luxury food and other items in 2025 under a “use-it-or-lose-it” budget scenario.
■ Read the full accounting here.
‘Trump’s Epstein scandal somehow got worse.’ Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch (gift link): “Buried bodies? A murder cover-up? A shocking sex crime? It’s Epstein files gone wild.”
■ Marcie Jones at Wonkette: “While bombs have been dropping on Iranian schoolgirls … Trump has been facing … more files and reporting … featuring his high-mileage peen, explosive temper and pummeling fists, and his and Jeffrey Epstein’s now well-documented tendency of preying on young girls as a team.”
■ Columnist Amy Parker: “It will take far more than the end of Trump’s misbegotten, ugly life to repair the damage to our country.”
‘Fabricating a violent terrorist invasion of America’s third-largest city to justify suppression of First Amendment rights.’ The Freedom of the Press Foundation—representing several Chicago news organizations—has filed a disciplinary complaint against a Justice Department lawyer, asserting that he misled a judge during hearings over demonstrations in which federal agents tear-gassed and shot reporters with pepper-spray bullets.
■ Law professor Joyce Vance: “I know when something is so weird that it’s funny. Like Kristi Noem’s last tweet as DHS Secretary.”
■ Mother Jones: She may be out at Homeland Security, but “taxpayers are still getting screwed on Kristi Noem’s big beautiful jet.”
Tomorrow’s the day. Got a Chicago Public Square T-shirt, hoodie or cap? Wear it Thursday to mark the ninth annual National Support Chicago Public Square Day and then share a photo on social media …
■ … including the Square Flickr account …
■ … and encourage curious onlookers to subscribe free at sub.ChicagoPublicSquare.com.
A Square public service announcement
Know an aspiring journalist? Spread the word from the Chicago Headline Club and the Chicago Headline Club Foundation: April 6’s the deadline to apply for the Les Brownlee Memorial Scholarship. A committed undergrad attending a Chicago-area institution can land $5,000. Apply here.
