‘Your days may be numbered.’ After Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appeared before the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee, Illinois Rep. Delia Ramirez said she warned Noem that if she doesn’t quit, she’ll face impeachment proceedings.
■ A Block Club investigation: “Why is the Cook County state’s attorney prosecuting nonviolent ICE protesters?”
■ The FBI yesterday raided the home of Los Angeles schools’ superintendent—an immigrant who’s criticized the Trump administration’s oppressive tactics.
■ Pointing to a decade-old case involving Chicago cops, a West Virginia judge has condemned the feds’ use of masked agents and ordered the release of an El Salvadoran man arrested under such circumstances.
‘It is unclear why the materials are missing.’ The New York Times (gift link) reports that Justice Department documents briefly mention a woman’s accusation that Trump assaulted her when she was a minor—but the documents referenced aren’t included.
■ The story’s given new life to Trump’s 2006 chat with Howard Stern—in which that man who would be president indicated he’d be OK sleeping with girls as young as 13.
■ The department says it’s looking into whether it improperly withheld stuff.
■ Popular Information says Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s assertion last month that “We did not protect President Trump” turns out to have been untrue.
■ Stephen Colbert: “That the files are missing should be the biggest story in the world.”
■ Jimmy Kimmel: “The best thing for President Trump—who I’m sure did nothing wrong—is to order them to unredact his name and release all of the Trump-Epstein files, so he can prove how unbelievably innocent he is.”
■ Columnist Julie Roginsky: Get former Attorney General Bill Barr and former FBI Director Christopher Wray under oath now.
■ Another one bites the dust: Bill Clinton’s Treasury secretary, Larry Summers, is quitting his Harvard job following revelation of his ties to dead sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
■ Clinton and his wife were beginning two days of testimony about Epstein before a new generation of Democrats who’ve asserted no relation or loyalty to the Clintons.
■ Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has apologized to his foundation for his Epstein ties.
‘It appears Trump’s surgeon general nominee is insane.’ Wonkette’s Evan Hurst assesses her testimony yesterday before the Senate.
■ She began her remarks with the words “As a physician …” but The New York Times notes (gift link) that she doesn’t have an active medical license.
■ Columnist Christopher Armitage lists “198 things the Trump regime exposed, broke or burned down in 13 months.”
■ Also from Armitage: Publicly available evidence suggests that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas committed “a crime that could get him 5 years in a Virginia state penitentiary.”
‘Most of them are Black.’ A Tribune analysis exposes racial disparities in a little-known program that lets the CTA and Metra ban people accused of violence.
■ A jury’s awarded almost $6 million in damages to a family whose home Chicago cops raided by mistake—breaking down their door and pointing guns at the kids.
‘Who will you be representing if you get elected?’ A debate among some of the many candidates in the Chicago area’s 9th Congressional District Democratic primary revealed a common target for ’em all: Democrats now serving in the House.
■ See it here.
■ Bewildered by all your choices in the upcoming primary? The Chicago Public Square Voter Guide Guide’s been newly expanded.
‘The WGN layoffs are disappointing.’ But columnist Eric Zorn’s more troubled by online haters’ glee at the TV station’s cuts.
■ Former WGN news director Jennifer Schulze: WGN’s corporate parent, Nexstar, is joining “Trump’s effort to whitewash American history.”
■ The American Prospect: The Epstein files reveal Epstein’s role in the decline and fall of New York’s Daily News.
Time’s almost up for your chance at a $100 gift card. Take a few minutes before the week’s out for a survey to help news organizations working with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism better understand the public they serve—and show advertisers and other potential funders that the region’s journalists have substantial community backing.
‘Fix your lousy shopping app, Jewel-Osco!’ A Tribune editorial (gift link, now fixed) supports state legislation that would require retailers to offer in-store paper versions of all digital discounts.
■ The Citizens Utility Board and other consumer advocates are pushing a bill that would forbid investor-owned utilities like ComEd and Peoples Gas from charging customers for self-serving expenses like trade association memberships.
‘Feb. 26 is a special day.’ Law professor Joyce Vance looks back to 1942, when Nazi-occupied Norway outlawed red top hats—making red stocking caps a resistance symbol.
■ Reminder: Chicago Public Square caps are back for a limited time.
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