Illinois GOP voters largely buy the “big lie”

Plus, it will be dangerously hot in the Chicago area. Here's what you need to know today.

To view this email as a web page, click here.   by Hunter Clauss   Good afternoon! It’s Monday, and Queen Elizabeth II is the second-longest reigning monarch in history. Though I’ve got a bet on the dark web that Chicago’s Shea Couleé will be the longest-ruling qween. Here’s what you need to know today. 1. A majority of GOP voters in Illinois believe Trump won the 2020 election   More than two-thirds of Republican voters in Illinois believe former President Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud in the 2020 election, with nine out of 10 saying they still support Trump, according to a new Chicago Sun-Times/WBEZ poll. “One of the big stories from this poll is it really shows Trump’s continued hold on Republican primary voters,” said Jim Williams, a polling analyst with Public Policy Polling, the North Carolina-based pollster that conducted the Sun-Times/WBEZ survey on June 6 and 7. [WBEZ] Nationally, “Trump is more beloved by Republicans than [President Joe] Biden is by Democrats,” reports CNN in an analysis of polling data. [CNN] 2. Trump became ‘detached from reality’ on election fraud claims, Barr told the Jan. 6 committee   Former Attorney General Bill Barr said former President Donald Trump grew more delusional as his claims of election fraud become more and more outlandish, according to videotaped testimony played today by the House select committee investigating the insurrection. “He’s become detached from reality if he really believes this stuff,” Barr said. “There was never an indication of interest in what the actual facts were.” The big theme of the committee’s second public hearing was how Trump committed himself to the “big lie” despite several aides telling him there was no hard evidence supporting those claims. The committee also played the recorded testimony of Bill Stepien, Trump’s campaign chairman, who said he told his boss on election night that it was too early to declare victory as early and mail-in ballots were being counted. [NPR] 3. Turmoil on Wall Street amid concerns over where the economy is heading   U.S. stocks tumbled today amid a global sell-off, a sign that investors may be increasingly pessimistic about the odds of avoiding a recession. I’ll try to spare you the Wall Street mumbo jumbo, but here’s what appears to be going on: Inflation reaccelerated last month, and that has some investors believing the Federal Reserve could take more aggressive steps this week to get rising prices under control. But the central bank’s strategy of hiking interest rates, which makes borrowing money more expensive (think credit cards and home loans), also risks triggering a recession. So today, the S&P 500 closed in what’s called bear market territory, a threshold indicating a retreat in investments. Some analysts say it’s important to note that while stock markets can provide a window into the direction of the economy, they cratered and quickly rebounded during the beginning of the pandemic. [AP] 4. A gun deal was reached by a bipartisan group of senators. So what’s in it?   The agreement, which has not yet been written into a legislative proposal, includes “money to encourage states to pass and implement so-called ‘red flag’ laws to remove guns from potentially dangerous people, money for school safety and mental health resources, expanded background checks for gun purchases for people between the ages of 18 and 21 and penalties for illegal straw purchases by convicted criminals,” reports NPR. Ten Republicans were part of the group negotiating the deal, meaning that Democrats may have enough votes to overcome a GOP filibuster. [NPR] The deal falls short of what President Joe Biden and Democrats were pushing for, but they also got more than they expected, reports The New York Times. [NYT] Meanwhile in Indiana, a new law will take effect soon that some fear will make the availability of guns even easier — in the Hoosier state and in Illinois. [WBEZ] 5. ‘Dangerous heat’ could hit Chicago tomorrow   It will be so hot in the Chicago area on Tuesday and Wednesday that it could feel like 109 degrees, warns the National Weather Service.  “Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun and check up on relatives and neighbors,” the weather service said in a heat advisory for northern Illinois.  Luckily a cold front will move in later this week, potentially dropping temperatures to a high in the low 90s on Thursday. And Friday’s high is expected to be in the mid 80s. [Chicago Sun-Times] WBEZ CHICAGO Win a reservation to Alinea! When you donate to WBEZ Chicago today, you could win dinner for two at the only Chicago restaurant to hold three Michelin stars: Alinea. Snagging a coveted reservation at this exclusive foodie-destination is harder than whipping up the perfect soufflé. So let WBEZ take care of your Alinea reservation… and foot the bill, too! Donate today and you’ll automatically be entered to win a dinner and wine pairing for two. Here's what else is happening Early voting is now available in all of Chicago’s 50 wards. The primary election is on June 28. [Chicago Sun-Times] Chicago native Jennifer Hudson won a Tony Award that put her in the elite ranks of the EGOT winners. [Chicago Sun-Times] A decade after President Barack Obama announced DACA, one immigrant from Mexico and grad student says the program is not working. [WBEZ] A new food pantry is helping show the many ways a food desert can bloom. [WBEZ] Oh, and one more thing... Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum recently did an interview with The New York Times and I can’t stop laughing at this one part. The interview largely focuses on how the three actors are reprising their roles in the new Jurassic Park sequel about 30 years after the original movie. The Times asked them when was the last time they saw the 1993 blockbuster.  “The last time I watched it in its totality was sitting beside Princess Di at Leicester Square at the London opening,” said Neill. “On the other side of me was my son Tim — he was 11 and completely swept away by it, but about the time the T-Rex turns up, Tim started to fart.  “And the draft was drifting across me to royalty! I spent the whole film in a muck sweat, thinking, ‘Princess Di is being exposed to the horrors of a little boy’s fart, but she’s going to think it’s me. I am going to be subliminally blamed for my son’s crimes, and I don’t think she’ll talk to me afterwards.’ But she was well brought up and never mentioned it.” “I love that story, Sam,” said Goldblum. “I’ve heard him tell that a couple of times, and it’s just amazing the lengths that he will go to still blame the boy.”  Dern chimes in: “And Tim’s a grown man now!” [NYT] Give these people a podcast, please!  Tell me something good My colleagues at WBEZ created an amazing and extensive guide to free events in Chicago this summer. And I’d like to know what’s a favorite or hilarious memory you have of enjoying the summer in the city. I’ve got two: One time during Market Days in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, well before I met my husband, I was enjoying adult beverages on the back patio of a bar with these dudes who were too cool for school. They were friends of a friend I was hanging out with, so I didn’t really know them. My friend stepped away for a second, leaving an uncomfortable silence, so the one brain cell I had fired up was like, “Hey boys, I don’t mean to fog up your sunglasses, but I play Dungeons & Dragons.”  And then they responded with how they were literally learning how to play that morning, and I think I blacked out.  Then, later that night, I was at a party where you need a wristband to get into. I wasn’t feeling the place, so I left and ran into the friend from above, who had forgotten his wristband.  So we then proceeded to delicately peel off my wristband, right in front of the club, like battlefield surgeons operating under stress before a bouncer saw us.  Feel free to email me, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.  therundown@wbez.org | @whuntah Thanks for reading and have a nice night! I'll see you tomorrow. — Hunter Clauss P.S. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up to receive The Rundown in your inbox. 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