The Illinois GOP’s Jan. 6 problem

Plus, people really aren't happy with the CTA. Here's what you need to know today.

To view this email as a web page, click here. Today's Rundown is brought to you by WBEZ members and   by Hunter Clauss   Hey there! It’s Thursday! And I can’t stop thinking about how Illinois wants us to eat Asian carp. It’s like some wartime thing: “Don’t want the Asian carp to destroy the Great Lakes? Grab a fork and join the fight!” Anyway, here’s what you need to know today. 1. The election deniers hoping to win in Illinois’ GOP primary races next week   Among them is Peggy Hubbard, the frontrunner in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate who characterized the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection as “a party at Showbiz Pizza,” reports my colleague Dave McKinney. Hubbard has indicated she does not regard President Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election. If she wins in the June 28 primary, Hubbard will face Democrat incumbent Tammy Duckworth in the November election. Other election deniers include gubernatorial candidate Max Solomon, attorney general candidate David Shestokas and U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, who, like Hubbard, took part in protests on Jan. 6 in the nation’s capital. “We’re seeing people, who are ‘stop the steal’ supporters, who’ve spread lies and conspiracy theories about our elections, some who were even at the rally at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, trying to take over these positions,” said Joanna Lydgate, co-founder of the States United Democracy Center, a bi-partisan election watchdog that monitors election deniers. “It’s like putting arsonists in charge of the fire department.” [WBEZ] 2. The summer festival season is revving up. Will Chicago’s public trains and buses be able to handle it?   Chicago residents have become more vocal in recent weeks about poor service from the city’s public trains and buses, complaining about everything from filthy conditions to long delays. And coming down the tracks are major summer festivals that city officials tout in their efforts to lure tourists after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. If the situation isn’t fixed soon, everyday commuters who rely on public transportation could face even more hardships, advocates say. “It’s having a real-world impact,” Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa told Block Club Chicago. “People are late to work, people are late to appointments, people are no longer able to trust that this vital public service is going to get them where they need to go on time.”  Ramirez-Rosa and 33 other City Council members are now pushing for a public hearing with the Chicago Transit Authority, which has blamed the pandemic for running fewer trains and buses. [Block Club] 3. Amid a heated debate over Chicago’s speed cameras, neighbors mourn a toddler killed by a car   Neighbors this week remembered 2-year-old Raphael “Rafi” Cardenas, who was hit by a car earlier this month as he played on a mini scooter in Lincoln Square.  He was “one of three children hit and killed in Chicago car crashes in three weeks, prompting a renewed push for pedestrian and cyclist safety measures,” reports the Chicago Sun-Times.  “I’m hoping we can look back and say this is a time when things changed,” said Ald. Matt Martin, whose 47th Ward includes Lincoln Square. “This could be an inflection point.” [Sun-Times] Meanwhile, the City Council and Mayor Lori Lightfoot are locked in a heated debate over Chicago’s speed camera program. Some council members want to increase the threshold for when cameras issue a ticket, from the current 6 mph over the speed limit to 10 mph. [WBEZ] 4. The far-reaching implications of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down New York’s concealed carry restrictions   The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that New York's restrictions on the concealed carry of firearms in public violates the Second Amendment. The 6-3 vote was split along ideological lines.  The New York law required people who wanted to carry a handgun outside their homes to show “proper cause” to get the appropriate licenses. “The decision follows recent mass shootings and is expected to ultimately allow more people to legally carry guns on the streets of the nation’s largest cities — including New York, Los Angeles and Boston — and elsewhere,” reports The Associated Press. [AP] Chicago had written a “friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of Chicago and 11 other cities in support of the New York rule,” reports Crain’s Chicago Business. [Crain’s]  5. Looking for something to do this weekend?   I might head over to Lane Beach this Saturday in the Edgewater neighborhood, where “a weird, wonderful beachfront variety show pays tribute to Chicago culture,” writes Isabella DeLeo for WBEZ.  The variety show is part of Boulevard Dreamers, a project started in 2013 that gives performers, regardless of experience, equal pay and stage time. The goal is to “find different performance communities that wouldn’t normally intersect, DeLeo writes. [WBEZ] If you’re looking for more things to do this weekend, my colleagues at WBEZ have a great guide to free summer events, like this Sunday’s Pride Parade. [WBEZ] SPONSORED BY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY'S MA IN PUBLIC POLICY & ADMINISTRATION Build the skills needed to drive change Prepare for careers in government, education, nonprofit organizations and more in Northwestern’s MA in Public Policy & Administration — one of the few programs to delve into both the administrative and analytical sides of policy. You’ll learn from leading experts from a range of fields and build the leadership, administrative, and analytical expertise needed to drive change at the local, national, and international levels. You can learn in online or on-campus classes. Earn your master’s degree at your own pace or in as little as one year.   Here's what else is happening A Chicago family lost their home in a fire. Now, with rents surging amid inflation, they’re asking for the public’s help. [WBEZ] On the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the Biden administration proposed changes that would prevent colleges and universities from discriminating against transgender students. [NPR] The U.S. Department of Education agreed to cancel the student loan debts of about 200,000 people who claim they were defrauded by colleges. [CNBC] Ken Griffin, Illinois’ richest man, is “taking his family, his billions of dollars and his companies and leaving Chicago.” [Chicago Sun-Times] Oh, and one more thing... I’ve been wanting to get a new dog from a shelter, and the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is putting me over the edge. Last night, a bloodhound named Trumpet (!) won Best in Show at the canine competition.  “I’m just ecstatic,” handler and owner Heather Helmer told The Washington Post. Trumpet “has a lot of attitude and he’s a little crazy.” [WaPo] Tell me something good The Chicago Pride Parade returns this Sunday for the first time in two years. And I want to know how y’all like to party. What are your plans this year? And if you don’t have any plans, what’s one of your favorite memories of the LGBTQ holiday?  Kentina Washington-Leapheart writes:  “My favorite memory of Pride, hands-down, was the two parades that I was able to march in as a clergyperson with my colleagues and friends in the Chicago Coalition of Welcoming Churches.  “There was no greater feeling of pride for me — a Black queer woman — than to don my clerical collar with a T-shirt atop that read ‘Black LGBTQ Lives Matter.’ We sung and chanted loudly, reminding all in attendance that they were deeply and fully loved by the Creator/Divine Spirit, drowning out the inevitable hateful noise from religious zealot protesters.” And Suzanne Dunne writes:  “About 8 years ago, my wife and I took our two toddlers (I think 1 and 3 at the time) to the Pride Parade and posted a picture. A friend saw the picture and commented that she never thought of Pride as an event for families until she saw our picture. Then she knew of course it was an event for families! I loved how our participation in just being at the parade made a difference!” Feel free to email me, and your response might be shared 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. VIEW OUR BROADCAST SCHEDULE ©Chicago Public Media Inc 848 East Grand Ave, Navy Pier Chicago, IL 60611 Please do not reply to this email. If you need assistance, you may contact us here. You are receiving this email because you are a WBEZ member or signed up to receive email communications from us. You can unsubscribe from The Rundown here. CHICAGO PUBLIC MEDIA'S PRIVACY POLICY