A low-profile election race that’s a big deal

Plus, questioning topless rules at Evanston beaches. Here's what you need to know today.

Tuesday, August 30, 2022 Today's Rundown is brought to you by WBEZ members and   by Hunter Clauss   Hey there! It’s kinda weird we refer to our pets as “girl” and “boy” instead of “woman” and “man” when they’re older, right? I’ll just test this out every time I’m walking my dog, Princess Leia, and refer to her as a “good woman” when people are near. Anyway, here’s what you need to know today. 1. Abortion and gun rights elevate down-ballot races for the Illinois Supreme Court   There are two open seats up for grabs on the Illinois Supreme Court, and Republicans are hoping to pick them up and take control of the state’s highest court.  The Illinois Republican Party has gone so far as telling donors the court elections are “more” important than even races for governor or Congress.  That’s because, under a conservative majority, the state’s Supreme Court could derail efforts by Democrats to strengthen abortion rights and pass new gun laws.  The races are playing out in newly drawn districts that include large parts of suburban Chicago. Democrats hold an advantage, but a degree of political volatility remains. “The worst part of it is they’re last on the ballot. So you know, people don’t get down there even to vote for these positions, which honestly could be the most important vote that they’re taking on November the 8th,” said Kathleen Sances, president of Gun Violence Prevention Action Committee, an Arlington Heights-based gun control advocacy group. [WBEZ] 2. Illinois Dems quickly vowed to strengthen abortion rights this summer. But little has happened.   It’s been more than two months since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. In the immediate aftermath of the court’s decision, Gov. JB Pritzker and other high-ranking Democrats vowed to call lawmakers back to the state capitol to pass legislation further protecting access to the procedure. But “a special session on abortion rights is not looking all that likely any longer,” writes veteran political commentator Rich Miller for the Chicago Sun-Times.  Among the problems: “Advocates and several legislators appear to only want to pass bills with immediate effective dates,” Miller writes.  “And that means each chamber would have to come up with three-fifths super majorities if anything is passed before the end of this calendar year. The voting threshold for immediate effective dates drops to simple majorities starting Jan. 1. Until then, per the state constitution, the earliest a bill passed with a simple majority can become law is next June 1.” [Sun-Times] 3. Ald. Tom Tunney, the first openly gay member of Chicago’s City Council, will retire   Ald. Tom Tunney today announced he will not run for reelection next year, ending a 20-year career representing the North Side’s 44th Ward that has long been the heart of the city’s LGBTQ community. In a statement, Tunney touted a list of accomplishments that included the Center on Halsted and the massive renovation of Wrigley Field. But as my colleague Fran Spielman at the Sun-Times points out: “Implied, but not stated, was that Tunney did battle with the Cubs over all things Wrigley over the last two decades — prompting the billionaire Ricketts family that owns the team to run and bankroll a challenger against him whom Tunney handily defeated.”  Now, it remains to be seen what kind of play the Ricketts will make for the open seat — and if the ward will continue to be represented by someone within the LGBTQ community.  Tunney’s chief of staff, Bennett Lawson, quickly announced he is entering the race with the retiring alderman’s “strong endorsement.” [Chicago Sun-Times] 4. The Chicago Police Department unveils new rules for time off amid a debate over whether officers are overworked   Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown today announced new policies that limit when time off is canceled for officers.  Throughout the summer, Brown and Mayor Lori Lightfoot have defended the practice of canceling days off as a way to get more officers patrolling the streets.  As the Chicago Sun-Times reports, “the department’s reliance on cutting time off faced intense scrutiny after three officer suicides rocked the force in July.” Just yesterday, the city’s inspector general found at least 1,190 officers were scheduled to work at least 11 straight days during April and May. [Chicago Sun-Times] 5. Women should be allowed to go topless at beaches in Evanston, city councilmember says   A member of Evanston’s City Council was reviewing city codes when it dawned on him that the lakefront suburb’s public nudity ordinance may violate the Illinois Constitution, reports WBEZ's Sonal Soni. Councilmember Devon Reid says the city code as written violates the Illinois Constitution, Article I, Section 18, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. He says Evanston’s ban on the public display of female breasts is an example of how their bodies are governed differently from men’s. “I don’t see a material difference between a man’s chest and, you know, what is termed in our ordinance as ‘female chest,’ ” Reid said. “Biologically, if you’re going to use that specific language — female breast — the only difference is that female breasts have [functioning] mammary glands. And if we’re scared of mammary glands, then I think we’re worried about the wrong things.” [WBEZ] SPONSORED BY STEPPENWOLF THEATRE Two for One Tickets to see Miz Martha Steppenwolf is thrilled to invite you back to the theatre for the Chicago premiere of The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington by the 2022 Pulitzer Prize-winning author James Ijames. Miz Martha, the recently widowed “Mother of America” lies ill, attended to by the very same enslaved people who will be free the moment she dies. Hilarious and terrifying, this fantastical fever dream of a play is an unforgettably bold remix of American history. Two-for-one tickets to Miz Martha, valid for performances Sept. 1-10, are available using code WBEZBOGO at our website or by calling 312-335-1650. See you at the theatre! Here's what else is happening Prosecutors rested their case today in R. Kelly’s trial in Chicago. [Chicago Sun-Times] Darren Bailey, the Republican nominee for governor, received $1 million from conservative megadonor Richard Uihlein. [Chicago Tribune] There’s a thing called “zombie ice” and it could raise sea levels by almost a foot. [AP] More Americans are smoking pot than cigarettes for the first time on record. [NPR]    Sasha's Pick Today, Reset reflected on one year since the U.S. withdrew troops from Afghanistan. We talked to Siam Pasarly, an Afghan refugee who resettled in Illinois, about the chaos of the past 12 months and how he’s coping with separation from his loved ones. Listen to our full conversation by clicking the bracketed link. [WBEZ Reset] — Sasha-Ann Simons, host of Reset Oh, and one more thing... The Car Kebab is back in Berwyn, sort of. The towering stack of full-sized cars impaled on a silver spike has been recreated by a local artist, though it’s about half as tall as the original, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. Known formerly as the Spindle, the original sculpture rose to prominence after a brief cameo in 1992’s Wayne’s World.  But in 2008, the Spindle was demolished and became “one of the Chicago region’s great pieces of lost public art.” [Sun-Times] Tell me something good With the Chicago Sky in the WNBA semifinals this week, I want to hear about your all-time favorite sports memories. Robert J. “Bob” Szyman writes: “The air raid sirens going off when the White Sox won the pennant at Cleveland in 1959. Many thought the USSR was attacking Chicago.”  And Ron Schwartz writes: “The time when I was 12 and initiated a triple play on a line drive to me, the first baseman. I tagged the runner off of first base for the second out, then I threw to the third baseman who tagged the runner going from second to third base.” Feel free to email or tweet me, and your response might be shared here this week. therundown@wbez.org | @whuntah Thanks for reading and have a nice night! I'll see you tomorrow. — Hunter Clauss ©Chicago Public Media Inc 848 East Grand Ave, Navy Pier Chicago, IL 60611 View in Browser | Sign Up for Newsletters | Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy