There is no “Purge Law” in Illinois

Plus, uh, Garrett Popcorn beer? Here's what you need to know today.

Wednesday, September 14, 2022 Today's Rundown is brought to you by WBEZ members   by Hunter Clauss   Hey there! I had this incredibly weird dream where my family was celebrating Christmas on a plane, and when the thing landed, everyone left their gifts behind. So I scrambled and packed up everything before it got thrown out. Good luck with that one, therapist. Here’s what you need to know today. 1. A ‘Purge Law’? Misinformation ramps up over the end of cash bail in Illinois as the November election approaches.   GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey this week said “Chicago is living the purge,” a reference to The Purge horror movies in which the U.S. celebrates a national holiday that legalizes all crimes for 12 hours. Bailey’s comment comes as viral messages recently posted on social media have referred to the Safe-T Act, a new criminal justice law that ends cash bail, as the “Purge Law.” And those posts on social media come after fake newspapers have been mailed to thousands of Illinois voters and make several false claims about the Safe-T Act. “These lies are not random,” Sharone Mitchell Jr., the Cook County public defender, told Reset host Sasha-Ann Simons. “We have to understand that this is intentional. … It was designed to trick, fool and get people to kind of act in a certain way.” Reset and Block Club Chicago both debunk many of the false claims surrounding the Safe-T Act. The main thing to know is judges can still send someone to jail despite the end of cash bail. [Block Club Chicago] 2. Indiana’s ban on nearly all abortions goes into effect tomorrow   Abortion providers are expecting many patients will begin heading to Illinois after a near total ban on abortions goes into effect tomorrow in Indiana. Indiana’s ban — the first to be drafted and approved by lawmakers in the U.S. following the end of Roe v. Wade — provides narrow exceptions for rape, incest and certain serious medical complications and emergencies. For many Americans, Indiana was the closest option for seeking an abortion.  Earlier this summer, an Indiana doctor said she performed an abortion on a 10-year-old girl from Ohio who had been raped. The girl could not get an abortion in her home state because of a “trigger ban” that doesn’t include a rape exception. [NPR] On Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris will be in Chicago to highlight reproductive rights. [Chicago Sun-Times] Meanwhile, Republicans are struggling to unite around a 15-week abortion ban introduced this week by Sen. Lindsey Graham. [NPR] 3. Metra begins canceling some services ahead of a possible strike by freight railroad workers   Metra today announced it has canceled train service tomorrow night on four of its lines, including the BNSF line that connects Chicago to western suburbs like Aurora and Naperville.  Cancellations were also announced for the Union Pacific North, Union Pacific Northwest and Union Pacific West lines.  Amtrak, meanwhile, has preemptively canceled long-distance train routes, including ones departing from Chicago. The service disruptions come as freight railroad workers could go on strike as soon as Friday. Two unions representing 115,000 workers are pushing for better working conditions, saying workers are unfairly penalized for taking sick days.  If a resolution is not quickly found and workers do go on strike, it will have a profound impact on the nation, writes my colleague Manny Ramos. “A nationwide strike could cost the U.S. economy $2 billion per day, according to an industry report released last week,” Ramos reports. “Those economic damages will be felt at retail stores and in lost jobs, widespread plant shutdowns, more expensive goods and the disruption of hundreds of thousands of daily trips on commuter railroads and Amtrak.” [Chicago Sun-Times] 4. Pritzker signs disaster proclamation to help migrants bused to Chicago from Texas   Gov. JB Pritzker today signed a disaster proclamation aimed at speeding up resources provided to migrants who are being bused to Chicago by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. At a press conference this morning, Pritzker had a message for Abbott.  “Now is the time to stop trying to sow the seeds of chaos, to put aside politics and focus on human rights. Communicate with us. Have your state agencies call us back,” Pritzker said. Officials in Texas have been sending migrants to Chicago as part of a plan to send people arriving at the southern border into Democrat-led cities. Among the arrivals in Chicago are families.  The migrants have been given shelter at two facilities run by the Salvation Army in Humboldt Park. Others have been taken to a hotel in suburban Burr Ridge. [Chicago Sun-Times] 5. Wait, there’s a Garrett Popcorn beer?   Move over, Malört. In what may become the next big dare at the bar with your friends, Revolution Brewing has created a Garrett Popcorn beer, reports the Chicago Tribune. The brown ale is made from Garrett’s CaramelCrisp, or caramel popcorn, and begins rolling out today with a wider release slated for Oct. 1, the Trib reports. So how does it taste? “The ingredients betray a decadent beer: 450 pounds of Garrett’s CaramelCrisp and 1,200 pounds of brown sugar. But both are added early enough in the brewing process that most of the sweetness is fermented away, resulting in a beer that’s surprisingly dry and nuanced, rich with caramel essence and overtones, but only modest caramel-like sweetness,” the Trib reports. “It’s a neat trick.” [Chicago Tribune] Here's what else is happening Riot Fest takes place this week in Douglass Park. Local residents are hoping it’ll be the last year. [Chicago Sun-Times] Jurors deliberating in R. Kelly’s Chicago trial asked their first questions. [Chicago Tribune] CTA trains see more delays over the weekend, data shows. [Block Club Chicago] Disney’s live-action Little Mermaid is already making waves among young Black girls. [NPR]    Sasha's Pick How does a book become a hit? Freelance writer Kate Dwyer and best-selling author Jessamine Chan took us behind the scenes of the book publishing process in a recent Twitter Spaces conversation. (Join us tomorrow at 2:30pm CT for another Twitter Spaces discussion where we’ll cover practical advice for landing a new job.) [ WBEZ Reset] — Sasha-Ann Simons, host of Reset Oh, and one more thing... Talk about serendipity. I just watched The Wiz not that long ago.  And now my colleague Natalie Moore reports that a new exhibit at the DuSable Museum of African American History is a tribute to the Emerald City sequence from the movie. The exhibit, from brothers Nick and Jack Cave, is called “The Color Is.” That’s a reference to how comedian Richard Pryor, as the Wiz, keeps changing the color of the Emerald City as people promenade at the site of the World Trade Center.  The exhibit features garments draped on dozens of “faceless mannequins in a circle dressed in blues, oranges, pinks, blacks and greens. Museumgoers walk a circle like in the movie,” Moore writes. “You can’t help but strut as the music hums in the background.” [WBEZ] Tell me something good What books are you reading these days? I’m almost done with East of Eden by John Steinbeck and need something new.  Torey writes:  “If you’re including graphic novels, I’ve been reading Birds of Maine by Michael DeForge, and it’s been incredible. His work always leaves me awestruck, from his remarkable illustration style to the concepts explored. Would highly recommend it to anyone who’s interested in what avian public radio on the moon might sound like.” Kristin Emery writes:  “I just finished Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr and found it to be a nice palate cleanser. It’s a story within a story within a story (within a story) that spans from ancient Greece all the way to a 22nd century space ark headed for a new planet. One magical tale unites characters from various time periods, and themes include climate change, human connections and books/libraries. Also has a slightly mind-blowing twist.” And Nora Byrd writes:  “This year I haven’t been able to get enough of Scottish author Ali Smith. Her writing is somehow breezy and intellectual at the same time, always full of delight and never pretentious. I’d start with Girl Meets Boy, a modern retelling of one of the few Ovid myths with a happy ending.” Feel free to email or tweet 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 ©Chicago Public Media Inc 848 East Grand Ave, Navy Pier Chicago, IL 60611 View in Browser | Sign Up for Newsletters | Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy