🎃 A pumpkin quiz for the pumpkin state

Will Johnson Reconsider Snap Curfews After Loop Shooting?

Nine teenagers were shot, and one was killed, during two separate incidents Friday night in the Loop following the Millennium Park annual Christmas tree lighting. On today’s podcast, we discuss the Mayor’s response and renewed conversation about local snap curfews. [City Cast Chicago 🎧]

Cook County’s New Budget Includes Guaranteed Income Funding

Cook County passed a $10.12 billion budget which includes $7.5 million in permanent funding for guaranteed income. Cook County is the first U.S. county to establish such a program. [The Triibe]

New Signs Call Out ICE Arrests Locations

Laminated signs resembling no-parking or tow-zone notices hang on lightposts and trees, marking spots where thousands of people were arrested by federal agents during “Operation Midway Blitz.” The project by Marimacha Monarca Press aims to remind Chicagoans of the extent of detainments. [Sun-Times]

• Across the city: “Midway Blitz” is winding down. [Tribune 🔒]

Airlines Say Travel is ‘Mostly’ Back to Normal Ahead of Thanksgiving

O’Hare and Midway saw many delays and flight cuts during the recent government shutdown. Now, however, airlines say things are mostly back to normal ahead of the holiday season. [Tribune 🔒]

Did you know Illinois is the country’s No. 1 pumpkin exporter? By a lot!

If you did know that, I expect you’ll do well on today’s quiz. I also expect you’re excited for this Thursday’s dessert spread.

If not, don’t worry — it’s never too late to learn about local pumpkin production.

Remember P***y Riot? The feminist punk group donned neon ski masks and staged a guerrilla performance near Moscow’s Kremlin in 2011. Members were convicted of hooliganism, with leader Nadya Tolokonnikova sentenced to two years in a work camp. 

Now, Tolokonnikova is reliving that experience inside the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Her limited-run performance art installation, “POLICE STATE,” kicks off today.

In it, Tolokonnikova sews inside a cell, as she was forced to in prison. This time, however, she's surrounded by the artwork of other former and current political prisoners while an eerie soundscape fills the air.

It’s pertinent that “POLICE STATE” makes its Midwest premiere now, according to Tolokonnikova.

During a talk at the MCA Friday, she warned that autocracy establishes itself by dehumanizing certain groups of people. “These [dehumanized] groups don’t have to be similar,” Tolokonnikova said, emphasizing how Trump targets immigrants and how inhumanely ICE treats people in Chicago.

She concluded that she thinks President Donald Trump is centralizing his own power much more quickly than President Vladimir Putin did in Russia.

After months of so-called “Operation Midway Blitz,” the artist’s message feels apparent.

“POLICE STATE” runs through Nov. 30.