Chicago - A message from the station manager

The [Tuesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes


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“Mayor Lori Lightfoot warned Monday that Chicago was falling short in responding to the 2020 census, threatening millions of dollars in federal aid to the city,” WTTW-TV reports.
“Approximately 55% of Chicagoans have already responded to the census, but that is ‘not even close to where we need to be,’ Lightfoot said, giving the response a letter grade of C – something she said she would never have been satisfied with as a student. ‘We have to aim higher.'”
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Minnesota Leads The Nation In Census Response.
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Now, about the Dreadhead Cowboy. It’s a pretty great moment in the Lightfoot press conference when he rides into the scene. But if it seems as if (nearly) every major Chicago news organization has felt the need to work up their own Dreadhead feature in the last couple of months, well, it’s because they have.
-> Block Club Chicago, May 13: This South Side Cowboy Has Become A Viral Video Star.
-> WBEZ, May 14: Who’s That Man Riding A Horse On The Streets Of Chicago? The Dreadhead Cowboy.
-> WBBM NewsRadio, May 15: ‘Dreadhead Cowboy’ Blazes Trail In Chicago.
-> WTTW News, May 21: Chicago Portrait: The Dreadhead Cowboy.
-> Fox TV Digital Team, June 1: Man Rides Through Chicago On Horseback To Spread Positivity And ‘Keep The Peace’ Amid Protests.
-> WGN Radio, June 3: Viral Sensation ‘Dreadhead Cowboy’ On Riding His Horse In The George Floyd Protests: ‘I Had To Represent Chicago.’
-> Fox 32 Chicago, June 20: Chicago’s Dreadhead Cowboy Turns Heads, Brings Smiles To Protest.
-> Sun-Times, June 26: How Chicago’s ‘Dread Head Cowboy’ Became An Agent Of Change.
-> Tribune, July 5: Chicago’s Dreadhead Cowboy Travels City Streets On Horseback, Rallying Protestors And Offering Rides To Starry-Eyed Kids: He’s ‘Our Batman.’
Okay, that’s a little much.
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On a different tack, on July 5th the New York Times reported How A Black Cowboy Became A Misinformation Target.
Also on July 5th, from Fox 32 Chicago: South Side Cowboy Targeted By False Social Media Posts.
Block Club Chicago was there three days earlier, on July 2nd, with South Side Cowboy Harassed After False Social Media Posts Claim He Stole Police Horse.
Fame, man.
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The Dreadhead Cowboy has shown up in a few other places, but none as noteworthy as Outside, which reported June 25th on The Black Equestrians Fighting Police Brutality. Subhead: “From Houston to Minneapolis, protesters on horseback are sending a powerful message.”
I always appreciate an expanded view.
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I just hope we can now let the Dreadhead Cowboy be, and not turn him into Alligator Robb and Chance The Snapper, of whom we’re still getting cartoony wide-eyed updates. Sometimes it’s best to let things be in all their glory instead of smothering them to death.
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Dateline Indiana
Greater Chicagoland Correspondent David Rutter sends us this dispatch from across the border.

Dr. Brian Labus is a leading analyst and professor of epidemiology at UNLV, a Highland, Ind. product and friend of Mark Lazerus, who covers the Blackhawks for The Athletic. Mark is an old friend from newsroom days.
Mark asked Labus for his best guess about the immediate future of Indiana and COVID-19. Indiana is slow-walking its responses.
Says Labus: “The numbers show us what happened three weeks ago. You are knee-deep in fucked. You just can’t see it yet.”
“Knee-deep in fucked.” It’s the new preferred scientific description of our age.

“Every planned opening attached to a date (sports, business, academic) will have to be called off,” Rutter adds. “The state has been warned.”
We, too, have been warned. Build that wall!
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ChicagoReddit

FOUND: Indiana ID in Grant Park from r/chicago


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ChicagoGram

View this post on Instagram

#indiana

A post shared by El Viajero (@1001_viajes) on


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ChicagoTube
Indiana Pulling League Tractors and Indiana Truck Pullers Association trucks from beautiful Idaville, Indiana, July 11th 2020.

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BeachBook
Women Speak Out About Warren Ellis: ‘Full And Informed Consent Was Impossible.’

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TweetWood
A sampling of the delight and disgust you can find @BeachwoodReport.


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The Beachwood Swiffer Line: Swiff it good.

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Posted on July 14, 2020