Good afternoon! It’s Tuesday, and I’ve been told that “failing upward” can’t be one of my work goals. Here’s what you need to know today. (PS: You can have this delivered to your inbox by subscribing here.)

1. Blagojevich will be released from prison

After years of toying with the idea, President Donald Trump announced he commuted the sentence of disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a one-time contestant on Celebrity Apprentice.

Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison on corruption charges, some tied to an attempt to sell President Barack Obama’s former Senate seat.

As WBEZ’s Dave McKinney and Tony Arnold report, Trump’s “brazen political display” comes as the president faces criticism for intervening in the sentencing of longtime friend Roger Stone. Today’s news also comes after an unrelenting push by Patti Blagojevich to win the release of her husband, who has spent nearly eight years in a federal prison in Littleton, Colo. [WBEZ]

Check out WBEZ’s Public Official A, which chronicles the rise and fall of Blagojevich. The team behind the podcast is working on an update following today’s news. [WBEZ]

2. Sanders holds double-digit lead in new NPR/PBS/Marist poll

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has 31% support nationally, a 9-point increase since the last poll taken by NPR, the PBS NewsHour and Marist in December.

Today’s poll also revealed a surge in support for former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is the closest contender to Sanders. In December, Bloomberg polled at 4%, but the multimillionaire saw a 15-point increase, the most of any of the Democratic candidates, putting him at 19%.

Bloomberg now qualifies for tomorrow’s debate in Nevada even though he is not on the ballot for the state’s caucuses on Saturday. [NPR]

Meanwhile, a separate poll found Sanders and Bloomberg tied in Virginia, one of the many states holding primaries on Super Tuesday, which is March 3. [Politico]

3. More questions raised over whether Lincoln Yards needed taxpayer subsidies

The Chicago Tribune reports today that a study justifying taxpayer subsidies for the controversial Lincoln Yards megadevelopment was funded by the project’s developer, Sterling Bay.

As the newspaper reports, that study was instrumental in securing enough votes on the City Council to approve the deal. Ald. Michele Smith, who opposed the deal, said the Sterling Bay report was presented to her and other aldermen as the city’s study.

Critics say Sterling Bay’s funding of the report is a clear conflict of interest, but the consultant hired by Sterling Bay to conduct the study said the developer did not influence her work. [Chicago Tribune]

4. Chicago authorities are working on a plan to address rising crime on the CTA

The Chicago Police Department and the Chicago Transit Authority are working on a new safety plan as crime ticks up on CTA property, a police spokesman told the Chicago Sun-Times.

The news comes as authorities investigate a shooting at a downtown train station that left one man dead and two other people wounded earlier this week. Last year, the CTA saw 591 robberies, the most in five years, reports the Sun-Times. So far this year, there have been at least 45 robberies on trains. [Chicago Sun-Times]

5. Boy Scouts of America files for bankruptcy

The century-old organization filed for bankruptcy protection, succumbing to financial pressures that include legal costs associated with about 300 lawsuits from men who say they were sexually abused as Scouts.

The Boy Scouts of America says it will use the bankruptcy process to create a trust to compensate victims, and the deadline for victims to come forward has been extended. Other organizations, like the Catholic Church and USA Gymnastics, have sought bankruptcy protection as they faced sexual-abuse lawsuits. [NPR]

Here’s what else is happening

• The director of a hospital in Wuhan, China, has died from COVID-19. [NPR]

• The corruption case against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will start next month. [AP]

• Plymouth Rock was vandalized. [USA Today]

• This week’s What’s That Building? looks at a recent addition to Chicago’s historic Pullman neighborhood. [WBEZ]

Oh, and one more thing …

Cue up the spooky music, because a ship that hasn’t been seen for more than a year washed ashore near a small town in Ireland. The ghost ship, formally known as the MV Alta, had been abandoned after it lost power in 2018 in the Atlantic Ocean near Bermuda. Officials in Ireland have advised people to stay away from the roughly 250-foot ship as they determine the “environmental risk,” which I hope also includes an assessment of the ship’s supernatural risk. [USA Today]

Um, yeah, I’d call that old lady from Poltergeist or, if I were on a budget, the Long Island Medium. Speaking of mediums, does anyone remember Miss Cleo? Not a week goes by when I don’t think of her. Here’s an amazing profile of the hotline psychic. [Buzzfeed]

Tell me something good …

What’s a weird, hilarious or unusual memory from your childhood that you look back on and think, man, things have really changed?

Phyllis Levun-Agostino writes:

“I remember in the mid ’50s, when TV was still a newcomer to homes, that I watched a kids’ art program where we put a removable plastic screen over the TV screen so we could be part of an interactive program and draw right on the TV. Sounds amazing and actually progressive now.”

And Amy Gallagher writes:

“I have a vivid memory of stretching our rotary-dial phone cord, until the coil straightened, to walk around the house while talking to my friends for hours. My favorite place to talk on the phone was laying on the kitchen counter using our fluffy whitebread loaf as my pillow. I’m sure my mom wasn’t happy to find the crushed bread later, but I have no memory of that.”

Feel free to tweet or email me, and your responses might show up here this week.

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