Young immigrants line up, creating extraordinary scene at Navy Pier

Young immigrants line up, creating extraordinary scene at Navy Pier

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The scene at Navy Pier Tuesday (AP/Sitthixay Ditthavong)

Lead story: It was an extraordinary scene at Navy Pier Wednesday as thousands of young undocumented immigrants lined up to file paperwork to take advantage of President Obama’s new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy (essentially a watered-down version of the DREAM Act). The sheer number of youths on location was hard to fathom, but our own Andrew Gill captured the scene in the astounding video below:

Applicants do face risks, including revealing a lot of background information about themselves to the government, even if they get rejected. WBEZ’s Chip Mitchell spoke to Sen. Dick Durbin about these and other concerns Wednesday but Durbin was optimistic: “…once they come forward, once they comply with the law and become part of the system, it won’t be reversed.” Mitchell also spoke about the policy on Eight Forty-Eight yesterday. Listen below:

Also: The Tribune published a story Wednesday highlighting a court decision that didn’t get much play when it was first announced a month ago. The decision by the Cook County Circuit Court gave some independent bloggers the same rights to protect sources under shield laws as traditional “old” media outlets. The ruling specifically referred to the website TechnoBuffalo’s 2011 review of a new Motorola Droid phone. The review sparked a lawsuit by a Niles, Ill., company that had been hired to create print materials for the new phone; the company, Johns-Byrne, wanted to know who leaked the new phone to the website.

But Cook County Circuit Court Judge Michael Panter sided with TechnoBuffalo. At odds was how TechnoBuffalo collected information; but in his ruiling Panter wrote, “There is no requirement in the statutory language that a reporter must actively seek out the information reported.” Still, the judge took the site to task, especially in regards to the language the site had formerly used in soliciting leaks from sources. It’s good to see a ruling in favor of growing new media, especially one that encourages the outlet to use some responsibility (look at what’s going on in Australia). Now as long as we can protect traditional journalists, too… .

And then: One of the stories I just don’t “get” from the last few months is the hype over teenage rapper Chief Keef. Sure, I like that single that blew up OK, but beyond the fact that he’s young and has a criminal record, what else sets him apart? Give me Killer Mike or Big K.R.I.T. instead. And not to be a prude or wade into waters too deep for me, but I can’t be the only one intrigued by the dissonance between the hype surrounding Keef’s story and songs, and the troubling violence the city has faced this year, right? Odd Future created a mighty hubbub, but Keef is drawing only praise. I’m not saying Keef’s music isn’t worthy of attention just because I don’t like it or that people without criminal records shouldn’t be successful musicians (because then there’d only be Christian rock and dear God no). But the same local media that continues to hype Keef is eventually going to be forced to confront the fact that this musician they’re pushing is emblematic of bigger issues — youth violence and gang activity — that are also getting breathless coverage. There is a conversation going on about this, as we heard on our own Afternoon Shift last month; but that conversation needs to be had with a larger audience, especially as Keef’s popularity grows. And now there’s Lil Mouse… 

Meanwhile, The Reader’s Leor Galil – one the city’s best young music journalists – has profiled Chicago rapper Tremaine Johnson. It’s a great piece that’s worth a read, especially if any of the names listed above are completely new to you.

RIP: Harry Harrison, the renowned sci-fi author of Soylent Green, and Phyllis Thaxter, aka “Ma Kent” from the original 1978 Superman film.

Elsewhere: John Boehner cries because this has been the most unproductive Congress everAmazing photos from the winners of the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest … Paternity tests go mobile …WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been granted asylum by, of all places, Ecuador … Judges have officially picked the worst opening sentence of 2012 …  Russia prepares for a verdict in the Pussy Riot case, to be announced Friday … Season 2 of that ridiculous STARZ! show Boss, starring Kelsey Grammer as the mayor of Chicago, is coming soon, so Grammer talked about the show and lots of other things … 500 canaries were stolen in Florida because why not.

Looking ahead: The pension debate got even more heated Wednesday when union workers made Governor’s Day at the state fair a miserable one for Gov. Quinn … The most boring clout deal of the day week year involves parking at O’Hare and Midway … No matter how violent 2012 is, Mother Jones says stop it with the comparisons to Afghanistan … The story of the off-duty police officer who killed a man whose daughter he tried to avoid hitting with his motorcylce has gone national … Another day, another local official stealing thousands of dollars in Illinois … As the drought worsens, state farmers are finally eligible for aid … Speaking of the city’s 2016 bid, the Michael Reese Hospital site, which Mayor Daley hoped would be the site of an Olympic village, may become a technology park if Rahmbo can work it out … But Rahmbo is in a sticky wicket over another hospital that faces the wrecking ball … And speaking of architecture, sand castles!

Sports: Hey, the United States Men’s National soccer team finally ended a 75-year drought and got an away win against arch-rivals El Tri (or Mexico, to non-futbol fans) last night … So apparently Philip Humber’s perfecto for the Sox wasn’t that special; Felix Hernandez threw MLB’s third perfect game this year … I had no idea Jason Campbell, the quarterback that led the 2004 Auburn Tigers to an undefeated season, is a Bear now. I may have to invest emotionally in the Bears … Groupon’s “epic” Cubs deal is really, really expensive and really, really silly but still a better deal than Milton Bradley’s contract … and, hey, speaking of Cubs and contracts, there’s a bit of shaking up going on in the team’s front office.                     

Finally: Here’s an Olympic debate I can get behind. [via The Aggregate]