Good afternoon! It’s Tuesday, and here’s Jojo Siwa as Pennywise on Dancing with the Stars. Still no word if Gov. JB Pritzker will make it on the show. Here’s what you need to know today.

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1. Chicago Blackhawks apologize for handling of sexual assault allegation as the team’s general manager steps down

The Chicago Blackhawks today issued its “profound apologies” to a former player and others for not acting promptly on sexual misconduct allegations against an ex-coach that were documented in a newly released team investigation.

The investigation concluded the team kept the player’s allegations quiet during its 2010 run for the Stanley Cup and acknowledged for the first time that the now-former coach, Brad Aldrich, made an unwanted sexual advance to a team intern after the championship.

The team announced it was parting ways with longtime executive Stan Bowman, who was general manager at the time Aldrich engaged in the alleged misconduct, including against the player, dubbed John Doe in court filings.

“We deeply regret the harm caused to John Doe and the other individuals who were affected and our failures to address these allegations as we became aware of it,” said team CEO Danny Wirtz in a call with reporters. [WBEZ]

2. Chicago’s basic income program would be one of the largest in the nation

The City Council is expected to vote tomorrow on Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s budget plan for next year, and if approved, Chicago would be home to one of the largest guaranteed basic income programs in the U.S.

Lightfoot has proposed using more than $31 million from federal pandemic aid to give 5,000 low-income households monthly checks of $500 for a year. Recipients must have an annual income less than $35,000.

Basic income programs have been talked about for years in progressive circles, but the idea gained more momentum during the pandemic, which exposed significant shortcomings in the nation’s social safety net.

But Chicago faced severe economic inequities even before the pandemic. A 2019 report from a task force created by the city found 500,000 city residents lived below or at the poverty level. [WBEZ]

3. Chicago’s police union says it’s open to daily testing of officers

The president of Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police says he is open to unvaccinated officers being tested daily for COVID-19, but he is still encouraging officers to defy Mayor Lightfoot’s vaccine mandate for all city workers.

“We will be OK with our members getting a rapid test every day they report to work, before they walk into roll call so they know if you’re contagious or not. Your vaccine status shouldn’t matter at that point,” FOP President John Catanzara said at a demonstration this morning outside police headquarters.

Catanzara’s remarks come amid nationwide criticism that the FOP and other police unions are jeopardizing the health of their members by opposing vaccine mandates. COVID-19 infections were the leading cause of job-related deaths for police officers in 2020 and 2021.

Only 23 Chicago officers so far have been sent home without pay for failing to comply with the order. [Chicago Sun-Times]

4. Facebook’s “angry” emoji helped promote disinformation and low-quality news

Facebook for years promoted essentially the worst elements of the social media platform after it changed its algorithm in 2017 to promote content that received emoji reactions, reports The Washington Post, citing internal company documents.

Specifically the “angry” emoji helped amplify and spread disinformation and other toxic content, putting Facebook’s own moderators at a disadvantage at removing posts. [Washington Post]

The Post is one of 17 news organizations that make up the Facebook Papers project, which seeks access to thousands of pages of internal company documents obtained by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen. [AP]

The Associated Press reports today that Facebook did not immediately confront disinformation surrounding COVID-19 vaccines even though some employees quickly proposed a solution. [AP]

As more and more reports on Facebook’s inner business practices come to light, a big question looms over the company: Will the Securities and Exchange Commission do anything? [New York Times]

5. A majority of Americans want Congress to do more to combat climate change, poll finds

Fifty-five percent of Americans want Congress to pass a bill that greatly expands the nation’s sources of clean energy over climate-changing coal and natural gas, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago.

Only 16% oppose such a move. Overall, 59% of Americans said the Earth’s warming is very or extremely important to them as an issue, up from 49% in 2018. [AP]

The poll comes as President Joe Biden struggles to pass a massive social spending and climate bill before he leaves at the end of the week for a Group of 20 summit.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is pushing Democrats to remove or weaken a provision creating a fee on methane emissions, a planet-warming pollutant. [New York Times]

Here’s what else is happening

• An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration recommended the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. [CNN]
• Astronomers detected what appears to be a planet in a galaxy beyond the Milky Way. [NPR]
• Dave Chappelle is unapologetic in his first public statement over the controversy surrounding his latest Netflix special. [NPR]
• A brain scientist explains the allure of pumpkin spice. [NPR]

Oh, and one more thing …

Actually, here are a bunch of things.

A Georgia man lied in his application for federal pandemic relief aid and used a huge chunk of the money to buy a $57,789 Pokémon card, according to federal prosecutors. Can you imagine Morgan Freeman’s face from that scene in The Shawshank Redemption, where they’re all talking about what put them in prison, if some dude said, “Yeah, I bought a Pokémon card.” [NPR]

A woman wants $5 million from Kellogg because strawberry Pop-Tarts don’t contain as many strawberries as advertised. [Washington Post]

The legendary Prince is essentially nominated to posthumously receive the Congressional Gold Medal. A bipartisan group of lawmakers from Minnesota introduced legislation this week to award Prince the honor.

“Like so many, I grew up with Prince’s music. I was always proud to say he was from Minnesota,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar in a statement that did not mention which Prince songs she rocked out to. [NPR]

Tell me something good …

What are your plans for Halloween this year?

Julie Hamilton writes:

“This Halloween, we’ll be trick-or-treating in Andersonville with my stepson, who is going as a stack of pancakes. Here’s hoping the candy chutes make a reappearance this year!”

Feel free to email me at therundown@wbez.org or tweet me at @whuntah, and your responses might be shared here this week.

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