The Rundown: Questions Swirl Around Probe Of Lifeguard Abuse

Chicago Park District pool
Elaine Little, the top watchdog over the Chicago Park District's probe into allegations of sexual abuse in the lifeguard program, resigned Tuesday after WBEZ reported she had herself been the subject of an investigation into alleged conflicts of interest at a previous job. Manuel Martinez / WBEZ
Chicago Park District pool
Elaine Little, the top watchdog over the Chicago Park District's probe into allegations of sexual abuse in the lifeguard program, resigned Tuesday after WBEZ reported she had herself been the subject of an investigation into alleged conflicts of interest at a previous job. Manuel Martinez / WBEZ

The Rundown: Questions Swirl Around Probe Of Lifeguard Abuse

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Hey there! It’s Tuesday, and my work computer is running super slow, which isn’t surprising because it looks like it came out when RoboCop was considered groundbreaking. Here’s what you need to know today.

(By the way, if you’d like this emailed to your inbox, you can sign up here.)

1. Investigation into abuse of Chicago lifeguards faces mounting questions about its integrity

The top investigator overseeing a probe into allegations of widespread sexual violence involving lifeguards resigned today after WBEZ’s Dan Mihalopoulos reported she was the subject of an “extensive” investigation herself.

Elaine Little, the now outgoing inspector general for the Chicago Park District, was under investigation for “alleged conflicts and wrongdoing” when she worked at Cook County’s juvenile jail as director of investigations, according to records obtained by WBEZ. But Little quit in 2018 before the investigation concluded.

County officials would not say more about the probe. But in a deposition during a divorce in 2019, Little said officials became aware of her relationship with another employee of the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center because her then-husband filed a complaint.

The news comes as the integrity of the investigation into lifeguard abuse has increasingly come into question.

Last month, Little fired her deputy inspector general, Nathan Kipp, on the same day he publicly alleged that top park district officials had attempted to “impede and obstruct” the lifeguard-abuse probe and that the office was avoiding looking into the agency’s chief executive. [WBEZ]

2. What California’s recall could say about future elections in the U.S.

Voters in California today will decide whether to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom, and the election serves as something of a barometer for the state of American politics ahead of next year’s midterm elections, which will decide whether Democrats or Republicans control Congress.

Leading conservative candidates in California’s recall are already claiming, without providing evidence, that the election will be “rigged,” a sign that Republicans have embraced former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud whenever they disagree with the will of voters.

“Does anybody really believe the California Recall Election isn’t rigged?” Trump’s Save America PAC told supporters in an email this week. [Axios]

The false claims come as polls show voters in California, a reliably blue state that President Joe Biden won by nearly 30 percentage points, favor keeping Newsom in office. [Washington Post]

Stray thought: In addition to weighing in on congressional races, Illinois voters next year will decide whether Gov. JB Pritzker will serve another four-year term. Will the GOP candidates seeking to run against him commit to accepting the results of the election?

3. Top general was worried Trump would cause a war with China in the final months of his presidency

Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, became so fearful that President Trump would cause a war with China that he twice secretly contacted his counterpart in Beijing, according to a new book, Peril, by The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.

“The first call was prompted by Milley’s review of intelligence suggesting the Chinese believed the United States was preparing to attack,” the Post reports. “That belief, the authors write, was based on tensions over military exercises in the South China Sea, and deepened by Trump’s belligerent rhetoric toward China.”

One of the calls took place shortly after the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters.

According to the book, the Chinese became rattled by the insurrection, but Milley did not relay the conversation to the president because he believed Trump “had suffered a mental decline after the election,” a belief he shared with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. [Washington Post]

4. Poverty fell last year due to stimulus checks

Data released today by the Census Bureau shows that despite the pandemic leaving millions of Americans without work, the country’s poverty rate dropped last year thanks to government aid.

About 9.1% of people living in the U.S. were poor, down from 11.8% in 2019. Stimulus payments moved 11.7 million people from poverty, according to the census data, and unemployment insurance benefits kept 5.5 million people from falling into poverty.

“I think this really shows the importance of the social safety net,” said Liana Fox, chief of the Poverty Statistics Branch, in the Social, Economic and Housing Statistics Division at the Census Bureau. [NPR]

5. Instagram has a negative impact on teenage girls, and Facebook knows it

Researchers at Instagram found the social media platform “is harmful for a sizable percentage” of young people, especially teenage girls, reports The Wall Street Journal, citing a slide presentation posted last year on Facebook’s internal message board.

Facebook, which owns Instagram, has publicly downplayed the effects its social media platforms have on the mental health of users.

“Thirty-two percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse,” the researchers said in the slide presentation, according to the Journal. “Comparisons on Instagram can change how young women view and describe themselves.”

Another slide reportedly said teens, unprompted, blamed “Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression.” [WSJ]

Today’s report from the Journal is the second part of an investigation called “The Facebook Files” that examines internal documents from the company. The newspaper has an aggressive paywall, but you can also access the series in this podcast. [Spotify]

Here’s what else is happening

  • Gov. Pritzker says he will sign a massive green energy bill. Here’s what’s in it. [WBEZ]
  • The Chicago City Council wants to push banks to lend more equitably in Black and Latino neighborhoods. [WBEZ]
  • The council today approved a contract for the city’s rank-and-file police officers that includes $378 million in retroactive raises. [WBEZ]
  • Comedian Norm Macdonald died at the age of 61 after privately battling cancer. [Deadline]

Oh, and one more thing …

Actually, here are four more things.

Last night’s Met Gala saw Lil Nas X in shiny gold armor, Grimes wielding a sword, Frank Ocean with a green robot baby and Kim Petras wearing a horse head. And yes, AOC wore a “Tax the Rich” dress, but it’s unclear if there will be a complete fashion line. [NPR]

Meanwhile, a 13-year-old rhino escaped from an Omaha zoo to munch on some grass, and he’s pretty much my inspiration for the week. [NPR]

Get paid $1,300 to watch 13 horror movies for Halloween? Giddy up. [NPR]

And Apple unveiled the new iPhone 13 that includes an improved camera and faster processor. I think I’m still on iPhone 8. [Axios]

Tell me something good …

Fall is quickly approaching, with its Halloween costumes, pumpkin spice lattes and a slate of new TV shows. So I’d like to know: What do you enjoy the most about fall?

Cade writes:

“We dedicate October to binge on horror movies and some Halloween episodes of favorite shows. We have a mix of fun and scary ones, but usually start out with Arsenic and Old Lace (Cary Grant), The Haunting, The Frighteners and Arachnophobia (makes you jump and John Goodman is awesome). We get through about 20 scary/Halloween-themed movies each October and continue to enjoy watching the core group of them over and over again!”

Feel free to email me at therundown@wbez.org or tweet me at @whuntah.

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