Hey there, it’s Friday! And there are a lot of great Juneteenth celebrations in Chicago this weekend. Here’s what else you need to know today.

1. A lifeguard shortage delays the opening of Chicago’s public pools to July 5

During the same week the city faced a brutal heat wave, the Chicago Park District announced public pools will not open until after the Fourth of July weekend because of a lack of lifeguards.

Public pools were slated to open on June 24, and the park district offered huge bonuses, which were hiked up to $600 this week, to attract more applicants. [Chicago Tribune]

But those efforts were widely unsuccessful. Earlier this week, my colleagues at the Chicago Sun-Times found there is a 91% vacancy rate among seasonal lifeguards and 73% among “all lifeguard positions district-wide,” according to park district records. [Sun-Times]

Other cities across the country are also short on lifeguards. Officials blame a host of factors, such as a robust job market that gives young people more options this summer. And many training programs were suspended during the pandemic. [New York Times]

But in Chicago, the park district’s reputation fell after a WBEZ investigation uncovered allegations of abuse and harassment dating back years. [WBEZ]

2. Pritzker’s weekend schedule fuels speculation over a potential presidential run

Gov. JB Pritzker today heads to the East Coast with a stop this weekend in New Hampshire, which has historically held the nation’s first presidential primary election after the Iowa caucuses, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Pritzker and his campaign aides this week tried to downplay any potential run for the White House.

“I can’t tell you anything other than I love the job that I have,” the governor told reporters this week. “It’s why I’m running for reelection as governor of our state, and I intend to continue to do a good job for the people of the state for the next four years.” [Chicago Tribune]

But the visit comes as some Democrats are questioning whether President Joe Biden should run for reelection. [New York Times]

And just this week, The Atlantic, by no means a conservative news outlet, published a story from writer Mark Leibovich about “why Biden shouldn’t run in 2024.” [Atlantic]

3. Cook County’s top Republican gets “special attention” from suburban police

As Cook County GOP chairman and one of only two Republicans on the 17-member county board, Sean Morrison is a frequent and vocal critic of the ruling Democrats.

“He often points to violent crime in Chicago and has questioned the costs of providing security details to Mayor Lori Lightfoot and county board President Toni Preckwinkle,” writes WBEZ’s Dan Mihalopoulos.

“But Morrison also has benefited for years — starting soon after he became a county commissioner — from ‘special attention’ given to his home by police in south suburban Palos Park.” [WBEZ]

4. Many Americans support student loan forgiveness, and a vast majority say college should be affordable

President Joe Biden any day now could announce a plan that forgives up to $10,000 per borrower. And 55% of Americans polled by NPR and Ipsos say they support that move.

But support drops as the amount of forgiveness grows. The poll found that 47% support forgiving up to $50,000, while 41% expressed support for wiping the slate completely clean for all borrowers.

But a “whopping 82% said the government’s priority should be making college more affordable for current and future students,” reports NPR. “Just 16% believed forgiving student debts should take priority.” [NPR]

5. HBO is developing a new series about Jon Snow from Game of Thrones

And actor Kit Harington is expected to reprise his role if the project moves forward, reports The Hollywood Reporter.

This is big news because if the series does happen, it would be the first sequel to the wildly popular Game of Thrones. And it means there are now “seven Thrones projects in the works in addition to the upcoming House of the Dragon prequel series,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The moves come as the streaming wars are getting super serious amid heightened competition and the ability to resume production schedules that were sidelined in the early days of the pandemic.

And HBO’s game plan with Game of Thrones looks similar to what’s going on at Disney+, which is pursuing character-centric shows to mine the Star Wars franchise and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. [THR]

Here’s what else is happening

• Former President Donald Trump’s endorsement could end up being a big factor in the bitter primary fight between two Illinois Republicans. [WBEZ]
• Chicago parents who receive government aid face additional challenges amid the national shortage of baby formula. [WBEZ]
• Illinois teens say schools need to be better at tackling a mental health crisis facing young people. [WBEZ]
• If you’re like me and worried about a recession, here are seven tips on how to prepare. [Washington Post]

Oh, and one more thing …

There’s 148,000 of them in Chicago and they easily get overlooked.

I’m talking about manhole covers, and Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg took a trip to a plant in Neenah, Wisconsin, that makes many of the city’s manhole covers.

“To create a Chicago cover — on average, about one day a month at Neenah is dedicated to making products for Chicago — first, a round steel pattern is retrieved from a narrow corridor that’s lined floor to ceiling with shelves. Think of it as a manhole cover library, containing about 1,000 models created over the years in Neenah’s extensive machine shop,” Steinberg writes in this great weekend read. [Sun-Times]

Tell me something good …

My colleagues at WBEZ created an amazing and extensive guide to free events in Chicago this summer. And I’d like to know what’s a favorite or hilarious memory you have of enjoying the summer in the city.

Martha Wiseman writes:

“For our first date my (now) husband took me to a classical music concert at the bandshell in Grant Park. I wore a Peanuts sweatshirt that had Snoopy madly dancing on the back with the caption, ‘Music soothes the savage beast.’ A reporter from the Sun-Times noticed and took a photo of me in the shirt. That was June 25, 1967. I never forgot that date or the date who took me on it who I have been married to for 52 wonderful years.”

And Nancy writes:

“A long time ago, at Taste of Chicago in Grant Park, I ran into a former student of mine from when I was a teaching assistant at University of Illinois. Not remembering her name I reintroduced myself, ‘Hi, it’s Nancy.’ She nodded but didn’t tell me her name. We chatted for a few minutes then parted. Two days later I remembered her name…Nancy.”

Thanks for all the responses this week. I’m sorry I couldn’t share them all, but it was nice hearing from y’all.