Hey there! It’s Wednesday, and Chicago’s beaches will reopen next Friday, reminding me of how I passed out on a beach in 2019 and started hardcore snoring. Here’s what you need to know today.

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1. Lightfoot limits interviews to journalists of color for her two-year anniversary

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office is only granting interview requests to journalists of color as she marks her two-year anniversary in office tomorrow.

“It’s a shame that in 2021, the City Hall press corps is overwhelmingly White in a city where more than half of the city identifies as Black, Latinx, AAPI or Native American,” the mayor tweeted today, adding that it’s “time for the newsrooms to do better and build teams that reflect the make-up of our city.” [WBEZ]

The mayor’s move sparked a wide range of reactions. Chicago Tribune reporter Gregory Pratt, who covers City Hall and is Latino, said his request was granted. But he canceled the interview when the mayor’s office refused to lift its conditions.

“Politicians don’t get to choose who covers them,” he wrote on Twitter.

WBBM political editor Craig Dellimore said he views the situation differently.

“I think the Mayor’s gesture is doing exactly what it was designed to do. It’s sparking a needed discussion on Diversity among the Media,” he wrote on Twitter.

New York Times reporter Astead W. Herndon tweeted that Lightfoot’s move appears “more like a pr play for an elected [official] facing increasing scrutiny (and one that puts poc journalists in a weird position).”

And Morgan Elise Johnson, co-founder and publisher of The TRiiBE, a media organization focusing on issues affecting Chicago’s Black community, said the “implication that Black/Brown journalists are not going to hold her to account or ask important questions is really irking me.”

2. Plan to make Chicago police misconduct files available online gains traction at City Hall

Mayor Lightfoot today announced a deal has been reached to publicly release police misconduct files dating back to 2000 in an effort to help restore trust in the Chicago Police Department.

The online database will include both sustained and dismissed complaints, which can only be obtained currently through a lengthy process under the state’s Freedom of Information Act. The database would be maintained by the inspector general’s office, which serves as the top watchdog at City Hall.

The original plan, proposed by Ald. Scott Waguespack, called for releasing all files going back to 1994. But Lightfoot and some members of the City Council said that would cost the city too much money. The council is expected to vote on the new plan later this month. [WTTW]

3. Biden calls for a “significant de-escalation” in violence between Israel and Hamas

President Joe Biden today told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he “expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a cease-fire,” a White House press secretary told reporters.

But Netanyahu gave no assurances the warlike violence would come to an end soon. After a visit to Israeli military headquarters, Netanyahu said he is “determined to continue this operation until its aim is met.”

The conflict has created a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and a growing number of international parties are calling for an immediate cease-fire.

At least 227 Palestinians have been killed, including 64 children, and more than 1,600 people have been wounded, according to Gaza officials. The Associated Press reports some 58,000 Palestinians have fled their homes.

In Israel, at least 12 people have been killed in rocket attacks, including a 5-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl. [AP]

A UN official told Axios that shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel are growing in Gaza. [Axios]

4. Trump Organization could face criminal charges, says NY attorney general’s office

New York Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation of the Trump Organization is now considered a criminal matter, her office announced last night.

“We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the company is no longer purely civil in nature,” said Fabien Levy, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office, in a statement. “We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA. We have no additional comment at this time.”

Prior to this week’s news, James’ investigation of the Trump Organization was a civil matter and focused on whether the company improperly valued its assets for loan and tax purposes. [NPR]

5. Illinois will require schools to be open full-time for in-person learning in the fall

The Illinois State Board of Education today unanimously voted to require all schools to return to in-person learning next fall with a limited number of exemptions for remote learning, such as students with medical conditions.

In Chicago, school officials have already begun planning for a full reopening of classrooms for the next academic year.

The board’s vote came after several parents called for a more flexible plan for children who are too young to receive a vaccine. Currently, no vaccine has been given federal authorization for kids 11 years old and younger, though drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna have begun trials. [WBEZ]

Here’s what else is happening

• Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said today he opposes a plan to create a 9/11-style commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection. [NPR]
• Some states are bringing back firing squads as lethal injection drugs are harder to obtain. [NPR]
• A Chicago program aimed at boosting vaccination rates in areas ravaged by the pandemic mostly succeeded. [WBEZ]
• Singer Demi Lovato came out as nonbinary. [NPR]

Oh, and one more thing …

Award-winning actor Billy Porter said he was diagnosed with HIV in 2007, but he kept it a secret because he believed it “would just be another way for people to discriminate against me in an already discriminatory profession.”

In an interview published today by The Hollywood Reporter, Porter said he was able to “work through the shame” through his role on FX’s Pose, which focuses on New York City’s ballroom culture during the AIDS epidemic. Porter plays ballroom emcee Pray Tell, who is diagnosed with HIV.

“I was able to say everything that I wanted to say through a surrogate,” Porter said. [THR]

Tell me something good …

I need a podcast to listen to because I’m taking a road trip soon. Got any recommendations?

Michael Blackwell writes:

“New favorite pod these days: Cocaine & Rhinestones. Stories about 20th century country music hosted by Tyler Mahan Coe. In-depth, fascinating and telling the stories of the legends and the contemporaries. Not a huge CW listener but the stories are fantastic. This ain’t no Ken Burns…”

And Ann Lysy writes:

“If you like theme parks, Podcast: The Ride is three comedians taking deep dives into theme park rides and anything else that’s vaguely related to themed entertainment, like Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg.

“And The Adventure Zone is the McElroy brothers and their dad playing D&D. Hilarious but has a surprising amount of plot.”

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

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