| Happy Friday, Chicago. Forget Congress. Midterms in Chicago bring us the next wave in the political battle for control of Chicago schools. The editorial board is excited to kick off its endorsements this Sunday, and our picks for CPS are first on the list. Today, we set the table for readers on what’s at stake. It’s our version of an amuse-bouche, but for school board elections. As Chicago mourns the untimely passing of four beluga whales, plenty of folks are looking to assign blame. The board writes today that the Shedd Aquarium, which was trying to save these whales from a shuttered Canadian theme park, doesn’t deserve our ire. In the commentary section, we hear from Paul Vallas, who argues that while Mississippi’s education gains are worth celebrating, the turnaround in New Orleans schools is the real “miracle,” offering a better model for improvement in education outcomes. Columnist David Greising shines a light on some of the horrible conditions in Illinois’ county jails, including the use of pepperballs, which I’d never heard of, but seem like pepper spray on steroids. Used on detainees — virtually all of whom are presumed innocent. Gov. J.B. Pritzker is down about 80 pounds thanks to GLP-1s and plenty of walking. Dr. Disha Narang writes that the governor’s honesty about GLP-1s is good for Illinois. Our letters today feature folks worked up about trains and Francis W. Parker School’s plans for neighborhood expansion. One writer is angered that the media, including the Tribune, have seemingly already forgotten about the misconduct of former state Rep. Harry Benton and statehouse leadership’s mishandling of the situation from the start. Not so! Stay tuned for more on where candidates stand on Springfield ethics in our General Assembly endorsements. — Hilary Gowins, editorial board member Submit an op-ed | Submit a letter to the editor | Meet the Tribune Editorial Board | Subscribe to this newsletter | 
