Good morning. 

It's gonna be a warm one. Again.

I'm not sure about that opening. I'm sort of thinking AI could have come up with something better.

Artificial intelligence is top of mind for many of us these days, and Tribune Opinion has two thought-provoking AI pieces.

The first, by Public Citizen's J.B. Branch, says the AI industry and Big Tech should look in the mirror if they're wondering why Americans are souring so rapidly on the technology.

The second, by Northwestern Kellogg School of Management professor Birju Shah, critiques Illinois' new law mandating that AI providers hire third parties to perform safety audits for their products each year. There 's more at stake for our state's economy than bureaucratic hassles for business, he writes.

The editorial board cautiously applauds the City Council for swallowing hard and proffering a TIF subsidy north of $400 million to jump-start the sprawling "78" project in the South Loop — long overdue action on that geographically critical site.

And in a second editorial, the board says Donald Trump ought to have allowed the Department of Homeland Security to suspend traffic stops by immigration enforcement agents in the wake of two recent shooting deaths in Texas and Maine.

Willie Wilson, who writes regularly for us, offers some thoughts on Mayor Brandon Johnson's call for a new city department dedicated to reducing gun violence. Read to the end to find out which 1960s-'70s-era pop star he quotes.

Please check out letters from readers as well, and we'll see you here tomorrow.

— Steve Daniels, editorial board member

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