Student Loans, Chicago Elections, and Notorious American Fraudsters

Biden Student Loans Plan

The Supreme Court will hear arguments today on two challenges to the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness plan. The challenges involve a lawsuit brought by six states and a separate lawsuit by two students with student loan debt who wouldn’t benefit from all the provisions. See the players here.

The initial plan canceled up to $10K in federal student loan debt for borrowers making less than $125K or households earning less than $250K, with an additional $10K for Pell Grant recipients (see details), at an estimated cost of $400B over the next 30 years. The 6-3 conservative-led court will decide first if the plaintiffs have standing, or the right to sue. Next, they will decide if the government exceeded its authority and circumvented Congress in using the 2003 HEROES Act to justify the program.

More than 40 million borrowers are eligible for some debt forgiveness, and 53% of borrowers owe less than $20K.

Chicago Mayor's Race

Chicagoans vote for their next mayor today from a field of nine candidates, including incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D), who won every ward in the city on the final ballot in 2019 but isn't leading most polls this year. Increased crime and feuds with labor unions are among issues observers say have diminished her popularity. If Lightfoot loses, it would be the first time an incumbent Chicago mayor fails to win reelection in three decades. 

Lightfoot, who became the city's first Black female and openly gay mayor, faces three other top contenders—Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson (D), Rep. Jesús "Chuy" García (D, IL-4), and former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas (D) (see poll data). Candidates need to secure more than 50% of the votes to win; otherwise, the top two candidates will advance to an April 4 runoff, which observers expect to be the case. See the candidates and their stances on key issues here. 

Over 200,000 people have voted early, a record that is more than double from 2019 municipal elections. 

Disney Loses Special Status

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill yesterday formally rescinding The Walt Disney Company's private control over a 39-square-mile district outside Orlando where it operates its theme parks. The move finalizes a yearlong process seeking to end Disney's 56-year special status in the state.

In 1967, the area was designated by Florida lawmakers as the Reedy Creek Improvement District (see history). The Reedy Creek Act gave Disney nearly complete control over taxation, codes, and services, and was supervised by a five-member board appointed by the company. 

The new bill would not abolish the district as was proposed in April (see previous write-up), but instead hand over power in the district to the governor, effective June 1. Keeping the district intact was partly designed to avoid saddling the state and adjacent Orange and Osceola counties with Disney's nearly $1B in municipal debt. See other substantive changes to the district here.

Science & Technology

Business & Markets

Politics & World Affairs

In-Depth

> The Coldest Case in Laramie 

Serial | Kim Barker. (Podcast) The next tale from the popular Serial podcast team explores a cold case in Laramie, Wyoming, and asks—What happens when a true crime podcast raises more questions than it answers? (Website | Apple | Spotify) 

> Running With Dogs

Runner's World | Caleb Daniloff. A father’s journey with his daughter’s addiction to heroin and fentanyl, and how running with her 30-pound mutt helped him cope. (Read)

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⭐ 1440 List: Thirteen notorious American fraudsters.

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Historybook: Coaching legend Dean Smith born (1931); Record 106 million people watch series finale of "M*A*S*H" (1983); Gulf War ends (1991); Basketball star Luka Dončić born (1999); Actress Jane Russell dies (2011).