Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Tuesday, December 26, 2017.
- Analyzing Rahm Emanuel’s rocky and lucky 2017
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 2017 was “not a great recipe for an embattled incumbent trying to persuade an angry electorate to give him a third chance” but the mayor “accomplished plenty and got a few lucky breaks in between,” according to the Sun-Times. As the 2019 mayoral race begins to take shape, Emanuel got extremely lucky when U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez retired and immediately endorsed Emanuel’s former mayoral challenger Jesus “Chuy” Garcia to replace him. Without Garcia in the race, Emanuel’s path to a third term looks clearer. [Sun-Times]
- Jesse Jackson gives annual Christmas sermon to Cook County inmates
Reverend Jesse Jackson delivered his annual Christmas sermon to Cook County Jail inmates Monday despite his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis. “Our mission is to get you out of here and not return,” Jackson told the inmates. “Jail is not a hotel.” The civil rights leader has not let Parkinson’s slow down his life but he is traveling less. “My time is used more strategically,” he told the Associated Press. “I’m traveling a little less and focusing more.” [Sun-Times]
- Gun violence down over the long holiday weekend
Gun violence over the long Christmas weekend significantly decreased from 2016 levels. Five people were fatally shot and 20 others were shot and wounded from Friday afternoon through Tuesday morning compared to 61 people shot, including 11 fatal shootings, in 2016. Only one person, Albert Abu, was killed on December 25 this year compared to seven people in 2016 and three people in 2015. [Tribune]
- Sub-zero temperatures and wind chills expected to last through New Year’s
A brutal, dangerous cold has overtaken Chicago and it’s not expected to go away any time soon. At O’Hare International Airport, the temperature was -3 degrees with a wind chill of -19 degrees at 8 a.m. Tuesday and there’s a National Weather Service “excessive cold risk” through New Year’s Day, according to the Tribune. “We’re going to remain in this very cold pattern at least through the weekend, and it also looks like several periods of light snow toward the latter half of the week,” NWS meteorologist Kevin Donofrio said. “Winter seems like it’s here to stay for a little while.” [Tribune]
- Report: Grace restaurant had turned into a ‘kitchen nightmare’
The sudden closure of Grace, a rare restaurant with three Michelin stars, shocked Chicago and the outside culinary world but the restaurant had secret problems. Grace was fined by Chicago Health Department inspectors due to food poisoning incidents, according to the Sun-Times. [Sun-Times]
- How a costume designer recreated south side fashion for The Chi
Costume designer Patrik Milani was tasked with dressing the cast of Showtime’s upcoming south side drama, The Chi, without ever having spent time in that area of the city. “I’ve gone there for the museums and I ended up going there for social events, but I didn’t really know Chicago that well,” Milani said. “And it’s such a nice city. It’s such a cosmopolitan city. It can be so sophisticated.” Milani studied south siders from his perch at the Currency Exchange Cafe near Washington Park in order to learn how to dress his cast. He ended up purchasing many outfits from Family Thrift stores. “Family Thrift, I swear, I just love them,” he said. “I’d say 50 percent of the costumes come from Family Thrift.” [Fashionista]