Welcome to the Reader‘s weekday news briefing.
- Anita Alvarez’s campaign consultants gave her talking points before she announced charges against Jason Van Dyke
Before former Cook County state’s attorney Anita Alvarez announced first-degree murder charges against Jason Van Dyke, her campaign consultants “weighed in on how to present the decision” and gave her talking points, according to the Sun-Times. Consultant Ken Snyder told her what to say if reporters asked about Black Lives Matter at the news conference announcing the charges and prepped Alvarez before she spoke to reporters about another police-involved shooting, according to e-mails obtained by the newspaper. The campaign aides had no impact on the decision to charge Chicago police officer Van Dyke for shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald to death, according to Snyder. “I would never try to offer a sitting prosecutor advice on what to do, I’m not qualified. . . . I have no legal background,” he said. [Sun-Times]
- Chicago is one of Amazon’s 20 finalists for its second North American headquarters
Chicago has made Amazon’s cut of 20 finalist cities that it will seriously consider locating its second North American headquarters in. “Chicago, to no one’s surprise, is on the list. It would be malfeasance if Chicago weren’t on this list,” John Boyd Jr. of New Jersey-based relocation consulting firm the Boyd Company told Crain’s Chicago Business. Amazon narrowed the 238 cities that applied down to 20, including Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York City, Indianapolis, Raleigh, and Toronto. “I think cities like Columbus, Indianapolis, and LA are on this list for other reasons,” Boyd said. “This is a list that every part of the country is represented. Amazon doesn’t do anything without accounting for the branding impact.” [Crain’s Chicago Business]
- Rauner campaign releases new ad featuring 11-minute chat between Pritzker and Blagojevich
Governor Bruce Rauner’s reelection campaign has released another ad taking aim at Democratic front-runner J.B. Pritzker by featuring audio of a conversation between Pritzker and then-governor Rod Blagojevich. The latest ad contains the 11-minute “full, unedited, original wiretap recordings” of the conversation between the two men that was wiretapped by the FBI in 2008, and is set to air across the state over the weekend, according to Rauner’s campaign. Blagojevich was considering Pritzker to replace Barack Obama’s Senate seat after Obama was elected president in 2008, but in the wiretapped conversation Pritzker expresses interest in a state treasurer appointment instead. Pritzker’s campaign quickly slammed the ad. “Hundreds of people spoke to the governor at the time, and whether Bruce Rauner chooses to buy a 60-second or even a 14-minute negative ad, the fact is J.B. Pritzker was accused of no wrongdoing,” spokeswoman Galia Slayen said. “Bruce Rauner is desperately trying to interfere in the Democratic primary because he can’t defend his failed record and because he doesn’t want to face J.B. Pritzker in November.” [Sun-Times]
- University of Illinois won’t increase in-state tuition for the fourth year in a row
The University of Illinois’s board of trustees has “approved a fourth consecutive base tuition freeze for incoming in-state students, a move partially aimed at attracting more Illinoisans to the system’s three campuses,” according to the Tribune. The tuition at the university’s Urbana-Champaign campus will be just $12,036 for undergraduates enrolling in the 2018-2019 school year. The university hasn’t frozen tuition rates for this many years since the 1970s. [Tribune]
- Chicago lasted seven days without a fatal shooting
Chicago went seven days without a fatal shooting until two men were shot to death on the south side early Thursday morning, according to the Tribune. At least 103 people have been shot and 20 killed in Chicago so far in 2018. [Tribune]
- Sun Wah BBQ awarded an America’s Classics award by the James Beard Foundation
Sun Wah BBQ in Uptown has been chosen by the James Beard Foundation as the winner of one of its 2018 America’s Classic awards. The foundation recognizes five American restaurants that have “timeless appeal and are cherished for quality food that reflects the character of their community” with the award each year. “This award is recognition and a statement to the world that even ‘foreign’ food can become American classics,” Sun Wah general manager Kelly Cheng said. “Hong Kong style barbecue has always been considered ‘lower’ class food because it was eaten mostly by the working classes of Hong Kong.” [Eater Chicago]