Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Thursday, April 27, 2017.
- Board votes to revoke Dennis Hastert’s state lawmaker pension
A board of current state legislators voted to revoke former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s $28,000-a-year pension from the six years he spent in the Illinois General Assembly on Wednesday. Hastert is serving time in prison after pleading guilty to violating federal banking laws by making hush-money payments to cover up his alleged sexual abuse of students while a wrestling coach at Yorkville High School. The board oversees the General Assembly Retirement System, and “state law says pensions can be revoked when a person is convicted of a felony connected to their time in the General Assembly,” according to the Tribune. “I would argue his political career is part and parcel with his career as a General Assembly member because his General Assembly career led to his congressional career,” state representative Michael Zalewski said. Two members of the board voted against revoking the pension, arguing that Hastert’s felony crime was unrelated to his time in the Illinois General Assembly. [Tribune]
- City treasurer Kurt Summers decides against running for governor
Chicago city treasurer Kurt Summers won’t run for governor in 2018 and is instead endorsing billionaire businessman J.B. Pritzker in the crowded Democratic primary, he announced Wednesday. Summers would have taken some African-American votes away from Chris Kennedy, the son of former attorney general Robert F. Kennedy, and by endorsing Pritzker he’s “doing the next best thing for the billionaire heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune,” according to the Sun-Times. [Sun-Times]
- The world’s largest Starbucks will open on the Magnificent Mile in 2019
Starbucks is opening its largest store ever on Michigan Avenue in 2019. The Seattle-based coffee chain will transform the current Crate & Barrel on the Magnificent Mile into a four-story reserve roastery showplace. Customers will be able to see beans roasted, brewed, and packed in the store. “It’s not a coffee store, the essence of it is the theater and romance and something so experiential,” Starbucks executive chairman Howard Schultz said. [Tribune]
- Analysis: There’s only one college counselor for every 296 CPS high school students
Chicago Public Schools have fewer college counselors than is recommended, according to an analysis by WBEZ. There’s only one counselor for every 296 CPS high school students, a significantly higher ratio than the one counselor for every 250 students recommended by the American School Counselor Association. “Counselors are overbooked,” Jade Aguilar, a senior at Steinmetz College Prep, told WBEZ. “They are doing scheduling for the students and then they are doing these tests that are just ridiculous.” Mayor Rahm Emanuel has proposed making post-high school plans a requirement for graduation, but CPS currently has no plans to hire more counselors. “Our financial reality is our financial reality,” chief education officer Janice Jackson said. [WBEZ]
- Elizabeth Warren and Rahm discussed the Democrats’ future over granola in Lincoln Square
Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren was in Chicago over the weekend on a book tour and met with Mayor Rahm Emanuel at Cafe Selmarie in Lincoln Square. Emanuel bought her one of his favorite dishes, the granola, and they discussed “the future of the Democratic party and national politics,” according to Politico Illinois. [Politico Illinois Playbook] [Boston Magazine]
- Intro Chicago chef Stephen Gillanders to open his own restaurant in Pilsen
Intro Chicago executive chef Stephen Gillanders is leaving the Lettuce Entertain You restaurant to open his own place, S.Y.K., in Pilsen this summer, a change from his original plans to open in LA. [Eater Chicago]