Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Wednesday, August 23, 2017.
- Chance the Rapper interested in returning to college
Chance the Rapper is interested in going back to college at Clark Atlanta University. “I was tryna go to Clark ATL,” the Grammy Award-winner tweeted. “I’m still tryna go. Like not honorary, the full blown ya dig. Can someone help me sign up.” Not long afterward, the historically black university’s admissions office tweeted, “Hello Chance. We would love to help you enroll at CAU.” The rapper briefly attended Harold Washington College after graduating from Jones College Prep. [Sun-Times]
- Law enforcement looks for new leads in 25-year-old kidnapping, murder of Tammy Zywicki
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Illinois State Police are retesting evidence in search of new leads in the 1992 kidnapping and murder of 21-year-old Tammy Zywicki. She was last seen in LaSalle County on August 23, 1992, after dropping her brother off at Northwestern. The Grinnell College student was on her way back to school, but she never made it to campus, and her body was found in rural Missouri. “There have been and continue to be several persons of interest,” state police spokesman master sergeant Matt Boerwinkle said. “However, no suspects have been named, and no arrests have been made.” [Tribune]
- Alderman Sposato: Police officers “scared to death to do their jobs”
Chicago police officers made 24 percent fewer arrests in 2016 than in 2016, which is evidence that officers are “under attack,” according to alderman Nicholas Sposato. “These guys are scared to death to do their jobs,” the former firefighter turned alderman said. Sposato hosted a Police Lives Matter rally in June 2016 with alderman Anthony Napolitano. [DNAinfo Chicago]
- Data shows the financial challenges facing Chicago Public Schools
Crain’s Chicago Business has compiled 11 years of data from Chicago Public Schools financial reports, including “total revenues and expenditures by year, debt service and total debt, student enrollment, the number of employees, pension payments and pension debt,” with help from the Civic Federation and the Center for Budget and Tax Accountability. The numbers show that the district still faces “huge financial challenges after decades of mismanagement.” [Crain’s Chicago Business]
- More than 30 friends write letters in support of ex-Northwestern professor Wyndham Lathem
Former Northwestern University professor and respected researcher Wyndham Lathem is in jail for allegedly murdering his boyfriend Trenton Cornell-Duranleau, but 32 friends have written letters of support now filed in court by his legal team. “I cannot reconcile what I have heard on the news with the person that I know,” a woman who wrote one of the letters told the Sun-Times. A Northwestern colleague discussed his world-renowned research on the plague: “I feel his contributions will eventually lead to the eradication of these infections, which continue to kill several thousand people every year,” the colleague wrote. “Wyndham has directly and indirectly made important contributions to the betterment of our society and the human condition.” [Sun-Times]
- Half Acre is opening a new beer garden
Half Acre Beer Company previewed its highly anticipated new taproom and beer garden in Bowmanville Saturday. DNAinfo Chicago has a collection of pictures so Half Acre lovers know what to expect when it officially opens in a few weeks. [DNAinfo Chicago]