Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Friday, December 2, 2016. Have a great weekend!
- Weather: Cloudy and still breezy
Friday will be chilly, with a high of 41 and a low of 29 that will feel still colder. It will be breezy again, and mostly cloudy. [AccuWeather]
- Forecast: Chicago will have the weakest real estate market in the U.S. in 2017
Chicago will have the worst real estate market in the U.S. in 2017, according to a new Realtor.com ranking of the markets in the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas. The forecast predicts home prices in Chicago will rise by 1.95 percent and home sales by 2.27 percent, but the weak numbers in both categories landed the area in last place. “Chicago’s economy has not been as strong as other major markets,” Realtor.com chief economist Jonathan Smoke told Crain’s Chicago Business in an e-mail. “One important indicator is the current unemployment rate, which remains well above the U.S. rate of unemployment.” [Crain’s Chicago Business]
- The 2016 violence surge continues as the city reaches 700 murders
The number of homicides in Chicago in 2016 hit 701 Thursday, about a 58 percent increase over 2015. “The levels of violence we have seen this year in some of our communities is absolutely unacceptable,” Chicago Police Department superintendent Eddie Johnson said in a statement. [USA Today]
- San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick donates to Black Youth Project 100, discusses Chicago ahead of visit
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has made national headlines by kneeling during the national anthem before NFL games to protest racial inequality in the U.S. Now the football player has donated an undisclosed amount of money to the Black Youth Project 100 to help the fight for racial equality. “I’ll continue to look at other communities in Chicago, as well, as far as what are ways I can help and what are ways I can try to help empower those communities,” he told reporters Wednesday. Kaepernick will be in the city Sunday as the 49ers take on the Bears at Soldier Field. Veterans, including former alderman Jim Balcer, will speak out against the quarterback Saturday at the Chicago Police Memorial near Soldier Field. [Sun-Times] [ DNAinfo Chicago]
- Cook County sheriff Tom Dart launches hate crime and discrimination hotline
Victims of hate crimes and/or discrimination will be able to call a hotline and speak with a Cook County sheriff’s office staffer who can direct them to the proper law enforcement agency, sheriff Tom Dart announced. “With the FBI reporting spikes in hate crimes nationwide, this will act as a proactive resource,” he said in a statement. “Any act of discrimination or targeted intimidation within my jurisdiction will be met by the full extent of the law.” [DNAinfo Chicago]
- Opening of highly anticipated Elske restaurant in Fulton Market set for December 7
Eater National named the opening of David and Anna Posey’s Elske restaurant one of the most highly anticipated openings in the nation this fall, and the Fulton Market restaurant finally has an opening date of December 7. David Posey left Blackbird and Anna Posey left the Publican to open their first restaurant, at 1350 W. Randolph. [Eater Chicago]