Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Monday, August 28, 2017.
- Chicago police have solved less than 20 percent of the murders committed in 2017
The Chicago Police Department has solved less than 20 percent of the murders committed so far in 2017, according to CPD statistics. Detectives were able to makes 204 arrests in the 781 murders that occurred in 2016, which is about a 25 percent clearance rate. In the 1970s and ’80s, police “cleared” about 80 percent of the city’s murders, but the rate has been steadily dropping over the past decade: “The overall trend is the same, and it’s been getting worse for years,” crime analyst Jeff Asher told the Sun-Times. [Sun-Times]
- Rahm: Chicago students no longer treated as “second-class citizens” in state school funding deal
Chicago Public Schools students will no longer be treated like “second-class citizens” under a new bipartisan school funding deal agreed upon by state legislators, according to Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “That clear benchmark has been met,” Emanuel said. More details about the agreement are expected to be revealed Monday, but legislators’ “efforts risked being derailed amid ongoing rancor between Governor Bruce Rauner and Mayor Rahm Emanuel as well as pressure from unions,” according to the Tribune. [DNAinfo Chicago] [Tribune]
- Preckwinkle may pay a political price for the controversial soda tax
Cook County Board president Toni Preckwinkle could play a political price for the controversial and unpopular penny-per-ounce sweetened beverage tax, according to the Associated Press. Democratic and Republican state legislators have both sponsored legislation to end the tax, several lawsuits have been filed against it, store owners have been complaining about decreasing sales, and a poll showed that the vast majority of voters are unhappy with it. “It feels like every time you turn around they have their hand in your pocket,” Chicago resident Jim Taylor told the AP. “It’s ridiculous. They should all go.” Local business owners in Little Village say the tax is severely hurting their businesses, according to the neighborhood chamber of commerce. “Most of our locations are in low-income communities,” [Taqueria] Los Comales’s Christina Gonzalez said. “This is going to be a deciding factor in whether people just bring food from home for lunch.” [Associated Press via NBC Chicago] [DNAinfo Chicago]
- Some conservatives slam Rauner’s support of an immigration bill
Some conservatives are not happy that Governor Bruce Rauner is planning to sign a bill into law that “would prevent law enforcement officials across the state from detaining individuals based solely on their immigration status, and limit local agencies’ cooperation with federal immigration authorities,” according to NBC Chicago. Rauner is expected to sign the Illinois TRUST Act Monday. Some members of Rauner’s own party, including ex-congressman Joe Walsh and Breitbart writers, are criticizing him for the move, but the governor has said that the bill “seems very reasonable.” [NBC Chicago]
- Twelve museums offer free admission for CPS students
Twelve museums are offering free admission for Chicago Public Schools students this week. The Adler Planetarium, the Field Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Shedd Aquarium, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Chicago History Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, the Lincoln Park Zoo, the DuSable Museum of African American History, and the National Museum of Mexican Art are all offering free admission through Sunday for students. “I want to thank Chicago’s museums and cultural institutions for their support and open arms in welcoming Chicago Public Schools students before the school year begins,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. “This is a unique opportunity for students and their families to learn and explore by visiting our city’s world-class museums before school starts on September 5.” [DNAinfo Chicago]
- Lady Gaga’s mom helped at a Lakeview shelter before Wrigley Field concert
Before Lady Gaga became the first woman to ever headline a concert at Wrigley Field Friday night, her mother hosted a barbecue at a nearby homeless shelter. Cynthia Germanotta, who cofounded the Born This Way Foundation with her pop-star daughter, hosted a barbecue and handed out backpacks with school supplies at the Crib shelter in Lakeview. The Crib helps homeless people between the ages of 18 and 24, including many in the LGBT community. “I would encourage everyone to visit a place like this and see the the hope that it brings,” Germanotta said. “It’s one thing to hear about [homelessness] in communities, but when you actually see what’s happening, you realize what people go through.” She also honored former shelter resident Kishonda Johnson, who won the foundation’s Channel Kindness Award. [DNAinfo Chicago]