Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Thursday, December 7, 2017.
- CPS CEO Forrest Claypool’s very bad day
Chicago Public Schools chief executive officer Forrest Claypool had a bad day Wednesday. The district’s “inspector general has turned over to the Chicago Board of Education the still-secret findings of an ethics investigation that Claypool tried to block,” and has recommended that Claypool be fired, the Sun-Times reports. Ken Bennett, a former Obama and Mayor Rahm Emanuel aide and the father of Chance the Rapper, publicly criticized Claypool at a hearing Wednesday. “This Forrest Claypool is not the man I’ve known for years, and I’m deeply disturbed,” Bennett said during public comments after a Chicago Board of Education meeting. [Sun-Times]
- Jason Van Dyke lawyer makes tone-deaf comparison to torture of three black sharecroppers
An attorney for Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke, who has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, made a tone-deaf comparison between Van Dyke’s case and that of “three black sharecroppers who were brutally tortured into confessing in a 1936 U.S. Supreme Court case,” according to the Sun-Times. Attorney Daniel Herbert made the comparison between Van Dyke’s case and the case of Brown v. Mississippi during a hearing Wednesday on a motion to force journalist Jamie Kalven to identify his sources. [Sun-Times]
- Senators Durbin and Duckworth call on Al Franken to resign
Illinois senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth joined a growing list of senators calling on Senator Al Franken to resign due to multiple sexual harassment allegations. “Senator Franken’s behavior was wrong,” Durbin posted on Twitter Wednesday. “He has admitted to what he did. He should resign from the Senate.” [Tribune]
- Chicago Fire and Ken Griffin team up to build mini soccer fields in underserved neighborhoods
The Chicago Fire soccer team, billionaire Ken Griffin, the U.S. Soccer Foundation, and the city are joining forces to build 50 mini soccer fields in underserved neighborhoods in the city and suburbs. Griffin and Mayor Rahm Emanuel both discussed the key role soccer had in their childhoods. “These mini-pitches will transform the everyday lives of Chicagoland children, and further grow the passion for soccer across our city,” Andrew Hauptman, the owner of the Chicago Fire, said in a statement. [Tribune]
- Chance the Rapper gives CPS students $220, unreleased Jordan sneakers
Chance the Rapper gave out $220, unreleased Jordan Retro 11 sneakers to Chicago Public Schools students who attended his OpenMike event Monday. “I have never had a pair of Jordans before and I’m so thankful…. this is great,” one attendee posted on Twitter. [Billboard]
- Wisconsin-inspired cocktail bar the Pink Squirrel opens in Logan Square
The Pink Squirrel, a Wisconsin-inspired cocktail bar, opened in Logan Square Wednesday. Featuring a bowling alley, the bar is supposed to make patrons feel that they’ve stepped back in time to a supper club in the 1960s. [Eater Chicago]