Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Monday, June 5, 2017.
- Chris Kennedy: J.B. Pritzker doesn’t “deserve” to be governor
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Kennedy slammed opponent J.B. Pritzker Sunday, saying that the billionaire businessman doesn’t “deserve” to be governor. Kennedy’s comments came in response to a Tribune report that Pritzker expressed interest in the post of state treasurer in response to then-governor Rod Blagojevich’s efforts to get him to bite on the Senate seat made available by the election of Barack Obama. The 2008 phone conversation, never before made public, was caught on tape by FBI agents investigating Blagojevich. “See, a guy like J.B. Pritzker, they catch him on tape and he’s talking about maybe swapping money for an appointment with Governor Blagojevich, and he’s using insider language, he’s using code words like, ‘I hear ya, I hear ya,'” Kennedy said on WGN Radio. [Tribune]
- Shootings decreased by 19 percent in May in comparison with 2016
Gun violence in Chicago decreased in May in comparison with last year, though levels are still high in comparison with previous years, according to DNAinfo Chicago. Shootings were down by 19 percent and murders were down by 15 percent in May compared to May 2016, but that year recorded the highest level of violence since the mid-90s. [DNAinfo Chicago]
- 98-year-old Chicagoan donates more than $2 million in Walgreens stock to the Illinois Audubon Society
Russ Gremel, 98, has donated more than $2 million worth of Walgreens stock, which he purchased for $1,000 nearly 70 years ago, to the Illinois Audubon Society. The organization named a nearly 400-acre wildlife refuge after Gremel and dedicated it Sunday. “I’m a very simple man,” the Jefferson Park resident told the Tribune. “I never let anybody know I had that kind of money.” [Tribune]
- City removes 12 red-light cameras after study shows they were not working
The city of Chicago has removed 12 red-light cameras at six intersections: Irving Park and Kedzie, Peterson and Pulaski, Grand and Oak Park Avenue, 95th and Stony Island, Western and 71st, and Western and Pershing. The cameras were taken out Friday morning after a Northwestern University Transportation Center study found that they’d failed to reduce the number of car crashes at those intersections. According to the report, however, the program has been successful at reducing crashes elsewhere in the city. [DNAinfo Chicago]
- Chance the Rapper calls for HBO to fire Bill Maher
Chance the Rapper is asking HBO to fire Bill Maher for using the N-word in an interview on his show, Real Time With Bill Maher, on June 2. “Please @HBO Do Not Air Another Episode Of Real Time With Bill Maher,” Chance tweeted. Nearly 50,000 Twitter users liked the tweet, and nearly 15,000 had retweeted it as of Sunday afternoon. [Billboard]
- Iron Chef Stephanie Izard’s food is available at Wrigley Field through June 11
Newly crowned Iron Chef Stephanie Izard has cooked up a menu for Wrigley Field that will be available until June 11. Offerings include the Izard, a Vienna Beef hot dog with crispy onions and Korean-style mayo and pickles; goat tacos in Maker’s Mark chile mole with pineapple salsa; and pork belly waffle fries with fresh cilantro and a southeast-Asian-spiced mayo. Celebrity chefs Rick Bayless, Graham Elliot, Jeff Mauro, and Matthias Merges have also been slated to create special menu items over the season. [Eater Chicago]