Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Wednesday, August 31, 2016.
- Weather: Cooler without much humidity
It will cool down significantly Wednesday, with a high of 77 and a low of 66. There’s a chance of a thunderstorm in the morning, and the humidity will fade by the afternoon. [AccuWeather]
- CPD files charges to fire Jason Van Dyke and other cops involved in Laquan McDonald shooting
Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke and four other cops who gave reports about the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald that didn’t match the video of the shooting could be fired by the Chicago Police Board. Chicago Police Department superintendent Eddie Johnson filed administrative charges asking that the five officers be dismissed over the incident. Van Dyke is facing first-degree murder charges for McDonald’s 2014 death. [Tribune]
- Anti-violence activists ask for state funding to bring back CeaseFire
Former members of the anti-violence group CeaseFire are calling for $3 million in state funding to bring back the program. The group trained former gang members to end arguments and disputes before the situation became violent. Its $4.7 million in state funding was frozen by Governor Bruce Rauner in 2015. The CeaseFire push comes during Chicago’s violence surge, which has resulted in more homicides in 2016 than in New York City and Los Angeles combined. [DNAinfo Chicago] [BBC News]
- Rahm promises that food trucks will have to follow the rules
After an investigative report by the Sun-Times and ABC7 Chicago found food trucks regularly breaking the rules laid out in the city’s food truck ordinance, Mayor Rahm Emanuel says all of the issues can be solved by a crackdown on trucks violating the rules. The investigation found that trucks breaking rules on time limits and the established “mobile food vehicle stands.” [Sun-Times]
- Popular CPS principal and vocal Rahm critic resigns from Blaine Elementary
Blaine Elementary School principal Troy LaRaviere has resigned from his job after being placed on an unpaid suspension in the spring. The Chicago Principals and Administrators Association president was removed as principal of Blaine in April, and CPS started the process of firing him based on accusations that he denied. “The flimsy charges you’ve leveled against me—combined with the recent elevation of my school as the No. 1 neighborhood school in Chicago—makes it obvious that your actions against me have everything to do with politics and nothing to do with what’s good for students and families,” he wrote in an open letter to Mayor Rahm Emanuel posted Tuesday. [DNAinfo Chicago]
- 83-year-old cockatoo Cookie passes away at Brookfield Zoo
The bird named the oldest living parrot by the Guinness World Records has passed away at the Brookfield Zoo. Cookie the Cockatoo was beloved by fans and was the last animal at the zoo from its original collection in 1934. [Tribune]