Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Wednesday, October 18, 2017.
- Emanuel proposes ride-sharing fee increases, phone tax increases in 2018 budget
Mayor Rahm Emanuel is proposing a $1.10-a-month increase in the 911 phone tax and a 15-cent-per-ride fee for using ride-sharing services including Uber and Lyft, the Tribune reports. The hikes are part of Emanuel’s 2018 city budget, which he’ll formally introduce at 10 AM today. The budget then goes to the City Council. [Tribune]
- CTU president Karen Lewis recovering from a stroke in the hospital
Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis is in the hospital recovering from a stroke she suffered last week. “I woke up, couldn’t move my left leg, my left hand,” she told NBC Chicago. Lewis—who survived an aggressive form of brain cancer last year—is expected to recover and has no speech issues. “Karen Lewis has always been a strong voice for Chicago’s children and Chicago’s teachers, and the strength of her voice is only matched by the strength of her will,” her frequent nemesis Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement Tuesday. “A stroke can’t keep Karen Lewis down.” [NBC Chicago]
- Rauner starts borrowing $6 billion to pay off the state’s $16 billion in bills
Governor Bruce Rauner has started borrowing money to pay off the state’s enormous debt, “seeking $1.5 billion in tax-exempt general obligation bonds Tuesday, followed by another $4.5 billion in bonds next week,” the Tribune reports. Illinois has piled up nearly $16 billion worth of unpaid bills and has the worst credit rating of all the states in the country. [Tribune]
- The Daily Show takes over the Athenaeum Theatre as Noah defends Chicago’s violent reputation from GOP attacks
The Daily Show is broadcasting from the Athenaeum Theatre in Lakeview this week, and in his opening monologue Monday night, host Trevor Noah defended Chicago from Republicans’ frequent attacks on its gun violence rate, which he believes stem from Republicans’ disdain for former president Barack Obama. “Oh, now I get it,” he said. “When there’s shootings, he’s from Chicago. All the other times, he’s from Kenya. Now it makes sense.” [Slate]
- Citadel founder Ken Griffin is still the richest man in Illinois
Citadel founder and chief executive officer Ken Griffin is still the richest man in Illinois, with an estimated net worth of $8.5 billion, according to Forbes. His net worth increased by $1 billion over the past year. [Sun-Times] [Forbes]
- Report: Trump claimed to own a painting in the Art Institute of Chicago
President Donald Trump’s private jet used to have a copy of Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s famous Two Sisters on the Terrace, which hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago. Despite that, Trump claimed the fake painting was an original Renoir. “Donald, it’s not,” Trump biographer Tim O’Brien told the then-real estate developer during a ride on the jet. “I grew up in Chicago, that Renoir is called Two Sisters on the Terrace, and it’s hanging on a wall at the Art Institute of Chicago. That’s not an original.” But O’Brien says that Trump kept telling him he was wrong. [Vanity Fair]