Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Thursday, July 14, 2016.
- Weather: Warm and partly sunny
Thursday will be a nice day, with a high of 86 and a low of 67. It will be partly sunny, and the humidity will die down in the evening. [AccuWeather]
- Chicago State University could lose its accreditation
Chicago State University was plagued by severe financial problems during the state’s yearlong budget impasse. Now the troubled university is at risk of losing its accreditation. The Higher Learning Commission, a regional body tasked with overseeing postsecondary institutions, has placed the south-side school on “notice,” which will result in a two-year review process. [Sun-Times]
- Trump exaggerates Chicago’s homicide numbers during Indiana campaign stop
There have been thousands of murders in Chicago since 2009, but not nearly the 5,000 homicides claimed by presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. “Since President Obama became president, almost 5,000 killings in Chicago,” Trump said Tuesday at a campaign rally in Indiana. His numbers were off a bit off—there have been fewer than 4,000 murders since Obama was inaugurated, according to DNAinfo. [DNAinfo Chicago]
- Chicago doesn’t actually have the highest per capita murder rate in the U.S.
Chicago’s murder rate is higher than that of New York City or Los Angeles, but there are many smaller cities with a higher per capita murder rate—including some represented by antigun control congressmen. As Congress argues about gun control legislation in the wake of the Dallas police shooting and the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting, the Guardian has released a list of U.S. cities with the highest per capita murder rates. The paper has also examined which party represents each city in the U.S. House of Representatives. Saint Louis, Detroit, and New Orleans (all represented by Democrats) top the list, with the highest murder rates. Jackson, Mississippi, represented by a Republican, comes in fourth. [Guardian]
- Chicago-based bike parts manufacturer introduces high-tech shifting
Local bike parts company SRAM is making waves in the cycling world with Red eTap, a new set of parts that allow riders to shift gears wirelessly (SRAM had previously pioneered high-end electronic shifting). After five years of work on the device, the company is introducing the technology to the world of elite cycling, just in time for the ongoing Tour de France. [New York Times]
- Hamilton announces its cast for Chicago production
Hamilton producers have cast some Broadway heavyweights to star in the musical’s highly anticipated Chicago production. Miguel Cervantes will follow in the footsteps of creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, starring as Alexander Hamilton; Tony Award winner Karen Olivo will play Angelica Schuyler (Hamilton’s sister-in-law); and former American Idol contestant Ari Afsar will play Hamilton’s wife, Eliza. Cervantes will get some practice playing Hamilton in the New York City production before heading to the Windy City. [Variety]