Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Friday, May 5, 2017. Have a great weekend!
- Four former cops turned aldermen push for police access to assault rifles
A group of four former Chicago police officers turned aldermen want more cops to have access to assault rifles, according to the Sun-Times. The idea was prompted by the shooting of two on-duty Chicago Police Department officers earlier this week. In 2008, former CPD superintendent Jodi Weis procured $200,000 worth of carbines. Now aldermen Ed Burke, Anthony Napolitano, Christopher Taliaferro and Willie Cochran are urging that police be enabled to use them, which requires certification by the department. “Hundreds of Chicago Police officers have asked to be trained and certified in the use of long guns, and they face a long waiting list,” said Burke. “How many more brave police officers are going to be shot by gang members using military assault weapons like they were on Tuesday night in the Back of the Yards neighborhood?” [Sun-Times]
- All 11 of Illinois’s Democratic congressmen voted against the Obamacare repeal; all seven GOP members voted yes
All 11 Democratic members of Congress from Illinois voted against the controversial Republican bill to repeal and replace major parts of the Affordable Care Act Thursday, which passed by a vote of 217-213. All seven of the state’s Republican Congressmen voted for it. “If we do nothing, insurers will continue to exit the marketplace and millions of people will lose coverage,” suburban Republican congressman Peter Roskam said in a statement. Not all of the state’s Republicans were in full support of the bill. Governor Bruce Rauner said it “continues to be of deep concern.” [Tribune]
- South-siders speak out on the Obama Presidential Center
Neighborhood residents would like some input on the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park, and many are ambivalent about how the high-profile project might affect the neighborhood. “The residents have mixed feelings [about the Library],” alderman Willie Cochran told the Chicago Defender. “Happy because of the promise of hope, jobs, safety and a vibrant community with more food choices. Temper that with fear of displacement and strangers they know nothing about.” [Chicago Defender]
- Heineken acquires the rest of Lagunitas Brewing Company
Beer-making giant Heineken has acquired all of the remaining shares of Lagunitas Brewing Company. The Dutch company bought 50 percent of Lagunitas in 2015, promising to expand the craft beer to new markets. Selling the rest of the Chicago- and California-based brewing company to Heineken is not “selling out,” founder and executive chairman Tony Magee wrote in a blog post. “I am using Lagunitas’ equity to buy deeper into an organization that will help us go farther more quickly than we could have on our own.” [Sun-Times]
- Facebook executives meet with Reverend Jesse Jackson about Facebook Live controversy
Facebook executives traveled to Chicago to meet with Reverend Jesse Jackson and Cook County commissioner Richard Boykin about Facebook Live violence Thursday. Jackson has been asking for a 30-day moratorium on the streaming service after several murders have been broadcast live. [WGN TV]
- After major fire in 2015, Nuevo León may not rebuild
Nuevo León was a fixture for 54 years in Pilsen until it burned down in December 2015. Almost 18 months later, there’s no sign of rebuilding, and owners Danny Gutiérrez Sr. and Danny Gutiérrez Jr. are undecided about whether they’ll go through with it, though the family still hopes to. Chicago magazine has the whole story. [h/t Eater Chicago] [Chicago]