Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Wednesday, August 30, 2017.
- Senate, house pass and send Illinois education funding bill to Rauner’s desk
The Illinois house and senate both passed a “compromise” version of the education funding bill Tuesday, and Governor Bruce Rauner has pledged to sign it into law. It’s a rare example of a bipartisan agreement in Springfield. “This is what compromise looks like,” Democratic state senator Kimberly Lightford said. “This is it. A bill that none of us like at 100 percent. This is what we needed to do in order to fix a flawed system that we became recognized for across this country.” [Sun-Times]
- Attorney general Madigan sues the city to enforce police reform
Illinois attorney general Lisa Madigan is suing the city of Chicago, asking for the appointment of a federal judge to oversee reform of Chicago Police Department through a consent decree. A scathing report issued by the Department of Justice in January recommended this step among other reforms, but Jeff Sessions, attorney general under the Trump administration, has repeatedly expressed skepticism about such measures. The lawsuit says a court-mandated decree is required for meaningful reform: “mandating effective lasting changes is the only way to restore the badly broken trust between Chicago’s residents and CPD and increase safety for residents and police officers.” [Tribune]
- Rizzo brings $3.5 million check to Lurie Children’s Hospital
Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo says that his work helping kids with cancer is more important than his World Series victory. On Tuesday morning Rizzo brought a $3.5 million check from his foundation to Lurie Children’s Hospital, where he spoke about his own cancer experience and charity work at the dedication of the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation waiting room. Rizzo is a regular visitor to the hospital and meets with many children battling cancer. “It’s uplifting when you can get away from reality for a bit,” he said. “A moment for me is a lifetime for someone else, and that’s something else.” [DNAinfo Chicago]
- Study: Chicagoans are leaders in writing some of the worst online comments
More than 9 percent of the online comments left by Chicagoans are toxic, according to a study by Wired and Disqus, and the worst commenters in the U.S. are in Park Forest, with 34 percent of comments left by just two residents of the suburb considered toxic. Examples of comments classified by the study: “You are a disgusting, subhuman painfully stupid waste of cells. You are a racist pig, a slime ball” and “Liberals are devil lovers.” Philadelphia, New York City, and Houston are the only cities with a higher percentage of toxic comments than Chicago. [WGN TV]
- Teen who met with Mark Zuckerberg in June shot dead on the west side
Theotis Luckett, who was shot to death early Saturday morning, met with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in Englewood in June. The 16-year-old, who’d recently finished a program at Lincoln’s Challenge Academy to keep kids off the streets, was walking home on the west side after visiting his infant child when he was fatally shot in the back, according to DNAinfo Chicago. “He was trying to do something with his life and trying to be somebody,” said Cook County commissioner Richard Boykin, who was Zuckerberg’s guide for the visit. Luckett was a “delightful young man, [a] gentleman who seemingly had turned his life around. . . . When we met him in Englewood, he was full of life. He was happy. He couldn’t have been better.” Zuckerberg responded on Facebook, calling Luckett’s untimely death “incredibly tragic.” [DNAinfo Chicago]
- Carmelo Anthony’s former personal chef to helm restaurant at the Virgin Hotel
The Commons Club at the Virgin Hotel will debut a new menu when it reopens this fall after renovations. Former executive chef Rebecca LaMalfa is being replaced by Moosah Reaume, former personal chef to NBA player Carmelo Anthony. The restaurant will expand its menu from small bites to include a la carte, prix fixe, and seasonal offerings. Reaume has also worked as chef de cuisine at the Lobby at the Peninsula and as executive chef at the Public Hotel Chicago. [Eater Chicago]