Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Thursday, February 9, 2017.
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- Chris Kennedy announces he’s running for governor in 2018
Chris Kennedy, a member of the Kennedy political dynasty, has announced that he will run in the Democratic primary for governor in 2018. Kennedy, the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of the late president John F. Kennedy, called Governor Bruce Rauner “heartless” in an interview with the Sun-Times. “I think one of the most important things about running now is to let Gov. Rauner know that unless he’s fixing things, he’s one and done,” he said in a postannouncement interview. “He needs to know that. He will not be reelected. He will go down as the worst governor in Illinois history unless he steps up with a balanced budget and puts the state on the right track.” Democratic alderman Ameya Pawar has already announced that he’ll be running a progressive campaign to take over Rauner’s seat. [Politico] [Sun-Times]
- Report: CPD no longer using 1982 training video hosted by TV cop after DOJ criticism
The Chicago Police Department has stopped using a training video made in 1982 after the Department of Justice criticized it as “clearly out of date” and said “it taught officers improper and illegal use of deadly force,” according to ABC 7 Chicago. The video, Shoot/Don’t Shoot, was hosted by actor Peter Falk, who played a detective on the 1980s TV show Columbo. “The video is of little value because methods and techniques used by police for applied force have changed either because the new methods are safer and more effective, or because a technology has eclipsed the old methods,” Hugh Mundy, a professor of criminal law at the John Marshall Law School, told ABC 7. [ABC 7 Chicago]
- State rep Will Guzzardi calls for rent control in Chicago
Former governor Jim Edgar passed a bill banning rent control in Illinois in 1997. Now state rep Will Guzzardi and several advocacy groups are hoping to repeal the law as rents rise in Chicago, especially in gentrifying neighborhoods like Pilsen. “The fear was the bogeyman of rent control,” Guzzardi told reporters. [DNAinfo Chicago]
- Authorities ask for help one year after an innocent woman was killed by stray bullet
It’s been a year since Aaren O’Connor, 25, was fatally shot by a stray bullet while talking to her family on the phone in her car on the west side. Authorities are asking witnesses to come forward so her killer can be arrested. Chicago police detectives believe that a reputed gang member, whom they have interviewed, fired the fatal shot while trying to shoot members of another gang, according to investigation supervisor Osvaldo Valdez. But there’s not enough hard evidence against him without witnesses. “Unfortunately, as how the criminal justice system is set up—it’s not what we think or what we theorize or what we believe, it’s what we can prove,” Valdez said during a news conference asking the public for help. [Tribune]
- Northwestern investigates sex assault and drugging allegations at fraternities
Northwestern University officials are investigating three alleged assaults said to have taken place at campus fraternities. Officials issued a security alert after receiving an anonymous report that “as many as four female students may have been given a date-rape drug during an event Jan. 21 at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house,” according to the Tribune. The university then received another anonymous report about a possible sexual assault at a different fraternity. “It’s a very difficult situation,” university spokesman Bob Rowley told the newspaper. “We’re not dealing with a victim’s or an accuser’s report against a perpetrator.” [Tribune]