Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Friday, December 16, 2016.
- Weather: Cold again, plus a little snow
It will be cold again Friday, with a high of 24 and a low of 22—not as bad as it’s been since Tuesday, though there’s a good chance of snow and sleet in the evening. [AccuWeather]
- Top prosecutor Kim Foxx won’t charge shoplifters with a felony for thefts under $1,000
Cook County state’s attorney Kim Foxx has already made a major change just days into her term. Prosecutors will no longer charge shoplifters caught stealing under $1,000 worth of merchandise with a felony if they have fewer than ten prior felony convictions. (Anyone who has previously stolen between $300 and $500 worth of merchandise could still be charged with a felony.) “The move clarifies guidelines for how felony retail theft cases will be handled to ensure consistency in charging and to prioritize limited resources,” the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a statement. [DNAinfo Chicago]
- Bow Truss coffee purchased by CNBC host Marcus Lemonis
Entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis—who’s also the host of The Profit on CNBC—has bought a majority stake in Chicago-based Bow Truss Coffee Roasters, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. “This is a concept that I think is worth growing and exploring,” Lemonis told the paper. “It’s a hometown brand that has a lot of potential, both on the retail and the wholesale side. There has been a lot of noise around the brand, and that’s one of the things I had to take a minute to think about, but I will tell you that I have full control of the business and the bulk of the ownership, if not most of it.” Bow Truss Coffee was owned by Phil Tadros, who along with a pool of investors will keep a “very small, small percentage of equity,” according to Lemonis. [Crain’s Chicago Business]
- How Chicagoans have been “living with lead”—and what they can do it fight it
Lead is a dangerous toxin that has deeply affected generations of Chicagoans, even if they didn’t realize at the time. City Bureau and South Side Weekly‘s fascinating new series examines how lead has changed the lives of some Chicagoans, and what we can do to stop its harmful effects. “Lead is a cumulative toxin,” Patrick MacRoy, former head of the city’s lead program, told City Bureau. “You’re exposed to lead in a lot of different ways and you want to reduce all of those exposures.” [City Bureau]
- If you want an Abraham Lincoln autograph, visit this River West store
Holiday shopping for a history buff? The Abraham Lincoln Book Shop is the place to go if you’d like to purchase authentic signatures of famous historical figures, including President Abraham Lincoln and Alexander Hamilton. The River North store specializes in “books, autographs, photos, artwork and memorabilia of U.S. political and military history, particularly Lincoln, the Civil War and the U.S. presidency,” according to the Tribune. Owner Daniel Weinberg says the popularity of historical eras and figures comes in waves, and Alexander Hamilton is a hot commodity now because of the musical Hamilton. “He wouldn’t be hot otherwise,” he told the Tribune. “The Civil War would never have been as hot without something else in the media, and that was when Roots came out in 1977.” [Tribune]
- Three-year-old Belmont Cragin boy with cancer becomes an honorary police officer
Three-year-old Belmont Cragin resident David Juarez survived a rare form of cancer; now the boy is an honorary Chicago police officer. CPD chief Eddie Johnson swore Juarez in and gave him a badge and certificate Wednesday. “It’s good to see him like this after all he’s been through,” his mother Daisy Santillan told DNAinfo Chicago. “It’s very emotional.” [DNAinfo Chicago]