Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Wednesday, February 24, 2016.
- Weather: Expect between two and four inches of snow
We’ve gotten spoiled this winter with relatively warm temperatures and very little snow. So the two-to-four inches set to fall Wednesday afternoon and evening seems likes a lot. It will be cloudy and windy, with a high of 38 and a low of 30. [AccuWeather]
- Kesha will be greeted by supporters before her Chicago concert Friday
Hundreds of Loyola University Chicago students are joining Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, and more than 99,000 online petitioners in the #FreeKesha movement. They’ve planned a rally to support the pop star, who’s embroiled in a tense legal battle over her contract with Sony, which she can’t get out of despite rape allegations against her producer Dr. Luke. She’s set to perform Friday at Gentile Arena on the school’s Rogers Park campus, and the rally will be held on the quad before the show. [Red Eye]
- Looking back at five years of Rahm with @MayorEmanuel
In 2010 and 2011 Dan Sinker took Chicago by storm with his hilarious Rahm Emanuel parody Twitter account, @MayorEmanuel. Now Sinker takes a look at how things have changed in Chicago during Rahm’s five years in office. He believes the hope that existed for the city after years of Daley rule is dead in a “destroyed” Chicago. [Medium]
- The long, strange story of redeveloping the Old Post Office
The abandoned Old Post Office has loomed over the Loop since it closed in 1996. Developers have proposed plans for the prime real estate for years, but nothing has ever come to fruition. Now that Mayor Rahm Emanuel has said he wants to seize the property via eminent domain, Curbed Chicago takes a look back at the many failed ideas floated for the building, from Walgreens headquarters to a casino. [Curbed Chicago]
- Chicago State University cancels spring break to save cash
Illinois’s never-ending budget impasse has plagued Chicago State University and sent its entire future into jeopardy. Now the school has been forced to cancel spring break, and is close to running out of money to pay employees. [DNAinfo Chicago]
- Louis Farrakhan, Nation of Islam will protect Beyoncé if the police won’t
Beyoncé’s “Formation” video and her Super Bowl performance upset police officers in cities like Miami and Tampa, who are threatening to boycott working at concerts during her upcoming world tour. Now Chicago minister Louis Farrakhan has offered the pop star security courtesy of the Nation of Islam. [Vibe]