Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Wednesday, November 23, 2016.
- Weather: Foggy and rainy
It will be cool again Wednesday, with a high of 46 and a low of 38. It’s likely to rain at times throughout the day and evening, with plenty of fog. [AccuWeather]
- Dennis Hastert is reportedly trying to get his teacher pension back
Former U.S. House speaker Dennis Hastert is in prison, but he’s still fighting to get back his teacher’s pension from his years at Yorkville High School, according to the Daily Herald. Hastert was convicted earlier this year of violating federal banking laws for allegedly making hush-money payments to a former student whom he sexually abused. “No specific charges were ever brought against Mr. Hastert in relation to conduct that occurred while he was a teacher,” his attorney Mark DeBofsky wrote in a letter obtained by the Daily Herald. [Daily Herald]
- CPD launches “Be the Change” campaign to recruit new officers
The Chicago Police Department is calling its recruitment campaign to hire 970 new police officers over two years “Be the Change.” The CPD started accepting applications Tuesday. The jobs have a starting salary of $48,000. The campaign is actively trying to recruit black and Latino candidates for a more diverse police force. [NBC Chicago]
- Garbage, oily rags started the massive Old Main Post Office fire
It was hard to miss the massive fire at the Old Main Post Office that shut down the Eisenhower Expressway Tuesday. More than 100 firefighters were sent to the scene for a fire that originally started with a pile of rubbish and oily rags, according to the Tribune. It has not yet been determined whose garbage it was that started the blaze. [Tribune]
- A incident with a “suicide bomber” squirrel sent Alderman Howard Brookins Jr. to the hospital
Alderman Howard Brookins Jr. has been an outspoken opponent of the city’s “aggressive squirrels.” Now Brookins himself has ended up in the hospital after an incident with one such squirrel November 13. He was riding his bike when the critter got caught in the spokes of one of the wheels, causing Brookins to flip over the handlebars of his bike. The injury was severe; he fractured his skull, broke his nose, and lost a few teeth. The alderman compared the squirrel to a “suicide bomber, getting revenge.” [Washington Post]
- Former Massachusetts governor, south-side native Deval Patrick named to the Obama Foundation board
Former Massachusetts governor, south-side native, and senior adviser to the Chicago Police Accountability Task Force Deval Patrick has been added to the board of the Obama Presidential Foundation. Patrick will have a say in the Obama presidential library and museum set to be built in Jackson Park. President Obama “will be remembered as a president who led us well through turbulent times with wisdom, equanimity and grace,” Patrick said in a statement. [Sun-Times]