Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Monday, March 20, 2017. Happy first day of Spring!
- State senator Daniel Biss expected to announce he’s running for governor
Illinois state senator Daniel Biss is reportedly going to announce that he will run for governor in 2018 Monday morning, according to the Tribune. The Democrat from Evanston and former math professor at the University of Chicago “informed top Democratic officials and current and potential rivals in the March 2018 primary of his plans to run for governor,” the newspaper reported. Biss’s federal super political action committee, Leading Illinois for Tomorrow, created ads in 2016 that linked Republican governor Bruce Rauner to President Donald Trump. Alderman Ameya Pawar and businessman Chris Kennedy have already formally announced that they will run in the Democratic primary for governor. [Tribune]
- Judge: Army veteran to be deported to Mexico for drug offense
Army veteran Miguel Perez Jr. is being deported to Mexico after spending time in prison for a felony drug offense, according to ABC 7. The 38-year-old army private completed two tours of duty in Afghanistan and legally immigrated to the U.S. with his family when he was eight years old. “My son fought for this country, not for Mexico,” his mother Esperanza Medina said. His legal team is appealing the judge’s ruling that he should be deported. [ABC7 Chicago]
- Senator Dick Durbin pushes for programs that would help kids who live in violent neighborhoods with trauma and psychological stress
U.S. senator Dick Durbin is backing legislation that would “allow more than two dozen federal grants to fund programs that help identify and treat psychological stress and trauma in kids who live in violent neighborhoods,” according to the Sun-Times. The “Trauma Informed Care for Children and Families Act” should be introduced in the House and Senate in the next few weeks. “I don’t know if the Trump administration will support this, but the president on many different occasions has talked about gun violence in Chicago, deaths in Chicago,” Durbin said at a news conference at the University of Chicago Medical Center Sunday. “I’m going to challenge the administration. Don’t just tweet about our problems, help us solve them.” [Sun-Times]
- The Cubs World Series cost the city $18.8 million
The city has revealed its massive bill for the Cubs World Series run: $18.8 million. The vast majority of the money ($14.7 million) went to police overtime, according to the information obtained by DNAinfo Chicago through a Freedom of Information Act request. Cleaning up after the playoff games at Wrigley Field and the parade cost $742,000. [DNAinfo Chicago]
- Amazon Books will open its Lakeview store Tuesday
Online retail giant Amazon is officially opening its first brick-and-mortar store in Chicago Tuesday. Amazon Books, located in the 3400 block of North Southport, is only Amazon’s fifth physical bookstore, and it’s the first not inside a mall. “We just believe that we can do this well, and we believe that if we do it well, we will have an even stronger relationship with our customers,” Jennifer Cast, vice president of Amazon Books, told the Tribune. In response to Amazon’s new store, almost two dozen independent area bookstores formed the Chicagoland Independent Bookstore Alliance and will celebrate Independent Bookstore Day April 29. [Tribune]