Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Thursday, July 27, 2017.
- Report: Trump “gets a kick out of personally needling Emanuel” when criticizing Chicago gun violence
President Donald Trump slammed Mayor Rahm Emanuel again at a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, Tuesday night. “This month in Chicago, there have been more than two homicide victims per day. What the hell is going on in Chicago?” the president said. “Better tell that mayor to get tough, because it’s not working what they’re doing.” Trump frequently talks about Chicago gun violence “because he gets a kick out of personally needling Emanuel,” a White House source told the Sun-Times. [Sun-Times]
- Data: Hate crimes could reach a record high in Chicago in 2017
Chicago could see a record number of hate crimes in 2017, according to DNAinfo Chicago. Over the first half of the year the CPD has classified 39 crimes as hate crimes, which puts the city on pace to surpass the previous record of 73 hate crimes in 2016. [DNAinfo Chicago]
- Rahm launches crackdown on stolen cell phone black market
Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants the city to crack down on the reselling of stolen cell phones. Emanuel’s son, Zach, had his cell phone stolen during a robbery in 2014. The mayor’s proposal would require used phone sellers to run the phones through a database of stolen phones before they can sell them. [Tribune]
- R. Kelly was reportedly kicked out of a local recording studio after “trashing” it
In 2015, R. Kelly was evicted from a local recording studio where he “allegedly kept members of his ‘sex cult'” after “the premises were destroyed by late-night parties and the singer’s guests throwing up and defecating in the hallways,” according to the Daily Mail. The owner of the shared River North space, real estate company C/R Adlake Limited Partnership, sent an eviction notice to the singer in May of that year, but an incident subsequently took place on August 26, 2015, when a “police report for simple battery was filed at the location after the sister of one of R Kelly’s alleged captives was assaulted during a scuffle with the singer and his entourage when she went to the recording studio to try to rescue her teenage sibling,” the British tabloid reports. [Daily Mail]
- Alderman Moreno: The ex-Double Door landlord’s lawsuit is “frivolous”
Alderman Joe Moreno called a lawsuit against him filed by the owner of the former home of now-closed club the Double Door “frivolous.” Owner Brian Strauss’s lawsuit alleges that Moreno violated his civil rights by pushing for a zoning change that “scuttled” a purchase of the building for $9.6 million. The lawsuit also charges Moreno with using “threats and political intimidation” in connection with Strauss’s eviction of the club. Moreno called Strauss “dishonest,” and told DNAinfo Chicago that the building has failed to sell because it’s “overpriced.” [DNAinfo Chicago]
- Rome’s Bonci Pizzeria lands in the West Loop August 15
Bonci Pizzeria, rated one of the top in Italy, is opening its first U.S. location in the West Loop on August 15. In an interview with Chicago magazine, founder Gabriele Bonci talks about the origins of his pizzeria, the Roman-style slices he specializes in, and the reasons he chose Chicago for his newest location. [Chicago]