Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Friday, August 5, 2016.
- Weather: A storm possible in the morning
It will be a humid and a hot Friday, with a high of 85 and a low of 70. There’s about a 50-50 chance of a thunderstorm in the morning. [AccuWeather]
- Special prosecutor appointed in Laquan McDonald case
A special prosecutor from the far-western suburbs has been appointed to try Chicago cop Jason Van Dyke on first-degree murder charges in the death of Laquan McDonald. Kane County state’s attorney Joseph McMahon says his goal is “to find the truth” about the shooting, which became a national news story when dashcam video of the incident was released in November 2015. McMahon will prosecute Van Dyke; another special prosecutor, former Cook County judge Patricia Brown Holmes, is set to investigate the behavior of the other cops who witnessed the shooting. [Tribune]
- Fewer people are visiting Trump Tower during controversial presidential campaign
GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign has been in turmoil over the past few days, and now social media site Foursquare has more bad news for him: fewer people are visiting the Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago and his other businesses. Foursquare says that foot traffic is down by 17 to 24 percent at Trump’s Chicago hotel, the Trump SoHo in New York City, and the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It seems to be having impact: citing an ongoing strike and other issues, the owners of the Taj Mahal announced Thursday that the casino would closer after Labor Day. [DNAinfo Chicago] [Press of Atlantic City]
- The vibrant history of Jackson Park
Jackson Park has played a key role in one of the most interesting chapters in Chicago’s history, the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. Neighborhood residents are excited about the forthcoming Obama presidential library and want to make sure the park continues to be a part of black cultural life. [WBEZ]
- There’s no blueprint for police-torture reparations
After fighting for decades, suspects tortured by former Chicago Police Department commander Jon Burge and his so-called Midnight Crew have finally been paid millions of dollars in reparations. NPR’s Planet Money podcast delved into the question of just how you set a price on something so delicate and complicated in a recent episode, “Paying for the Crime.” [Planet Money via iTunes]
- Chicago Sky MVP Delle Donne discusses Olympics, comes out
WNBA MVP and Chicago Sky player Elena Delle Donne announced her engagement to her girlfriend, Amanda Clifton, in Vogue magazine. “I decided I’m not at all going to hide anything,” she told the media in Rio de Janeiro, where she’s set to compete on Team USA. [Vogue] [Sun-Times]