Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Wednesday, June 29, 2016.
- Weather: Warmer but not hot
After an unseasonably cool Tuesday, it will get a bit hotter Wednesday, with a high of 77 and a low of 64. It should be a beautiful sunny day. [AccuWeather]
- Democrats, Rauner come up with budgets in the final hours of the fiscal year
With just hours left in the 2016 fiscal year, lawmakers in Springfield are scrambling to agree to a temporary budget deal to keep the state running as they come back for session Wednesday. Governor Bruce Rauner released a new stopgap budget that tries to appease Democrats by adding funding for higher education, MAP grants, and human services but stops short of a Chicago Public Schools bailout. Mayor Rahm Emanuel is not happy about this last part and slammed Rauner, saying that he “has wasted 18 months of his term.” The governor is asking legislators to pass the budget as he waits for state-senate Democrats to release their own version, which is almost certain to include funding for CPS’s financial crisis. [Sun-Times] [Politico]
- Did the International Olympic Committee rig the vote against Chicago?
The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro are shaping up to be a disaster, with numerous problems looming: the Zika virus, an economic recession, a domestic political crisis, violence concerns, and more. The games haven’t been canceled, but some of the world’s most high-profile athletes—including Steph Curry, Lebron James, and golfer Jason Day—have declined to compete. Meanwhile, Jerry Colangelo, the chairman of USA Basketball, believes the 2009 International Olympic Committee vote was rigged against Chicago’s infamous 2016 bid. “I would much rather be in Chicago than Rio,” Colangelo said. [Sun-Times]
- Thousands of bodies, old cemetery lie underneath soon-to-be-renovated Oak Park Avenue
Oak Park Avenue, on the northwest side, lies on top of the old Dunning cemetery and consequently, thousands of skeletons. The little-known cemetery holds the bodies of the city’s “poorest and sickest residents who died between 1890 and 1912.” Construction workers will move the road east in order to avoid disturbing the human remains. [DNAinfo Chicago]
- Local concert promoter avoids Ticketmaster by signing long-term deal with Ticketfly
Jam Productions, which owns the Park West, the Vic Theatre, and the Riviera Theatre, has signed a long-term deal with Ticketfly. The ticketing service, a competitor to the dreaded Ticketmaster, is owned by popular streaming service Pandora. [WBEZ]
- A trip down memory lane: Remember these local TV commercials?
Peter Francis Geraci, Empire Carpets, Luna, Bob Rohrman: these names will always be associated with their ubiquitous TV commercials. In honor of the 75th anniversary of the first TV ad, DNAinfo has rounded up some of the best Chicago commercials available on YouTube. Make sure you watch the cheesy 1989 Mr. Submarine commercial starring Scottie Pippen and two Luvabulls. [DNAinfo Chicago]