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Lightfoot: Independent Commission Should Redraw City’s 50 Wards
| Paris Schutz
The decennial redrawing of Chicago’s 50 ward boundaries is messy and anything but transparent. Mayor Lori Lightfoot calls the current map an obvious case of gerrymandering, and says it’s bad for Chicago residents.
Closing Arguments Expected This Week in Death-Penalty Trial of Brendt Christensen
| Matt Masterson
Federal prosecutors and Brendt Christensen’s defense team are each expected to call their final witnesses before Friday. Among those slated to testify: Christensen’s former girlfriend, who wore a wire for the FBI, and his ex-wife.
Cook County Health Program Focuses on ‘Whole Person Care’
| Kristen Thometz
How addressing homelessness, access to food and other social needs improves a patient’s overall health – and reduces costs. A 2017 study found treating patients with just one risk factor was $65 more per month than those with none.
US Sending Troops to Mideast Amid Gulf Tensions over Iran
| Associated Press
The U.S. is sending 1,000 more troops to the Middle East as tensions in the Persian Gulf mounted over Iran’s announcement it will not comply with the international agreement that keeps it from making nuclear weapons.
High Court Avoids New Case over Same-Sex Wedding Cake
| Associated Press
The Supreme Court decided Monday against a high-stakes, election-year case about the competing rights of gay and lesbian couples and merchants who refuse to provide services for same-sex weddings.
State Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke Angers Some with Judicial Pick
| Alexandra Silets
Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke received blowback from faith and community leaders on Chicago’s West Side for appointing a white woman to fill a vacancy formerly held by a black woman.
Ready or Not, Electric Scooters Arrive on Chicago’s West Side
| Quinn Myers
Dockless electric scooters – 2,500 of them – arrive in Chicago as the city launches its pilot program, but will riders stay safe?
Move of Beachside Music Fest Prompts Pushback Over Endangered Birds
| Alex Ruppenthal
Organizers of Mamby on the Beach want to move the music festival to Montrose Beach, but conservationists are pushing back because of two endangered birds living at the site.
Another ‘Empire’ Actor Arrested, But on Traffic Offense
| Associated Press
A Chicago police spokeswoman said that Bryshere Gray, who plays a younger brother of Jussie Smollett’s character on the Chicago-based Fox TV show, was pulled over Thursday.
Brendt Christensen Researched Rape Fantasies Before Kidnapping Scholar
| Matt Masterson
“I want to test my limits and experience everything,” Brendt Christensen wrote in his profile on Fetlife.com, a social media site for adults with alternative sexual interests, weeks before Yingying Zhang disappeared.
Art Institute Show Explores ‘Iconic Photographs’
| Marc Vitali
Photography has long been used to make images of iconic works of art. Sometimes the photographs themselves become icons. A new show explores a collection of famous pictures from the 20th century.
Tracing the National Security Council’s ‘Unprecedented Evolution’
| Nick Blumberg
The National Security Council is an integral part of U.S. foreign policy, despite the fact that most Americans know little about what it actually does. In a new book, author John Gans traces the council’s “unprecedented evolution.”
Advocates Rally at Fairlife Over Alleged Animal Abuse at Indiana Farm
| Alex Ruppenthal
Chicago-based Fairlife has been under fire since an animal welfare group released videos showing workers at the company's top dairy supplier abusing cows.
A Winningly Eclectic CSO Concert Mixes Contemporary, Classic Works
| Hedy Weiss
The unlikely combination of Vivaldi, Beethoven and Gershwin with two contemporary works was full of delightful surprises and unexpected revelations.
Beekeeping Behind Bars: Inmates Raise Bees at Cook County Jail
| Evan Garcia
Behind barbed wire fences, Cook County Jail inmates grow vegetables, flowers, herbs, and – as of May – they’re harvesting honey from two beehives provided by a former inmate.
Great Lakes Leaders to Discuss Funding Asian Carp Project
| Associated Press
Regional leaders are scheduled to meet in Chicago next month to discuss a plan devised by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for preventing invasive Asian carp from reaching Lake Michigan.
Refugee Graduate of Sullivan High School Earns Full Ride to UIC
| Matt Masterson
Alaaulldin Al Ibrahim, or “Al” to his friends, was born in Syria, moved to Jordan and eventually resettled as a refugee in Chicago. This fall he’ll attend the University of Illinois at Chicago on a full scholarship to study pre-med.
Web Extra, The Week in Review: ‘Fair Workweek’ Ordinance
| Nick Blumberg
Paris Schutz and guests discuss more of the week’s City Council news, including a hotly debated “fair workweek” ordinance.
The Week in Review: Green Light for Obama Presidential Center
| Nick Blumberg
A federal judge OKs construction of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park. Mayor Lori Lightfoot stares down the police union. A stunning admission in the trial of Brendt Chrisetensen. And: the scooters are coming.
Rep. Schakowsky: LGBTQ Community, Health Care ‘Under Threat’
| Kristen Thometz
As communities across the country celebrate Pride Month, LGBTQ organizations and activists are speaking out against Trump administration policies that limit those individuals’ access to health care.
Medical Pot Laws No Answer for US Opioid Deaths, Study Finds
| Associated Press
A new study shoots down the notion that medical marijuana laws can prevent opioid overdose deaths, challenging a favorite talking point of legal pot advocates.
Will Chicago’s Shared Electric Scooters Cut Emissions? It Depends, Experts Say
| Alex Ruppenthal
A new pilot program will give Chicagoans another option for getting around the city. But will electric scooters help reduce transportation-related pollution?
Why Brendt Christensen Can be Sentenced to Death in a State That Abolished the Death Penalty
| Matt Masterson
Illinois banned capital punishment in 2011, but a state resident now faces a possible death sentence in a first-of-its-kind murder trial since that ban took effect. A Northwestern law professor explains how that’s possible.
Family: Baby Cut from Slain Chicago Woman’s Womb Dies
| Associated Press
An infant boy who was cut from a Chicago woman’s womb with a butcher knife died Friday at a hospital where he had been in grave condition since the April attack that killed his mother, family spokeswomen said.
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