The most violent Memorial Day weekend in 5 years

Plus, researchers use new tools in finding planet-killing asteroids. Here's what you need to know today.

To view this email as a web page, click here. Today's Rundown is brought to you by WBEZ members and   by Hunter Clauss   Good afternoon. It’s Tuesday, and Chicago again begins a new week with questions about the city’s anti-violence strategies as the summer approaches. Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Chicago experienced its most violent Memorial Day weekend in five years   Nine people were killed and 42 others were wounded during the holiday weekend despite stepped up police patrols and a focus on neighborhood programs that city officials hoped would provide peaceful alternatives, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. On Saturday, faith leaders led a march for peace down Michigan Avenue to Millennium Park, chanting, “There will be no silence till we end the violence.” About half of those shot were on the West Side, most of them in a single police district, the 11th, where there were two mass shootings on Sunday. [Chicago Sun-Times] At least 12 mass shootings took place across the nation over the holiday weekend, reports The Washington Post. [WaPo] Meanwhile, a case against a Chicago man charged with manufacturing ghost guns in an apartment “represents a new frontier in gun trafficking investigations,” reports the Chicago Tribune. [Trib] 2. How mayoral candidate Kam Buckner says he’ll address Chicago’s violence   State Rep. Kam Buckner today unveiled his anti-violence plan, which includes quickly filling 1,600 police vacancies by removing “unnecessary and artificial restrictions,” such as low credit scores.  Buckner also vowed to hire more detectives and improve the city’s still unacceptable homicide clearance rate. And he wants to create an Internet Intelligence Unit to “combat crimes being planned online.” “Carjackings, smash-and-grabs and murders are being planned in the open — on social networks — and we need specialized attention focused on monitoring online trends so that we can stop these crimes before they happen,” Buckner told reporters today. [Chicago Sun-Times] 3. Cook County saw a record 1,920 fatal overdoses last year   Cook County has confirmed a record number of fatal overdoses in 2021 during an opioid-fueled crisis that weighs most heavily on middle-aged Black men, according to a WBEZ analysis of medical examiner’s data. Last year’s opioid-related deaths were 4% higher than those reported in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many experts say the increases are a result of lockdowns and other restrictions that isolated people and made treatments and support groups harder to access.  As the overdose numbers have increased, local and state agencies have stepped up efforts addressing the problem. Cook County, for example, has supplied dozens of suburban police departments with naloxone, a medication used to reverse overdoses. [WBEZ] 4. An algorithm might save us from planet-killing asteroids   Here’s something to think about when you go to sleep tonight: There’s an estimated 25,000 near-Earth asteroids that can do serious damage, but only 40% of them have been found. Researchers at the B612 Foundation, a nonprofit that takes its name from The Little Prince, have created an algorithm that scans old astrological images in the hopes of finding undiscovered asteroids.  They hope the algorithm can act as something of an early warning system — finding planet-killing asteroids in time to deflect the object. [New York Times] 5. Hundreds of mummies were discovered in an ancient necropolis   Archaeologists in Egypt discovered 250 sarcophagi with well-preserved mummies inside, reports The Washington Post. The dig also unearthed 150 bronze statues dating back 2,500 years. The discovery took place outside of Cairo at a necropolis that was part of the burial grounds for the ancient capital of Memphis. The sarcophagi will be moved to a new museum located near the Giza Pyramids.  Officials in Egypt hope the discovery will help jumpstart tourism, the Post reports. Egypt’s economy depends on tourism, and several factors have caused a downturn in the past decade, such as the 2011 Arab Spring. [Washington Post] SPONSORED BY CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Start your summer at Symphony Center! From groundbreaking jazz musicians to world-renowned pianists, legendary conductors, and Broadway stars, June at Symphony Center offers a concert experience for everyone. Witness Esa-Pekka Salonen lead the CSO in Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe, enjoy an evening of Broadway favorites from musicals such as The King and I, Carousel and South Pacific with Kelli O’Hara, and don’t miss Riccardo Muti’s final performances of the 21-22 season as he conducts Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera (A Masked Ball). All of this and more await you at Symphony Center this June. Discover the perfect concert for you at cso.org.  Here's what else is happening Raines-Welch, the wife of Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch, was found “not qualified” to be a judge by the Illinois State Bar Association. [WBEZ] A 27-year-old man from Melrose Park has been charged in the attack on Chicago’s “Walking Man.” [Chicago Sun-Times] A beloved South Side crossing guard, known for her dance moves, was able to avoid eviction after receiving more than $18,000 in donations. [Block Club Chicago] The summer festival season has begun in Chicago. [WBEZ] Oh, and one more thing... You don’t tell a queer person about the lifesaving power of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill.” The 1985 single shot up to the No. 1 spot on the iTunes chart thanks to the new season of Netflix’s Stranger Things. I won’t spoil anything, but the song plays a huge role for one of the characters. [Deadline]  Now let’s give Bush an Oscar for the overly dramatic yet nonsensical music video for “Hounds of Love.”  Going back to Stranger Things, are you watching the new season? It made me LOL … sometimes not in ways I think it intended …  Tell me something good Hey there, it’s Bianca. I’ll be taking over the newsletter the rest of this week. It’s finally warm outside, and my mom will be in town in a few weeks. I wanted to know, what are the best ice cream spots in Chicago we should hit up this summer? Feel free to respond to this email, and your recommendations might be shared in the newsletter this week. therundown@wbez.org | @whuntah Thanks for reading and have a nice night! Bianca will see you tomorrow.  — Hunter Clauss P.S. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up to receive The Rundown in your inbox. VIEW OUR BROADCAST SCHEDULE ©Chicago Public Media Inc 848 East Grand Ave, Navy Pier Chicago, IL 60611 Please do not reply to this email. If you need assistance, you may contact us here. You are receiving this email because you are a WBEZ member or signed up to receive email communications from us. You can unsubscribe from The Rundown here. CHICAGO PUBLIC MEDIA'S PRIVACY POLICY