More clues in the Highland Park mass shooting

Plus, a sense of turmoil in Kim Foxx's office. 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 Wednesday, and my colleague Lynn Sweet at the “Chicago Sun-Times” discovered more information about the suspect in the Highland Park shooting. Here’s what you need to know today. 1. Highland Park suspect appeared to have made anti-Semitic and racist comments online   The suspect appears to have posted racist and anti-Semitic comments against Jews, African Americans and Asian Americans just days before the Fourth of July mass shooting in Highland Park, reports Lynn Sweet at the Chicago Sun-Times. The posts have been taken down, but a private investigator took screenshots and turned them over to the FBI, Sweet reports. The news comes as the motive for the shooting remains a mystery. Experts on extremism, such as the Anti-Defamation League, caution against jumping to a judgment based only on the online posts. [Sun-Times] During a brief court hearing today, the suspect pleaded not guilty to the 117 criminal charges filed against him. [Sun-Times] 2. A sense of turmoil in Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office   Five prosecutors have resigned from the state’s attorney’s office in recent days, reports NBC 5’s Mary Ann Ahern. That might not sound like a lot, but it comes as 235 people have exited the office since July of last year, Ahern reports.  Prosecutors say they are overworked and burned out from the COVID-19 pandemic and a surge in violent crime in Chicago.  But the wave of departures also comes as critics have increasingly called into question the leadership of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. [NBC 5] Among them is James Murphy, a 25-year veteran of the office who issued a “stinging rebuke” of Foxx in a resignation letter on Friday, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. “I would love to continue to fight for the victims of crime and to continue to stand with each of you, especially in the face of the overwhelming crime that is crippling our communities,” Murphy wrote. “However, I can no longer work for this Administration. I have zero confidence in their leadership.” [Sun-Times] 3. A nationally celebrated charter school leader is forced out after an investigation into sexual misconduct, sources say   A Chicago Public Schools inspector general’s report substantiating allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct with a student forced Tim King, a lauded charter school leader who founded Urban Prep Academies, to resign last week, reports WBEZ’s Sarah Karp, citing unnamed sources. The report said King “groomed” a student, starting when he was 16 years old, and it outlined years of alleged sexual activity, as well as financial support King provided to the student after graduation, according to the sources.  Through his attorney, King denied all allegations. CPS is barring King from any connection with the charter school and placing a do not hire on his record. [WBEZ] 4. ‘Pharmacy deserts’ grew on Chicago’s South and West sides amid the pandemic and civil unrest   Chicago’s South and West sides have fewer pharmacy locations than other parts of the city, and these so-called pharmacy deserts impact the accessibility of vital services — like COVID-19 testing and vaccines — in Black and Latino communities, according to a WBEZ investigation. A WBEZ analysis shows access to the city’s two largest pharmacy chains — Walgreens and CVS — is much higher in white communities than it is in Black or Latino areas. The overall problem “was exacerbated by the civil unrest of 2020, when a number of pharmacies closed,” reports WBEZ’s Esther Yoon-Ji Kang and former Sun-Times reporter Cheyanne Daniels. “It was particularly an issue in Black neighborhoods where, the city confirmed, about one out of every five pharmacies was shuttered temporarily or permanently,” according to a WBEZ analysis of city data from August 2020. [WBEZ] 5. Biden signs an executive order aimed at helping patients travel for abortions   President Joe Biden signed an executive order today aimed at helping patients travel to states where abortions remain legal, reports The Associated Press. The order will “allow states that have not outlawed abortion to apply for specific Medicaid waivers that would, in effect, help them treat women who have traveled from out of state,” the AP reports. The news comes as advocates for reproductive rights in Illinois are concerned the state will not be able to handle an influx of up to 30,000 out-of-state patients now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned.  Illinois lawmakers could address that issue as they plan to meet for a special session aimed at strengthening abortion protections. [AP] Biden’s executive order also comes a day after voters in Kansas rejected a constitutional amendment allowing legislators to ban or severely restrict abortions. A closer look at election data shows abortion opponents underperformed in conservative areas of the state. [New York Times] SPONSORED BY ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY Do Work That Makes The World Better. Advance your career in public service with a master’s in public administration from Roosevelt University. In the MPA program, you’ll master the management and decision-making skills to lead with confidence. Focused Tracks: Health care Government Administration Non-Profit Administration At Roosevelt, you’ll meet public sector leaders who can become mentors throughout your career. Are you ready to change business for the better?   Learn More. Here's what else is happening Critics say the name “monkeypox” is racist, but a committee of scientists won’t change it anytime soon. [NPR] Overdose reversal drugs gain support at music festivals. [NPR] A long-stalled plan to extend the Red Line to Chicago’s Far South Side may turn to a controversial way of funding city projects. [Chicago Sun-Times] The Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra will showcase homeland composers in an historic Chicago concert debut. [Chicago Sun-Times] Oh, and one more thing... Riddle me this: What cost $90 million but isn’t worth finishing in the eyes of Warner Bros. Discovery? Answer: The Batgirl movie starring Leslie Grace from In the Heights. Warner Bros. Discovery announced today that it’s shelving plans to release the almost completed film, a move that “shocked Hollywood observers for the amount of money wasted,” reports NPR. A spokesman for Warner Bros. said the decision reflects a “strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max.”  But the movie apparently didn’t do well in audience testing, according to the New York Post.  “They think an unspeakable Batgirl is going to be irredeemable," a source told the paper. [NPR] Tell me something good I finally saw Jordan Peele’s Nope, and I’d like to know what is a scary movie, TV or book that really got you? Athene Carras writes:  “It has to be Salem’s Lot by Stephen King. I was 13-years-old when I read it and I couldn’t sleep for fear that my best friend was going to show up tapping at my window.” Ethan Colchamiro writes:  “As a teenager, I met my friends, on foot, at the second-run theater a mile from my house to watch Silence of the Lambs. The movie was scary enough without having to walk a mile home in the dark, through some wooded areas, by myself. As soon as I got home I turned on the TV to get my mind off of how terrifying the movie was, and the top story on the TV was the arrest of Jeffery Dahmer. I didn’t sleep well for a week!” And Jason Ward writes:  “The first Paranormal Activity really got me. I got to see it at River East 21, at a midnight show before it opened nationwide, and I didn’t know what to expect at all, but it wasn’t this. The practical effects might've as well been a ghost hired as a stunt actor, and the movie left me with a thousand-foot stare riding the Red Line back home, alone, in the middle of the night, And when the lights in the train suddenly went out when we left North & Clybourn…” Feel free to email or tweet me, and your responses might be shared in the newsletter this week. therundown@wbez.org | @whuntah Thanks for reading and have a nice night! I'll 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