CHICAGO — It may be a rainy, chilly weekend, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy all the great summer tests happening. Meanwhile, if you prefer to stay at home and catch up on news, here’s your rundown for neighborhood news this week.
• How do you have a truly royal experience in Chicago? Chances are, you’ve already had one.
At least that’s what we can glean from the plans of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, who are considered “EDM aficionados” and plan to take in a few electronic dance music shows while they’re in town next week.
"The king and queen plan to check out the pulsating electronic music showcase put on by the The School of House, a Dutch education program for the EDM industry, featuring DJs from the Netherlands and Chicago, the birthplace of house music,” Mark Konkol reported.
• After being the intended target of two fatal shootings, having the SWAT called on a mixtape release party and a series of other run-ins with the law, North Side rapper Young Pappy, whose full name is Shaquon Thomas, was shot dead in Uptown Friday morning, authorities said.
The high-profile rapper had been shot at before: "Thomas survived the shooting attempt last year that left [Markeyo] Carr dead outside the McDonald's, and later was unscathed when a bullet intended for him instead killed [William] Lewis, who was waiting for a bus, police have said,” Benjamin Woodard and Mark Schipper reported.
• Another person touched by gun violence in Chicago had some words for shooters in the city: “Please, all my young black men, please stop,” said Trennetta Gresham, the mother of 4-year-old Jacele Johnson who was struck in her head with a bullet last week.
Gresham said she was preparing to move her family out of Chicago to avoid the violence: “I don’t understand what’s going on with this city … you can’t even go to the corner store,” she said, according to reporter Andrea V. Watson.
Her daughter Jacele was doing well after the “life-threatening injury” and was preparing to be moved to rehab.
• Jewish addicts looking to debunk misconceptions about Jewish people and addiction plan to perform next week in Lakeview, Ariel Cheung reported.
The Los Angeles-based “Freedom Song” will deliver a free, one-night only performance that will be a creative and engaging way to get the word out and, potentially, save lives.
• The city gave the green light for a medical marijuana dispensary in Logan Square Thursday, Darryl Holliday and Ted Cox reported.
The owners of Emporium Arcade Bar have partnered with a longtime Chicago pharmacist and a former Chicago Police Department detective to operate the dispensary at 2847 W. Fullerton Ave., next to Emporium’s Logan Square location.
The owners said the project is supported by Ald. Joe Moreno (1st) and not opposed by other owners in the building, both good signs for the new business.
• Not all city pot clinics got as lucky this week: One proposed store, in Southeast Side’s Calumet Heights, had its decision deferred to June.
The city said Harborside Illinois Grown Medicine had not provided enough information about its partnership with California-based Harborside Health Center for the board to make a decision, Ted Cox reported.
Les Hollis, CEO of Illinois Grown Medicine, said the location at 1111 E. 87th St. was appealing because it’s in an industrial area with other medical businesses nearby. “It’s a medical district, quite frankly, which we like,” he said.
• Meanwhile, the city got a “grade of a D-minus” from Ald. James Cappleman (46th) for its handling of homeless people living under Uptown viaducts, Mina Bloom reported.
“Like you, I’m very angry about it,” Cappleman said at the annual State of Uptown luncheon Wednesday. He said city departments need to do a better job of coordinating their efforts to address homelessness, noting that he wanted to create restrictions on how long people could stay at shelters.
He also advocated for harm-reduction shelters, where people can be treated for substance abuse, since some homeless people who are substance abusers are turned away from other shelters.
• In an act that shows the true power of guilt, a Back of the Yards teen walked up to a police car Monday and confessed to a 2014 robbery, prosecutors said.
Erica Demarest reported that Adrian Marentes, now 18, admitted to robbing a grocery store in early 2014, leaving with about $3,000 cash and the cashier’s cell phone. Marinates said he felt guilty and confessed to the store’s owner two weeks ago, but since the owner took no action, he decided to go straight to the police, according to prosecutors.
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