Good afternoon, Chicago. ✶
Earlier today, the city’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability released body-worn camera footage from the fatal police shooting of 26-year-old Dexter Reed last month.
In today’s newsletter, we’ve got coverage of the shooting, the oversight agency’s investigation and the fallout.
Plus — reporting on a food-based skills-building program for youth, an opportunity to explore Chicago history and more community news you need to know this afternoon.
⏱️: A 7-minute read
— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter (@MattKenMoore)
TODAY’S TOP STORY
Video shows Chicago police firing at Dexter Reed 96 times in 41 seconds after he shot officer during traffic stop, oversight agency says
Reporting by Tom Schuba, Frank Main, Andy Grimm, Kaitlin Washburn and David Struett
Traffic stop turns violent: A man shot and killed by Chicago police during a traffic stop last month “fired first,” striking an officer before four others fired nearly 100 rounds, some after the man fell to the ground, oversight officials said Tuesday.
COPA investigation: The Civilian Office of Police Accountability did not say how many times Dexter Reed allegedly fired at police but said the officers “returned fire approximately 96 times over a period of 41 seconds, including after Mr. Reed exited his vehicle and fell to the ground.”
‘Not wearing a seatbealt’: Police stopped Reed in the 3800 block of West Ferdinand in Humboldt Park on March 21 “for purportedly not wearing a seatbelt,” according to COPA.
Mayor makes statement: Mayor Brandon Johnson called the footage “deeply disturbing,” but walked a fine line between mourning Reed and offering prayers for the wounded cop. Johnson told reporters at City Hall that he met with the officer on the night of the shooting and has since visited with Reed’s family.
“I am personally devastated to see yet another young Black man lose his life during an interaction with the police. My heart breaks for the family of Dexter Reed,” he said. “I’ve also been praying for the full recovery of the officer who was shot during this interaction.”
Reed’s family speaks out: Reed’s family members viewed footage of the shooting Monday afternoon with their attorney and held a news conference Tuesday. Reed’s family criticized the police officers for approaching his car too aggressively, possibly scaring him into defending himself. “My insides are burning up,” Reed’s mother Nicole Banks said outside COPA’s offices. “They didn’t have to do him like that.” Roosevelt Banks, Reed’s uncle, criticized police for continuing to fire after Reed got out of his SUV. “That is nothing than plain murder,” he said.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
- Food program teaches skills and lessons: Food, Farm, Familias, a group based on the South Side, pays interns 16 to 24 years old to learn a variety of skills, including carpentry and growing and harvesting crops. They can also try cooking, selling and distributing meals.
- Principals receive school budgets: Chicago Public Schools principals have received their school budgets for next year, the first under a new system that focuses on needs of schools rather than enrollment.
- Red Stars to play at Wrigley Field: The Red Stars announced they will play a match against Bay FC at Wrigley on June 8. The first women’s soccer game ever to be played at Wrigley is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
- Ranking Big Ten’s men’s squads: Sun-Times sports columnist Steve Greenberg shares his top 10 list of Big Ten teams, with the 2005 Illini claiming the No. 1 spot.
CHICAGO HISTORY ⏳
Newberry exhibition celebrates iconic nightclub Mister Kelly’s
Reporting by Eric Thompson
As the son of one of Mister Kelly’s owners, David Marienthal was involved with the famous nightclub during its early days. But his first job was decidedly unglamorous.
“He’d give me the job of scraping the gum below the tables,” Marienthal, 73, said of his father, George Marienthal, who opened the club on Rush Street with his brother, Oscar, in 1953.
David Marienthal has helped re-create the club with a new exhibition, “A Night at Mister Kelly’s,” which opened at the Newberry Library in March and runs through July 20. The show features everything from photos and posters to original plates and ashtrays from the nightclub. There is also music, video and a station for sharing memories.
Here’s some of what you’ll find:
Oil painting by Ellen Lanyon: It’s hard to miss the large oil painting by the late Chicago artist. Depicting a woman inspired by singer and actress Lainie Kazan, the painting was created to commemorate the 1967 reopening of Mister Kelly’s after a fire in 1966.
Lenny Bruce’s bar tab: Among the rarest items in the exhibit is Lenny Bruce’s signed bar tab from Oct. 7, 1959. The comedian purchased six cordials, or after-dinner drinks. The item was donated by Bruce’s daughter, Kitty. “It was just such an honor to meet Kitty Bruce, who remembers being there with her dad,” Marienthal said.
Ebony’s annual vacation guide: George and Oscar Marienthal were committed to creating inclusive environments in both Mister Kelly’s and London House — a club they owned on Michigan Avenue. Word got out to Ebony magazine, which included both establishments in its June 1960 annual vacation guide, which promoted safe spaces for Black tourists.
BRIGHT ONE ✨
Larger-than-life butterfly sculptures coming to Chicago’s parks this summer
Reporting by Erica Thompson
Each spring and summer, a bevy of swallowtail butterflies descend on parks in Chicago. But this year, residents may notice some look a whole lot bigger.
The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum will place 29, 6-foot butterfly sculptures along the Magnificent Mile, in Lincoln Park, and in city parks on the South and West sides. The installation is part of a new initiative called “Flight of Butterflies,” which features an intersection of art, nature and storytelling.
Before the sculptures are dispersed throughout the city in July, they will be installed April 25 outside the museum at 2430 N. Cannon Drive. Local artists and community groups have designed the steel sculptures, which have aluminum wings and are modeled after the common eastern tiger swallowtail and the state-threatened regal fritillary species. They will remain in place until late next year.
The mission of the initiative is to connect people to nature, highlight the museum’s conservation efforts and share stories from a diverse group of artists from various Chicago neighborhoods.
“Our artists are some of our greatest ambassadors,” said Erin Amico, the nature museum’s president and CEO. “We are a city of so many stories. … And nature is something that impacts every single human being on this planet.”
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
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Editor: Satchel Price
Newsletter reporter: Matt Moore
Copy editor: Angie Myers
