Newsletter: Banks Lend Less To Blacks In Chicago

Lenders invested more in a white Chicago neighborhood than all black neighborhoods combined. That story and more are in today’s Rundown.

Chicago South Side
A lone pedestrian passes a mural in the Hamilton Park neighborhood on the city’s South Side Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) AP Photo
Chicago South Side
A lone pedestrian passes a mural in the Hamilton Park neighborhood on the city’s South Side Tuesday, April 14, 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) AP Photo

Newsletter: Banks Lend Less To Blacks In Chicago

Lenders invested more in a white Chicago neighborhood than all black neighborhoods combined. That story and more are in today’s Rundown.

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Good afternoon! It’s Wednesday, and of course it rained this morning just as Chicago finally began reopening. Here’s what you need to know today. (PS: You can have this delivered to your inbox by subscribing here.)

1. Lenders invested more in a white Chicago neighborhood than all black neighborhoods combined

An analysis from WBEZ and the nonprofit newsroom City Bureau found huge disparities in the amount of money lent to white neighborhoods compared to black and Latino neighborhoods.

Those disparities mean minority residents are locked out of homeownership, communities are deprived of desperately needed capital investment and racial inequities grow between neighborhoods.

The analysis found that for every $1 banks loaned in Chicago’s white neighborhoods, they invested just 12 cents in the city’s black neighborhoods and 13 cents in Latino areas. [WBEZ]

2. Clock begins ticking on Lightfoot’s pledge for police reforms

Mayor Lori Lightfoot vowed to impose a number of police reforms within the next 90 days, including mandated crisis intervention training, history lessons for cops on Chicago’s neighborhoods, an officer wellness program and a new training initiative involving community members.

Lightfoot announced the new push for police reforms during a prime-time speech last night to address the recent unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The mayor also said the city will create a $10 million grant fund for local businesses looted in recent days. [WBEZ]

Many grocery stores and pharmacies on the South and West sides are boarded up and closed after looting this past weekend, causing residents to wonder where they can get food and medication. [WBEZ]

Protesters demonstrated outside of Lightfoot’s home today. You can find more news about protests in Chicago in this link. [WBEZ]

3. Defense secretary says military forces are not needed to quell protests right now

In a break from President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said today that sending active military troops into cities is not needed at the moment.

Just days ago, Trump said he was considering invoking the Insurrection Act, which would allow the president to use military forces for law enforcement. [NPR]

Meanwhile, Trump today defended his Monday photo-op in front of St. John’s Church, saying it was “very symbolic.” [NPR]

That’s the same photo-op that came moments after officers used smoke and flash grenades, and possibly tear gas, on peaceful protesters outside the White House.

The New York Times reports the decision to clear out protesters came from U.S. Attorney General William Barr, and the idea to visit the church came at the urging of the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump. [New York Times]

Clergy members of the church were among the people gathered at the protest. The Washington Post created this “oral history” of what happened on the ground. [WaPo]

4. Murder charge upgraded in killing of George Floyd

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder in the killing of George Floyd, and three other former cops were charged with aiding and abetting murder, according to new court documents.

A video showed Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly 9 minutes before Floyd died. Two autopsies ruled Floyd’s death a homicide. All four officers were fired the day after Floyd died on Memorial Day. [NPR]

Meanwhile, Minnesota’s Department of Human Rights filed a discrimination complaint against the Minneapolis Police Department and will begin a probe into policies and practices over the last decade. [NPR]

The news comes as a New York Times analysis of city records found that Minneapolis police used force against “black people at a rate at least seven times that of white people during the past five years.” [New York Times]

5. Zuckerberg defends inaction on Trump’s messages

In a tense call with Facebook employees, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said President Trump’s recent post about looting and shooting “has no history of being read as a dog whistle for vigilante supporters to take justice into their own hands.”

Zuckerberg’s hands-off approach to the controversial post has sparked a rare show of internal dissent within the social media company, with Facebook employees staging a “virtual walkout” this week.

In yesterday’s call with employees, Zuckerberg stood firmly behind his decision to not remove or moderate the president’s messages. [Recode]

The phrase — “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” — has a racially charged history that has been widely reported on in recent days. Trump has said he was unaware of the phrase’s history. [NPR]

Meanwhile, Snapchat said it will no longer promote Trump’s account on its curated “Discover” page. [Axios]

Here’s what else is happening

  • The Trump administration is banning Chinese passenger airlines from flying to the U.S. [Axios]
  • The man behind Sweden’s controversial move to not impose a coronavirus lockdown said the decision cost too many lives. [BBC]
  • U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed to admit nearly 3 million people from Hong Kong. [New York Times]
  • Chicago activist Conrad Worrill, who helped get Harold Washington elected mayor and fought for reparations, died at 78. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Oh, and one more thing …

You’re out of luck if you hoped to chow down on a giant turkey leg while dressed up as your favorite character from Game of Thrones at the Bristol Renaissance Faire.

The beloved Wisconsin fair is canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers announced this week. [Daily Herald]

I went one year for an unofficial “goth day” back when I was young and full of life.

Tell me something good …

What acts of kindness have you seen?

Robin writes:

“I find the question — ‘How are you today?’ — that we exchange every morning has taken on a new meaning of love and concern.”

And Lori writes:

“I was quite moved on Sunday morning. Feeling extremely sad, I took my dogs for a long walk through our Ravenswood neighborhood. Two little girls (maybe 4 or 5 years old), wearing masks, were on a stoop asking everyone walking by if they would like a Jolly Rancher candy. ‘We have watermelon, blue and lime… and we hope you have a nice day.’ Such a generous, kind and uplifting gesture that completely lifted my spirits.”

Feel free to email at therundown@wbez.org or tweet to @whuntah.

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