Hey there! It’s Friday, and please be very quiet: My downstairs neighbor did not enjoy my antics of playing the theme song from Night Court last night. Here’s what you need to know today.

1. Chicago police prepare for weekend protests

The Chicago Police Department will send more officers downtown this weekend as officials expect to see large demonstrations over racial injustice in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisc.

Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown told reporters today that he is “hoping for peaceful protests, but we are preparing if agitators come in.”

Among the steps planned, the department will deploy 200 officers from the “Critical Incident Response team” to the downtown area. A new 500-officer Community Safety team will patrol neighborhoods, the department says. [Chicago Sun-Times]

A Black Lives Matter protest is scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m. and will begin outside the Wrigley Building on the Magnificent Mile. [Do312]

Here’s a look at the challenges facing Black Lives Matter as it has grown into a movement. [New York Times]

Meanwhile, thousands of people gathered in D.C. today, calling for racial justice and honoring the 57th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” address. [Washington Post]

2. Teenager charged in Kenosha shootings will be held in Illinois for a month

Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old charged in the killings of two protesters in Kenosha, Wisc., will remain in Illinois’ Lake County for 30 days as his family finds a private lawyer to represent him. A Lake County judge granted the request during a brief status hearing today.

Rittenhouse faces several charges in Wisconsin’s Kenosha County, including a first-degree intentional homicide, which is the same as a first-degree murder charge in Illinois. If convicted on that charge, Rittenhouse could face life in prison. [Chicago Tribune]

The deadly shootings took place this week during a protest over the shooting of Jacob Blake, who was shot multiple times in the back by a Kenosha police officer.

As The Washington Post reports, the violence at the Kenosha protest is one of many examples of how the country’s political and cultural divide is increasingly becoming more dangerous. [WaPo]

3. What the RNC tells us about Trump’s reelection strategy

The GOP largely used the Republican National Convention to reach crucial blocs of voters outside of President Donald Trump’s base, highlight issues in the country’s culture wars and reframe the election away from being a referendum on the president, reports NPR’s Domenico Montanaro.

But the Trump campaign still struggles on what line of attack to use on Democratic nominee Joe Biden. For example, Republicans accuse Biden of being both too tough on crime while falsely accusing him of supporting the “defund the police” movement. [NPR]

Trump made several bold claims during his acceptance speech last night, such as delivering a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year or sooner. You can find a fact check of the president’s address in this link. [NPR]

4. University of Illinois braces for outbreaks

The university is harnessing a rapid, saliva-based coronavirus test it developed in hopes of containing outbreaks. So how’s it going now that classes are back in session?

The Chicago Tribune reports that results can take up to 48 hours due to a larger than expected demand for the tests, which were touted to produce results in two to six hours. [Chicago Tribune]

University of Illinois President Timothy Killeen told CNBC today that he expects outbreaks will occur, but he remains hopeful that the rapid tests will prevent COVID-19 from spreading further. [CNBC]

Meanwhile, international students studying in the Chicago area say the pandemic has created an uncertain future for them. [WBEZ]

Across Illinois, the number of new cases continues to rise, as the state is close to reaching a total of 230,000 known cases and a death toll of 8,000 people.

The state has seen a seven-day average of 1,958 cases per day, according to The New York Times. That’s a 13% increase from the average two weeks ago. You can find more information about the state’s positivity rate and other COVID-19 metrics in this link. [WBEZ]

5. It would cost Chicago billions to ditch ComEd

In order for Chicago to break ties with the scandal-tainted ComEd and create its own electric utility service, City Hall would have to fork over about $8.8 billion, and the move wouldn’t even result in rate cuts for residents, according to a feasibility study commissioned by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration.

The study, obtained by WBEZ, recommended that the city “not pursue municipalization of the ComEd system at this time.”

That recommendation comes as some aldermen and activists are calling for the city to ditch ComEd after the utility giant admitted to steering jobs and contracts to people connected to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, who has not been charged with any wrongdoing. [WBEZ]

Here’s what else is happening

• Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest serving prime minister, announced his resignation due to health reasons. [BBC]
• A Cook County judge ruled against releasing a special prosecutor’s report on the Jussie Smollett investigation. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• Illinois election authorities are racing to meet a deadline to finalize polling places. [Chicago Tribune]
• WGN America aims to take on CNN, MSNBC and Fox. [Chicago Tribune]

Oh, and one more thing …

New York City’s Central Park recently unveiled its first statue depicting real women. The statue, called the “Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument,” features Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Sojourner Truth.

According to CBS News, “The statue portrays the women working at a table and depicts three elements of activism — Truth is speaking, Anthony is organizing and Stanton is writing.” [CBS News]

WBEZ’s Curious City examined how many statues of women can be found in Chicago’s parks and plazas. Spoiler alert: There aren’t that many. [WBEZ]

Tell me something good …

Many students are either back in school or soon will be. And I’d like to know: What was one of your favorite classes?

Sister Carol, a.k.a. SoxNun, writes:

“One of my favorite classes was at Loyola: ‘How to survive an earthquake with grace.’ Fr. Jerry Brocollo taught it in the early ’90s. Prophetic, to say the least!”

And Gregory writes:

“For me, it was ‘Literature as Social Criticism’ with Mr. John Pinkerton. We read and had deep (for a high school junior in the mid 1980s) discussions of Stranger in A Strange Land, Fail Safe, On The Beach, Catch-22, A Canticle for Leibowitz and Slaughterhouse Five, among others. It bred a healthy distrust of the establishment that many of us who were in that class maintain to this day.”

Thanks for all the responses this week! I’m sorry I couldn’t get to everyone, but it was nice hearing from y’all.

Thanks for reading and have a nice night! I’ll see you on Monday! And if you like what you just read, you can subscribe to the newsletter here and have it delivered to your inbox.