Hey there! It’s Tuesday, and I want to know who thought these new Chicago Cubs uniforms were a good idea. Here’s what you need to know today.

(By the way, if you’d like this emailed to your inbox, you can sign up here.)

1. Children are increasingly being killed in Chicago’s gun violence

An analysis from the Chicago Sun-Times found that children are dying from gun violence at a rate that’s three times higher than last year.

The news comes as the city braces for the summer, when violence usually flares up and grabs national headlines. And Chicago has already seen a spike in shootings, the newspaper reports.

So far this year, 10 children aged 15 or younger have been fatally shot. That’s up from just three children killed last year during the same time period. At least 52 children were victims of shootings this year compared to 43 last year, the Sun-Times reports.

“This isn’t a shock,” Tamar Manasseh, the head of Mothers and Men Against Senseless Killings, told the newspaper. “At this point, it almost seems like something that’s supposed to happen.” [Sun-Times]

2. Can the “Not-So-Magnificent Mile” bounce back?

Chicago’s Magnificent Mile is suffering from soaring retail space vacancies that outpaces commercial districts in other cities, reports Bloomberg. And if this economic engine continues to sputter, the consequences could be dire for the city’s finances.

Vacancies on the Mag Mile have jumped to 22% compared to just 3.6% in 2016, according to Cushman & Wakefield, a Chicago-based real estate firm. In San Francisco, the vacancy rate increased to 13.6% compared to last year’s 8.4%.

“The vacancies are a concern,” said Ald. Scott Waguespack, who chairs the City Council’s Finance Committee. “Those sales taxes pay for our programs. If someone buys stuff, that is funding for our budget.” [Bloomberg]

3. The richest people in the U.S. reportedly paid little in federal income taxes

The American tax system is once again facing criticism of inequality today after ProPublica obtained a trove of tax records for the nation’s ultrarich.

The records show the 25 richest Americans, including Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, essentially stepped around the tax system and paid little to almost nothing in federal income taxes. ProPublica reports that collectively, the richest people in the U.S. paid $13.6 billion in federal income taxes on $401 billion of their wealth from 2014 to 2018.

The news comes as President Joe Biden wants to raise taxes on the rich and corporations to help pay for a $1 trillion infrastructure plan. [ProPublica]

4. Illinois’ HIV criminalization law has mostly targeted Black men

More than two-thirds of people charged under Illinois’ HIV criminalization law are Black men, according to an investigation from the Chicago Reader and Injustice Watch. And looking at both men and women, 75% of people charged are Black. A total of at least 60 people have been charged under the law since 1990.

At the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the late ’80s, state lawmakers made it illegal for people diagnosed with HIV to have condomless sex without telling their partners of their status.

Critics say the law is racist and homophobic, and it ignores advances in the treatment and prevention of HIV that have greatly minimized the risk of transmission. [Reader]

5. Senate probe raises more questions over why authorities were unprepared for the Jan. 6 insurrection

U.S. Capitol Police and other authorities had much more intelligence ahead of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol than was previously known, according to a report released today from a bipartisan Senate investigation.

The probe found Capitol Police had discovered information on a pro-Trump website that included comments about the building’s tunnel system and encouraged demonstrators to bring weapons.

“This is do or die. Bring your guns,” one comment read in part, the report said.

The Senate investigation only looked at security issues surrounding the insurrection and did not examine whether former President Donald Trump played a role in motivating the attack. [NPR]

Here’s what else is happening

• The U.S. military estimates that 50% of its forces have evacuated from Afghanistan. [Axios]
• The two leading defense attorneys for R. Kelly have asked to be removed from the case. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• Illinois lawmakers recently approved a law that aims to boost affordable housing in the state. [WBEZ]
• French President Emmanuel Macron got slapped in the face. [NPR]

Oh, and one more thing …

Chicago could save the lives of a whole lotta birds if it just turned off half the lights at McCormick Place’s Lakeside Center, according to a new study.

Researchers at Chicago’s Field Museum have found a strong correlation between lights and birds crashing into buildings and dying during migratory seasons.

Up to 200 birds die from collisions at McCormick Place, and if the convention center turned off half its lights, bird crashes could drop by about 60%. [Block Club Chicago]

McCormick Place’s role in bird deaths has long been known. A few years ago, WBEZ’s Curious City looked at how deadly Chicago’s skyline is for birds. [WBEZ]

Tell me something good …

What movie are you excited to see this summer?

Ellen writes:

“I’m looking forward to Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain. I think many of us miss him, and this film looks to be bittersweet.”

And Julie tweets:

“Movies! I (almost) don’t care what I see, but there will actually be movies! In a theatre! I just want to watch a movie in a theatre, eat popcorn, and drink a beer. But if I had to pick one, I am looking forward to #BlackWidow.”

What are you looking forward to watching this summer? Feel free to email or tweet me, and your response might be shared here this week.

What are you looking forward to watching this summer? Feel free to email me at therundown@wbez.org or tweet me at @whuntah.

Have a nice night! If you like what you just read, you can subscribe to the newsletter here and have it delivered to your inbox.