Good morning, Chicago.

As recent downtown Chicago violence is leading to conversations about how to curb crime, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law a series of bills aimed at addressing gun violence and other crime. Measures include a pilot program in some cities that will team social workers with police officers on certain calls.

The Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner reports the initiatives come as Pritzker tries to fend off Republicans, including potential opponents in the November election, who have accused him and other Democrats of being soft on crime.

Meanwhile, Fourth District Appellate Justice Lisa Holder White was named to replace Justice Rita Garman on the Illinois Supreme Court, becoming its first Black female justice. “I’m grateful. And this is important not just for the Black community but for the community as a whole,” she said.

And R. Kelly’s federal trial in Chicago is set to kick off in August after a judge on Tuesday denied a request to postpone it by three months.

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Aleksey Ruderman swept and mopped the floors of McHenry County jail, wiped tables, and cleaned the showers and the toilets — all against his will and without being paid a dime, he says. Ruderman, a Jewish immigrant from Belarus, was held at the jail on civil immigration charges from 2016 to 2019.

Now Ruderman is part of a lawsuit accusing jail officials of forcing immigrant detainees to do labor against their will and paying them nothing. The federal suit is part of a wave of litigation nationwide claiming that immigrant detainees were made to work in violation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which prohibits labor compelled by force or physical restraint.

Nontenure track faculty at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago are moving to organize with the Art Institute of Chicago Workers United, the union representing staff at both the Michigan Avenue museum and its school. At a rally on the Art Institute steps, faculty called on their colleagues to join them in signing union authorization cards, the first step toward filing for union representation.

“The current situation is completely unsustainable,” said Sid Branca, an assistant professor adjunct in the school’s department of film, video, new media and animation, who has signed a card in favor of joining the union. “The faculty are exploited and they’re burnt out. And we are still doing our best because we care. But it does not have to be like this.”

The 35th annual University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt — which, the Tribune’s Christopher Borrelli writes, is nominally a scavenger hunt but closer to a campus tradition wrapped inside a multigenerational class reunion bundled into an elaborate prank requiring the cooperation of hundreds of students, dozens of faculty, family, friends and government officials — concluded Sunday night.

“I see it as an exercise in project management,” said Scav judge Cat Scharon.

To win, students and alumni jumped through hoops. So many hoops.

The Chicago Bears offseason program is underway with rookie minicamp wrapping up last weekend and organized team activities on tap next week. The Tribune’s Brad Biggs tackles questions about evaluating Justin Fields, trading for a wide receiver and more in his weekly mailbag.

Back when the TV season took place between autumn and spring, the summer months were awash in reruns. Streaming upended all of that for good, and here we are with new shows and new seasons premiering year-round.

Here’s a look at what’s to come, according to Tribune critic Nina Metz.



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