🌱 Tragic Child Abuse Death + Chicago's Bikeability Ranking Concerns

Hi all. It's me, Kaytlyn Smith, your host of the Chicago Patch newsletter. Here's what you need to know about what's happening these days in town.

But first, today's weather:

Partly sunny and pleasant. High: 77 Low: 63.

Here are the top three stories in Chicago today:

1. Two adults have been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of a 5-year-old girl in Park Forest. The child's grandfather, Klent Elwoods, admitted to abusing the girl when he called 911, and both Elwoods and his wife, Lisa Jones, confessed to physically abusing her in interviews with detectives. The girl, identified as Jada Moore, was taken to the hospital but tragically succumbed to her injuries. (NBC Chicago)
2. Chicago ranked as the second-worst city for bikeability among 163 major cities worldwide in a recent report by PeopleForBikes. The low score was attributed to factors such as limited accessibility to bike lanes, poor connectivity to essential services and neighborhoods, and subpar intersection safety. Advocates call for improved legislation and infrastructure, including physical barriers, to create a safer bike network and boost usage. Successful examples from cities like Mexico City and Paris show the potential for reducing traffic fatalities through such measures. (Block Club Chicago)
3. Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), Illinois' largest utility, has seen a bribery charge dropped three years after agreeing to pay a $200 million fine for its involvement in a lengthy bribery scheme. The U.S. Attorney for Northern Illinois had previously agreed to drop the charge as part of a deal that required ComEd to revamp its lobbying group relationships. In May, four former ComEd executives, dubbed the "ComEd four," were convicted in connection with the scandal, where they were found guilty of corruptly influencing former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan by providing jobs and contracts worth $1.3 million to his associates over nearly a decade. (Patch)

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Today in Chicago:

Tuesday, July 18

• School Of Rock At Reggies Chicago (6:00 PM)
• Porchlight’s "Broadway In Your Backyard" At South Shore Cultural Center (6:00 PM)
• Summer Film Series - Turning Red At Millennium Park (6:30 PM)

From my notebook:

• Heads up, Chicago: Air quality is expected to be better today than it was yesterday amid Canadian wildfires. (WLS-TV)
• Blackhawks fans rejoice! Connor Bedard has officially signed his contract. (Chicago Blackhawks via Facebook)
• The debut of the PAWS Mobile Vet Clinic in Chicago had an incredible turnout with 501 pets receiving free vaccinations, microchips, and flea/tick preventatives over the weekend, bringing essential veterinary care to underserved communities. (PAWS Chicago via Instagram)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

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• Improovy Painters Chicago — (Visit website)
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Featured events:

• A Graduate Degree Designed for You: Learn more at a virtual information session (July 19)
• HR Professionals: Time to earn your certificate. (July 26)
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You're officially in the loop for today! See you all tomorrow morning for another update.

— Kaytlyn Smith

About me: Kaytlyn Smith is a managing editor at Lightning Media Partners – a content creation agency. She is a Rowan University graduate where she earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's degree in writing. Outside of work, Kaytlyn is a dog mom to a boglen terrier named Finn and a golden retriever named Willow.