Good morning, Chicago.
A gruesome discovery Saturday by a recreational boater marked the third serious emergency in one week affecting revelers in the Playpen on Lake Michigan.
The boater was on a dinghy off Oak Street Beach about 4:30 p.m. when they spotted the body of Spencer Williams, 29, which appeared to be clad in a red shirt, according to police.
On Wednesday one person was left in critical condition after falling off a boat and search units were looking for a second person. It happened about 7:30 p.m. near the Jardine Water filtration plant.
Last Saturday, two women were severely injured in a boating accident.
Lana Batochir, one of the women, was floating on an inflatable raft, when a 37-foot yacht suddenly reversed, sucking her under. Batochir underwent a double leg amputation after her feet were severed by the boat’s propeller.
Meanwhile, about 4 p.m. Sunday, more than 30 boats and yachts floated in the Playpen as the Chicago Air and Water Show wrapped up.
See photos from the Air and Water Show.
— Stephanie Casanova, Rosemary Sobol and Adriana Pérez
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Chicago Public Schools students return to classrooms Monday, one of the earliest start times in modern memory. CPS typically begins the day after Labor Day, with a few exceptions such as in the Aug. 26 kickoff in 2013 and last year’s Aug. 30 start date.
The Chicago Board of Education set this year’s calendar in March after the district surveyed parents, students and employees. The results were split, with more leaning toward starting Aug. 29. But the district said it opted for the earlier date because it was supported by the majority of administrators, school leaders, central office staff members and students.
The state fair has long been a celebration of Illinois’ cultural diversity, its 366-acre fairgrounds annually displaying the melding of agriculture and technology, food from various ethnicities and regions, and music ranging from country to rap.
But this year’s edition of the fair, which closes Sunday, featured another example of Illinois’ diversity — the state’s factious politics where anger and tolerance met in the state’s capital amid harsh election-year rhetoric and an ever-widening partisan divide.
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Following a primary where problems popped up at polling places citywide, Chicago election officials are preparing to shrink the number of voting precincts by nearly 40% and are squeezing the cuts in just months before the contentious midterm election in November.
How the new precinct boundaries will affect where voters go on Election Day has not yet been determined. But the cuts will likely be noticeable as they are nearly twice the size of the city’s precinct consolidation after the 2010 census.
Average rents in the Chicago area have climbed almost 9% since…
Read More: Another emergency in Chicago’s ‘Playpen’ – Chicago Tribune