Chance The Rapper Previews New Single

Chance has never been one to do things the 'typical' way and continued to push the envelope this week as he continued to tease his upcoming third mixtape by offering fans a preview of an upcoming single via his Snap Story on Snapchat. While brief, the clip sent plenty of Chance fans into pandemonium and became cause for a cascade of blog posts from the literati on the importance of the track. Look, this next one is going to be amazing and might just top Acid Rap, just wait for the release.

Chicago State May Have to Close Due to Budget Battle

Now-Governor Bruce Rauner took office in Chicago late last year and inherited a mess that is nothing new to anyone who's been paying attention. Taking over a job that has seen three of the last five office-holders heading to jail, Rauner has proven to be much worse in his disconnect from the needs and necessities of the common man. The latest instance of that? It is being reported today that Chicago State University on the city's south side may be in danger of closing due to the budget battles that have been raging in Springfield.

The university, which has functioned since 1867 and serves a 70% African-American student body could be out of money by as soon as March and has already begun looking into bankruptcy options as a n exit strategy to keep the institution running through the end of the year.

More, from the Chicago Tribune •

"The school, with a 70 percent black student body, would become the most visible casualty of the stalemate between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, a former private-equity executive, and legislative Democrats, with leaders from Chicago, over a spending plan for the year that began July 1. While other public universities can draw on endowments or raise funds from alumni as the impasse persists, that's not the case at Chicago State, whose students count on federal and state grants."

Morgan Park to Face Off With Simeon at Long Last

In a back and forth that has been going on for several weeks, it looks like Morgan Park High School parents and fans will be getting what they asked for as the pair of south side school will face off this coming Thursday at the Morgan Park gym to a play their highly-anticipated showdown between the No. 1 Mustangs and No. 3 Simeon.

Because the teams are often at the top of the state's ranking for boy's basketball, the games are often moved to a neutral site, stripping the home team of the distinct advantage of playing on their own court. Because Morgan Park's gym only holds 250 people, officials had called for the game to be moved elsewhere but found resistance when parents from MP urged their children to boycott the game. With the postponement over with, the Mustangs will take on Simeon on Thursday, Jan. 28, at 4:30 p.m.

3 Killed, 7 Shot Around City

The title of the story reads pretty straightforward: "Three weeks into new year, more than 200 people shot in Chicago". The Tribune hit it right on the head as a very troubling trend continues into 2016 in a big way. That number was added to this week as three people were killed and seven wounded by gunfire.

It's a sad symptom of the systemic issues of this city and officials continue to prove they are out of touch with what's happening on the ground as they announced earlier this week a renewed push to tackle gangs in the city. Moreso, we might be well-served to start cutting off the flow of guns into certain neighborhoods, spend money impoving the communities and re-opening schools rather than assaulting families and shooting our fellow citizens.

So far this year 34 people have been killed and 202 shot. It's Friday. That means by the time I sit back down to put together another one of these roundups, that number will almost assuredly risen despite the impending snowstorm. I hope our city can figure it out.