“Does a six-year-old understand death?” – Chicago Tribune

Good morning, Chicago.

The recent fatal stabbing attack on a 2-year-old Joliet boy, allegedly carried out by his 6-year-old brother, has increased calls for changes to Illinois' criminal code regarding the treatment of young children.

A few hours after Joliet police responded to a 911 call from the mother just after 5 p.m. on Sept. 6, the older brother was placed in the custody of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, which arranged for a psychiatric evaluation at a local hospital the next morning. The department would not confirm Wednesday whether he was still in its custody because the investigation into the stabbing is ongoing.

The six-year-old boy could face murder charges because Illinois is one of 24 states that has no minimum age of criminal responsibility.

“There are very real questions about whether children are capable of developing criminal intent, understanding the impact of their actions and wanting to cause harm,” said Lisa Jacobs, a law professor at Loyola University Chicago and vice chair of the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission. “Does a 6-year-old understand death?”

Read the full story.

Here are the most important stories you need to know to start your day.

Subscribe to more newsletters | Puzzles & Games | Today's eNewspaper edition

Donald Trump says no to a second presidential duel with Kamala Harris

Former President Trump said Thursday that he will not host a second debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.

There was no immediate reaction from Harris' campaign team. The team challenged Trump to a second debate immediately after the first debate on Tuesday evening.

While war rages in Gaza, Palestinian youth die in Israel's crackdown on the uprising in the West Bank

While the world's attention is focused on the far deadlier war in the Gaza Strip, less than 130 kilometers away, dozens of Palestinian youths have been killed, shot and arrested in the West Bank, where the Israeli military has been cracking down for months.

City announces first phase of plan to merge homeless and migrant shelters

Next Thursday, the city will release its first plans to combine Chicago's existing homeless shelter system with the system for migrants.

Homeless advocates have long advocated for the move, saying it will better serve homeless Chicagoans and recently arrived asylum seekers with wraparound services such as jobs, food and health care. But some have pointed out that the providers helping asylum seekers may not have previous experience with housing and homelessness, which could create problems.

Convicted former U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. is pushing for a presidential pardon with the help of suburban mayors

Convicted former Democratic U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is stepping up his efforts to lobby politicians to urge President Joe Biden to pardon the former congressman before the Democratic president leaves office early next year.

Jackson served about 17 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2013 to conspiracy to embezzle about $750,000 from his campaign fund. He has enlisted the help of mayors of the southern suburbs of his former congressional district and launched a general call on his Facebook page for others to write letters of support to Biden.

Documents show first Watts accuser receives $500,000 in compensation

The first settlement between the city and an alleged victim of former Chicago police sergeant Ronald Watts shows that Watts' accuser is entitled to half a million dollars.

Alvin Waddy's lawsuit was the first of over 150 lawsuits filed against the city related to Watts and his team that have been settled. It remains to be seen how the agreed-upon compensation will affect the remaining cases, but given the sheer volume of lawsuits, the Watts scandal could become one of the most expensive in Chicago police history.

Hiring, licensing and leases are the biggest hurdles in Foxtrot’s comeback, says CEO

As upscale convenience store chain Foxtrot plans a comeback, licensing, staffing and lease renegotiations are among the biggest challenges, CEO Mike LaVitola said yesterday.

“It's about people and licensing,” LaVitola said in a virtual conversation with food writer and TV personality Steve Dolinsky, hosted by the Executives' Club of Chicago.

The Cook County property tax incentive, used by hundreds of landlords each year, is intended to promote affordable housing

Hundreds of Cook County landlords take advantage of a property tax break each year aimed at preserving and creating affordable housing. Participating landlords are spread throughout Chicago and its surrounding suburbs, with the highest concentration in the city's south and west sides, particularly in neighborhoods like the South Shore that are considered ripe for gentrification.

Can Zach LaVine be traded? Is Artūras Karnišovas on the hot seat? 5 questions for the Chicago Bulls.

With less than three weeks left until the Chicago Bulls return to the Advocate Center to prepare for the upcoming season, they enter the game with more questions than answers following the departures of DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso and unresolved discontent over Zach LaVine's failed trade.

Here are five major dilemmas facing the Bulls ahead of training camp, which begins Oct. 1.

3 things we learned at Chicago Blackhawks academy training camp, including that Colton Dach takes things “one step at a time”

Some of the Chicago Blackhawks' young players didn't even have time to make slides.

The Hawks had to rush out of Fifth Third Arena on Thursday and catch an afternoon flight to St. Louis, highlighting how little time they had – two days – to prepare for the Tom Kurvers Prospects Showcase, which includes a game against the Blues on Friday and one against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is coming to theaters in Chicago soon, a third and final version of the epic sequel

In the theatre, success is usually associated with expansion, with getting bigger, getting wider, getting grander. And yet, at first glance, British director John Tiffany has gone in exactly the opposite direction with the sequel to JK Rowling's staggeringly successful series of novels about a bespectacled boy wizard and his dramatic school friends on their way from London to Chicago. A completely new and radically shortened version of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” will premiere on September 26 at the Nederlander Theatre.

Things to do in and around Chicago: Mexican Independence Day, Englewood Music Fest and the last Fire Games of the summer

Celebrate Mexican Independence Day at events across the city. For the first time in over a decade, the two-day El Grito Chicago will take place in one downtown location – Grant Park.