Chicago comedy calendar for Tuesday, June 1-Sunday, June 6, 2021on June 1, 2021 at 11:27 pm

Comedians Defying Gravity

Chicago comedy calendar for Tuesday, June 1-Sunday, June 6, 2021

Chicago comedy calendar for Tuesday, June 1-Sunday, June 6, 2021on June 1, 2021 at 11:27 pm Read More »

‘Incredibly unfun’ pot industry in Illinois is missing out. Here’s how that could changeon June 1, 2021 at 10:07 pm

As the city hurtles toward a full reopening, drinks are now flowing freely at bars and restaurants as Chicagoans emerge from their couches and try to get back to normal.

Weed smokers, however, still have nowhere to legally get stoned in public, meaning pot use largely remains relegated to the shadows over a year after the drug was fully legalized statewide.

In other states, public consumption lounges and smoke-filled party buses are driving tourism by highlighting what recreational weed is supposed to be all about: Having a good time.

“People want to smoke marijuana in places that they couldn’t before because it was taboo and illegal,” said Andy Seeger, a cannabis consultant who previously worked as an industry analyst in Chicago. “Just like a bar, just like coffee, this a huge experiential thing.”

But as it stands, Seeger said Illinois’ highly regulated pot market is “incredibly unfun,” likening the dispensary experience to “standing in line at the pharmacy” and criticizing existing pot firms for failing to create safe havens for getting high.

“They have no interest in helping the stoners or making this fun. They’re trying to commoditize it. They’re trying to make it [a consumer packaged good] and [that] looks very, very regulated. And the more regulated it is, the more their monopoly holds,” Seeger said, remarking on the handful of major cannabis firms that have an outsized stake in the industry.

And while some businesses want to offer an outlet for customers to indulge, they’re hamstrung by state and local rules.

The prospect of allowing on-site cannabis consumption at businesses prompted spirited debates among both state lawmakers and aldermen. In the end, the state law that legalized recreational weed let localities decide whether to allow dispensaries and tobacco shops to set up consumption spaces, offering an exemption to the stringent Smoke Free Illinois Act that banned indoor smoking at public places.

At least two such lounges have earned local approval downstate but neither has opened. And in Chicago, the City Council still hasn’t set local rules.

Legislation introduced earlier this year in Springfield could also pave the way for a robust cannabis tourism industry, but it’s languished in committees without getting a vote. The bill would allow municipalities or counties to dole out licenses for pop-up events, cannabis clubs and tours “that will allow for the sale and consumption of cannabis or cannabis-infused products.”

A waiting room at Dispensary 33 at 1152 W. Randolph St. could become a consumption lounge if the city gives owners permission to do so.

Comedy clubs, weed tours and more in limbo

In the meantime, some plans hang in limbo.

Bryan Zises, co-owner of Dispensary 33, said he wants to work with a “social equity” partner to open a weed lounge at his new shop in the West Loop. Zises envisions using the store’s basement for a stony venue that could host comedy and musical acts, although he also has a large space on the ground floor with a long counter and tables that currently serves as a waiting room and could be repurposed.

“It’s available and it’s perfectly set up for all that,” Zises said. “I would love to be able to turn over the consumption lounge to a group that can elevate Chicago music and Chicago’s art scene in a way to bring fun back to cannabis.”

Dispensary 33, which Zises touted as the last independent weed store in the city, has long sought to bring cannabis and culture together. Most notably, Zises and his team have hosted a street festival outside Dispensary 33’s flagship location in Uptown to celebrate 4/20, marijuana’s high holiday.

Zises claimed aldermen “don’t even know how much money they’re leaving on the table” by failing to set local rules for on-site consumption. But after a meeting with Zises the following day, Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) said he’s now planning to draft an ordinance to do just that.

Burnett, whose ward includes the new Dispensary 33 location at 1152 W. Randolph St., said he intends to require all consumption lounges to have a “social equity” partner as a way to bolster minority involvement in the lily-white weed industry, adopting the same language the statewide legalization law uses for applicants getting a leg-up in the licensing process.

Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) speaks with the media after a City Council meeting in September 2015.

Zises isn’t the only dispensary owner thinking about turning a pot shop into a cultural hub.

Jonah Rapino, a spokesman for the Wheaton-based pot firm NuEra, said there have been active discussions about allowing pot use at the firm’s new stores in the West Loop and downstate Champaign and Pekin. But they’ve been stymied by concerns that the current law wouldn’t allow the firm to carry out its grand vision.

Rapino said the company would like to offer cannabis education opportunities, as well events with DJs and bands.

“We would want to be a destination,” said Rapino, who believes that opening up the floodgates for public pot use would be a boon for both the cannabis and tourism industries.

“Having Illinois be the number one social consumption state in the United States would be a huge move and a huge benefit,” he said. “I just think way more people would be here that usually would be going to, say, California, Colorado, Las Vegas and other places if there were lots more options for social consumption.”

For now, NuEra has teamed up with The Hideout, a beloved North Side music venue, where the company recently hosted a sidewalk market to celebrate 4/20.

“A wine tour without sipping wine’

The firm has also partnered with Chi High Tours, a company that launched in April and offers pot-centric tours centered on education and culture. The company currently offers a range of themed tours, including one that brings guests to a brewery and another that ends at a comedy show.

Chi High Tours offers pot-centric tours in Chicago focused on education and culture.

But due to the current restrictions, riders can’t get stoned during the tours — though they are offered CBD-infused edibles. In addition, they’re taken to The Herbal Care Center on the Near West Side to purchase weed and then coached on consuming it.

James Gordon, Chi High Tours’ executive director and founder, conceded that his tours currently lack “the party bus feeling,” though he hopes the law will change to allow for that. Gordon complained that the state is still taking a “hard line” approach to cannabis and isn’t looking to Colorado and California, where he claimed businesses offering public consumption are “everywhere and have an opportunity to grow.”

“At the end of the day, a wine tour without sipping wine just becomes only so much of an experience,” Gordon said, drawing a comparison to hammer home his point.

As Gordon tries to gain a foothold in Illinois’ cannabis world, he said he understands the struggles of the social equity applicants vying for long-delayed permits. Originally from Brooklyn, Gordon was sentenced to four years in a federal penitentiary in Florida after being convicted on a gun charge. While in prison, his dying father visited to express a last wish: “Please change.”

Gordon has since grown into a serial entrepreneur and he now hopes to expand his cannabis tour model into five other cities. Though he lives in Florida and didn’t apply for the new licenses here, Gordon said he wants to be an example for minority business owners hoping to crack into the weed industry.

“Please keep striving, keep pushing. Because greatness is around the corner.”

‘Incredibly unfun’ pot industry in Illinois is missing out. Here’s how that could changeon June 1, 2021 at 10:07 pm Read More »

Firefighter killed colleague at California fire stationon June 1, 2021 at 10:46 pm

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — An off-duty Los Angeles County firefighter fatally shot a fellow firefighter and wounded another at their fire station Tuesday before barricading himself at his home nearby, where a fire erupted and he was later found dead, authorities said.

A 44-year-old fire specialist died and a 54-year-old firefighter was shot when the gunman opened fire shortly before 11 a.m. at Fire Station 81, which is about 45 miles north of Los Angeles, Fire Chief Daryl Osby told reporters. The wounded man is in critical but stable condition at a hospital.

Osby said the shooter barricaded himself at his house less than 10 miles away from the station in Agua Dulce, a rural community of about 3,000 people in the desert of northern Los Angeles County known for its rock formations and panoramic views. The home was set on fire, gutting it in about three hours, and he was later found dead.

The gunman appeared to have a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said, adding that no deputies fired.

Neighbors watched black smoke pouring from the burned house in the nearby community of Acton, a dry, hilly area with ranches with horses and other livestock.

Michael May, 70, lives down the road and said he was sitting in his living room when he heard the buzz of helicopters flying low.

“Around here, that usually means a fire,” he said.

He saw a swarm of police cars racing up the street, and deputies emerged wearing bulletproof vests.

May has been a resident of the community for 23 years but didn’t know who lived at the gutted home. He said many people in law enforcement live in the area, as well as some in the film industry.

“It’s a place people want to go for peace and quiet,” he said.

Brian Dalrymple, 79, lives across the street from May and said he thought the burned home had been sold recently.

He and his wife went outside to see the thick smoke, initially concerned the flames might spread to their home. Dalrymple said he never heard gunshots but saw deputies rushing up to the property, long guns in hand.

He said a friend called to tell them the news.

“We didn’t know what she was talking about,” Dalrymple said. “It’s usually pretty peaceful out here.”

___

Associated Press writer Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this story.

Firefighter killed colleague at California fire stationon June 1, 2021 at 10:46 pm Read More »

Rainbow flag raised at Daley Plaza as Pride Month beginsNina Molinaon June 1, 2021 at 8:54 pm

A rainbow flag will fly in Daley Plaza throughout June. | Brian Rich/Sun-Times

“This month is about celebrating what we have achieved but also recognizing that there’s still a lot of work left to be done,” said Kevin Morrison, Cook County’s first openly LGBTQ commissioner.

Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison had hoped to hoist a rainbow flag during his first Pride Month in office in 2019 but ran into trouble obtaining one large enough to fly above Daley Plaza.

The flag-raising ceremony was canceled last year due to COVID-19.

Finally, a rainbow Pride flag was hoisted at Daley Plaza on Tuesday to mark the start of Pride Month as Morrison, other commissioners and city officials celebrated its significance.

“No matter who you love, you are welcome in Cook County,” said Morrison, the first LGBTQ person elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners.

“Growing up in Elk Grove Village, I never thought I would get the opportunity to serve my community as an elected official simply because I was part of the LGBTQ community,” Morrison said. “Now, I’m proud to do the hard work to ensure LGBTQ equality in Cook County.”

Kevin B. Morrison, County Board Commissioner, speaking at a press conference to mark beginning of Pride Month by raising rainbow flag in Daley Plaza. — Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison

The County Board is set to vote this month on Morrison’s ordinance to make county documents and forms gender-inclusive. Last year, Morrison helped amend the county’s human rights ordinance, ensuring easier access for transgender people to use bathrooms and other facilities based on their gender identity.

Lamenting a number of anti-transgender legislation passed in the last year, Stephanie Skora, associative executive director of the Brave Space Alliance, spoke on the importance of improving the lives of transgender people locally.

“Just because we’re in Cook County doesn’t mean that we’re completely free of anti-trans hatred or antagonism,” Skora said. “Trans people are going to keep fighting, not just to survive, but thrive.”

“We have to credit those who fought the battle before us to bring us the rights and protections we have today. This month is about celebrating what we have achieved but also recognizing that there’s still a lot of work left to be done,” Morrison said.

While Chicago’s Pride parade has moved to October due to COVID-19, many Pride events will be held this month including the two-day Grant Park music festival Pride in the Park on June 26 and 27.

Rainbow flag raised at Daley Plaza as Pride Month beginsNina Molinaon June 1, 2021 at 8:54 pm Read More »

Frida Kahlo retrospective a ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’Kyle MacMillan – For the Sun-Timeson June 1, 2021 at 9:00 pm

“Thoughtful Frida” — “Thoughtful Frida,” circa 1950. Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907 – 1954), wearing a folk costume and flowers in her hair, leans her head on her hand while lying in a hammock. | Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images

It will be the most substantial presentation of Kahlo’s works in Chicago since 1978, when a group was presented at MCA, and Cleve Carney officials say it might be another half-century or more before another such show comes again.

When word comes of a big art exhibition traveling to the Chicago area, most people probably expect it to be shown at one of the big, widely recognized institutions like the Art Institute of Chicago or Chicago Cultural Center.

But when a major Frida Kahlo exhibition opens June 5, it will go on view more than 25 miles west of Chicago’s downtown in a somewhat smaller, suburban venue — the College of DuPage’s recently renamed Cleve Carney Museum of Art in Glen Ellyn.

“An exhibition like this usually goes to Milan, Budapest, Moscow or the Art Institute,” said Diana Martinez, director of the McAninch Arts Center where the museum is located. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition opportunity that’s coming to Glen Ellyn. This so unusual.”

“Frida Kahlo: Timeless” will feature 26 of the superstar Mexican painter’s drawings and paintings — more than 10 percent of her entire output of only about 200 works. They are all on loan from the Museo Dolores Olmedo in Mexico City, which has the largest holding of her work in the world.

It will be the most substantial presentation of Kahlo’s works in Chicago since 1978, when a group was presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and Cleve Carney officials say it might be another half-century or more before another such show comes again.

“It’s really part of our mission to promote the work of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera in Mexico and the world, so we’re really excited to be part of international exhibitions,” Adriana Jaramillo, the Olmedo museum’s communications director, said from Mexico City.

Frida Kahlo, “The Bus,” 1929, oil on canvas, collection Museo Dolores Olmedo, Xochimilco, Mexico.

Olmedo officials are especially pleased that the works are coming to the Chicago area, she said, because of its large population of Latin-American emigres and descendants, and that they can be seen while the Mexican museum remains closed because of COVID-19.

In 1962, Olmedo, a Mexican businesswoman and philanthropist, bought a hacienda in southern Mexico City and restored it. Three decades later, she converted the property into a museum to house her extensive art collection, which included pre-Columbian and Mexican folk art.

Shortly after Kahlo died in 1954, a collector of her work, who is depicted in a 1944 painting in the show, Eduardo Morillo Safa, also died. His widow offered his Kahlo holdings to Diego Rivera, another famed Mexican painter who was Kahlo’s husband.

Rivera didn’t have the necessary funds at the time, so he advised Olmedo, a friend and important collector of his work, to acquire the 25 works even though, according to Jaramillo, she didn’t like Kahlo. Olmedo purchased another Kahlo work later, and those are the 26 paintings and drawings coming to the Cleve Carney.

“Frida on White Bench,” photo by Nickolas Muray © Nickolas Muray Photo Archive — “Frida on White Bench,” photo by Nickolas Muray.

That the show will be seen at the College of DuPage and not in downtown Chicago is a product of hard work and some good luck. Alan Peterson of Glen Ellyn, a supporter of the college and the Cleve Carney Museum, suggested that instead of simply giving more money, he might be able to boost the space in another way.

It turns out Peterson, who died in 2020, was a longtime friend of Carlos Phillips Olmedo, the director of the Olmedo Museum and son of its founder. “In my head, I was like, ‘What?!’” Martinez said, when she learned of this connection.

Peterson set up a meeting for Cleve Carney officials, and they pitched the idea of doing the Kahlo show in Glen Ellyn. “The opportunity to have this was too great to pass up,” Martinez said, “and so significant for the entire state, really.”

But there was a considerable hurdle. For the show to come to the College of DuPage, the school had to make to make significant upgrades to the Cleve Carney Art Gallery, an art space that opened in 2014.

It was designed to house academic and small-scale shows, not international traveling exhibitions, so the college undertook a $2.8 million overhaul, adding 1,000 square feet of display space and significantly enhancing the facility’s lighting, security and climate controls.

The renovated space, renamed the Cleve Carney Museum of Art, was supposed to open in the summer of 2020 with the Kahlo show, but the onslaught of the coronavirus forced the exhibition and the debut to be postponed until now.

The exhibition of the paintings and drawings themselves will be accompanied by an array of supplementary presentations inside and outside the McAninch Arts Center, including an in-depth historical timeline, a garden created by the Ball Horticultural Co. with Kahlo’s favorite plants, and a display of more than 100 photographs from the artist’s life.

Because most of the contextual information is presented outside the museum itself, the paintings and drawings are presented largely on their own, so viewers can zero in on their emotional intensity and artistic detail.

“Having them in that space where they have room to breathe and be on their own allows that intensity to come through, and it has an impact that is really overwhelming,” said Cleve Carney curator Justin Witte.

Frida Kahlo, “Portrait of Alicia Galant,” 1927, oil on canvas. Collection Museo Dolores Olmedo, Xochimilco, Mexico.

Because Kahlo has become a feminist icon and popular sensation so widely known that she is often just referred to by her first name, museum officials are expecting more than 100,000 people to attend the summer show.

Part of her continuing appeal is that her art dealt with issues of personal and national identity that remain relevant for many people today. In addition, she used her painting to confront the lifelong pain she suffered following severe injuries from a bus accident when she was 18.

“She, through her work, spoke in a new language of personal expression,” Witte said. “People who are struggling with their own issues of health, people who are struggling with their own issues of identity still find a champion and a voice in Frida, which is why so many people continue to be attracted to her.”

Frida Kahlo retrospective a ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’Kyle MacMillan – For the Sun-Timeson June 1, 2021 at 9:00 pm Read More »

Summer 2021: Which Chicago festivals, events have returned, been rescheduled?John Silveron June 1, 2021 at 9:26 pm

Festivals are beginning to announce their future plans for 2021. | Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

Improving coronavirus numbers have made more summer events possible. Here’s the latest updates on this year’s changing entertainment landscape.

With coronavirus case numbers and positivity rates on the decline, the summer festival season in Chicago is in much better shape than last year.

The city has given the green light for festivals and “general admission outdoor spectator events” to welcome 15 people for every 1,000 square feet.

The city has debated various ways bolster vaccination rates among young people most likely to attend outdoor music events like Lollapalooza and Riot Fest. Mayor Lori Lightfoot said a proposal to create a coronavirus vaccine passport for Chicago events is “very much a work in progress” but that preferred seating at those events could be one way to urge vaccination.

Some festivals have already announced their return and concerts are starting to be rescheduled.

We’re tracking the status of the city’s festival and major events throughout the area as new cancellations and postponements are announced. Check back for more updates.

May

JUNE

In this Feb. 12, 2018, file photo, former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama stand on stage together as their official portraits are unveiled at a ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington. The portraits will begin a five-city national tour in Chicago on June 18, 2021.

“Rocking in the Park,” Rosemont: 20 weekly concerts that start May 30.
“Tuesdays on the Terrace,” Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. through Aug. 31.
Celebrate Highwood’s ‘Grads and Grease’ Carnival: June 10-13 in the Highwood Metra Station
Old Town Art Fair, June 12-13.
“The Obama Portraits,” Art Institute of Chicago, June 18 – Aug. 15
Chicago Craft Beer Festival, Fulton Market: June 18-20.
Strawberry Fest, Long Grove: June 25-27
Pride in the Park, Grant Park, Headlining will be Chaka Khan, the legendary Queen of Funk; Gryffin, the self-taught prodigal producer; and Tiësto, who has been dubbed “the world’s greatest DJ.” June 26- 27.

JULY

The Ravinia Festival announced it will reopen in July 1 for 64 concerts through Sept. 26 with a slate of outdoor concerts including a six-week residency by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Also slated to appear are: Cynthia Erivo, Kurt Elling, Brian McKnight, Ides of March, Madeleine Peyroux, Midori, Joshua Bell, Pinchas Zukerman, the Chicago Sinfonietta and the Joffrey Ballet.
Ribfest: Naperville/Romeoville, July 1-4.
Grant Park Music Festival, Millennium Park. All concerts are free with reserved seats for all concertgoers and will take place Wednesday, Fridays and Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. Run time will be 90 minutes, without intermission. July 2-Aug. 21.
African/Caribbean International Festival Of Life: Washington Park, July 2-4.

Darius Rucker (shown in performance at the The 54th Annual CMA Awards at Nashville’s Music City Center on in 2020) will headline the 2021 Windy City Smoekout in Chicago.

The Windy City Smokeout, headlined by country music superstars Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley and Jon Pardi, will return July 8-11 outside the United Center.
Fresh Fest, Navy Pier: July 7-8.
The Auditorium Theatre presents “ABT Across America” featuring American Ballet Theatre, Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, July 8.
Southport Art Fair, Waveland Ave. and Southport Ave. July 10-11.
The Chicago Loop Alliance announced plans for Sundays on State, a weekly summer street festival, which will close portions of State Street on Sundays for pedestrians starting July 11.
Chicago Auto Show is on for July 15-19 — breathing life into McCormick Place for first time since pandemic began.
Country Thunder Wisconsin: July 15-18.
Taco Crawl in Rogers Park, (N. Clark St. between Devon Ave. and Touhy Ave.) July 15.
“Toward Common Cause: Art, Social Change, and the MacArthur Fellows Program at 40,” Smart Museum of Art, July 15 – Dec. 19.
Millennium Art Festival: Lake St. at Michigan Ave., July 16-18.
Race to Mackinac: July 16-17.
Chinatown Summer Fair, July 17-18.
Belmont-Sheffield Music Fest: 3200 N. Sheffield Ave, July 17-18.
Sheffield Street Fest and Garden Walk: July 17–19
Wicker Park Fest: July 23-25
Chicago Latin Jazz Festival, Humboldt Park boathouse, July 23-24.
Lincoln Square Greek Fest: July 23-25 (tentative dates).
Taste of Lincoln Avenue: July 24-25.
“Planting and Maintaining a Perennial Garden: Shrouds by Faheem Majeed,” through July 24, Hyde Park Art Center.
Rhythm World: July 26 – Aug. 14
Lake County Fair: July 28- Aug. 1.
Jeff Fest: Milwaukee and Lawrence Avenues, July 30-Aug. 1.
Lollapalooza: Grant Park, July 30-Aug. 1.
Chicago International Dragon Boat Festival, July 31.
Chinatown Summer Fair, July 31-Aug. 1

AUGUST

Dave Matthews Band tour heading to Northerly Island this summer, Aug. 6 and 7.
Michelada Festival: Aug. 6-8
Northalsted Market Days: Aug. 6-8.
LatiNxt Musit Festival, Navy Pier: Aug. 6-7.
Lake County (Ind.) Fair: Crown Point, Indiana, Aug. 6-15
Printers Row Art Fair: Dearborn St., from Harrison to Polk, Aug. 7-8.
Retro on Roscoe: Roscoe St. & Damen Ave., Aug 13-14 (tentative dates).
Edison Park Fest: Aug. 13-15 (tentative dates).
Wells Street Art Festival: Aug. 14-15
World Naked Bike Ride: 6 p.m. Aug. 16. Route to be announced.
Ruido Fest: Addams/Medill Park, Pilsen. Aug. 20-22.
Summer Smash: Douglass Park. Aug. 20-22.
Taste Of Greektown: Aug. 27-29.
Gold Coast Art Fair: Grant Park. Aug. 21-22.
Glenwood Avenue Arts Festival, Rogers Park: Aug. 20-22.
Sangria Festival: Humboldt Park, Aug. 20-21.
Dragon Boat Races: Chinatown. Aug. 28.

SEPTEMBER

Summerfest: Milwaukee. The festival will take place over three weekends, Sept. 2-4, 9-11 and 16-18. More than 100 artists are slated to perform including Chance the Rapper, Miley Cyrus, Luke Bryan, Pixies, Rise Against, Wilco, Diplo, and Fitz and the Tantrums.
Roscoe Village Burger Fest, Sept. 4-5
Pitchfork Music Festival: Union Park, Sept. 10-12.
Printers Row Lit Fest, Sept. 11-12. Headlining the festival will be National Book Award winner Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Chicago Vegandale: Vegan Food Festival, Grant Park. Sept. 11.
RiotFest: Douglass Park, Sept. 17-19.
Dead & Company: Wrigley Field, Sept. 17-18
Wright Plus Architectural Housewalk: Oak Park. Sept. 18.
Artfest Michigan Ave.: Sept. 18-19.
Hyde Park Jazz Festival, Sept. 25-26.
Lyric Opera of Chicago 2021-22 season, opening night featuring an all-new production of Verdi’s Macbeth, Sept. 25.

OCTOBER

Chicago Wine Fest, at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Oct. 2.
Spring Awakening/Autumn Equinox, Addams/Medill Park, Oct. 2-3.
“Six,” Broadway In Chicago, at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, Oct. 5, 2021 – Jan. 30, 2022.
Lincoln Park Wine Fest, Jonquil Park, Oct. 9-10.
Court Theatre – “Othello,” Court Theatre, opening Oct. 21.

Summer 2021: Which Chicago festivals, events have returned, been rescheduled?John Silveron June 1, 2021 at 9:26 pm Read More »

Afternoon Edition: June 1, 2021Matt Mooreon June 1, 2021 at 8:00 pm

A row of homes in the 10600 block of South Glenroy Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood. — Renaissance at Beverly Ridge stands on the former site of a steel fabricating plant. The city helped fund the residential development, but some homes aren’t measuring up. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Today’s update is a 5-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.

Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a 5-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

This afternoon will be mostly sunny with a high near 76 degrees. Tonight will be partly cloudy with a low around 58. Tomorrow there will be a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms with a high near 77.

Top story

Dream homes become nightmare for some new owners

The Renaissance at Beverly Ridge — a subdivision in the Washington Heights neighborhood — has been branded as an oasis for Black middle-class families seeking a suburban feel.

But it has struggled to live up to that promise, with its developer accused of allowing buyers to move into new homes over the last two years that are riddled with defects.

Nearly a dozen subdivision residents told our Manny Ramos of a slew of problems: windows were the wrong size; decks had broken planks; flooring was the wrong color; garage doors didn’t work. Siding was cracked; wiring exposed and bricks were smeared with mortar. There were holes in ceilings, damaged downspouts and water seeping into basements.

“The grout started crumbling and every time we stepped on the floor, we could hear the floor crackling,” one resident said. “We told the construction company for months about this and they told us it’s no big deal they’ll fix it. We would take the day off from work when they said they were coming, only for them to just blow us off.”

The floor was finally repaired at the end of April. Turns out, the tiles weren’t glued down.

More news you need

Chicago communities are mourning after three people were killed and 34 others were wounded in shootings over the weekend. It was the city’s least violent Memorial Day weekend in three years.
No travel quarantine restrictions are in place for anyone arriving in Chicago for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The news comes as infection rates continue to lower nationwide.
Unlike in other states, local cannabis users have nowhere to legally get stoned in public, and legislation introduced earlier this year in Springfield aims to change that. But the bill has languished in committees without getting a vote.
Last night, Illinois lawmakers OK’d a bill that would, among other things, move the 2022 primary to June and make Election Day a state holiday. High schools would be required to allow on-site voter registration as well.
Lawmakers also advanced legislation last night requiring menstrual products in all school bathrooms. The measure passed both chambers despite GOP opposition.
With a decrease in local COVID-19 cases comes an increase in business for dog walkers, as more people return to offices and take vacations. “Our trajectory has completely followed whatever is going on with the pandemic,” one dog walking business owner said.

A bright one

On a cold, rainy night, queens of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ turn up the heat in sizzling Soldier Field show

Bad weather couldn’t bring down “Drag Race” fans and the queens they came to see perform outside Soldier Field over the weekend for the first night of “Drive ‘N Drag Saves 2021.”

The live event featured “Super Queens” Asia O’Hara, Gottmik, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, Naomi Smalls, Kim Chi and Plastique Tiara — who came to save the world from the disappointment that was 2020.

“There is no such thing as raining on our parade because here’s the thing: Drag and being queer and being fierce does not have any stoppers,” said Moxiett Contin, who braved the rain and lakefront chill to take in the extravaganza. “Rain nor snow nor shine will stop anything. It’s all about being you, it’s all about being fierce, it’s all about being f—— amazing.”

(From left) Plastique Tiara, Naomi Smalls, Gottmik, Kim Chi and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo perform Friday night during “Drive ‘N Drag Saves 2021,” hosted by Voss Events, in the parking lot of Soldier Field.

Despite it raining sideways and forcing staff to immediately squeegee pools of rainwater off the stage, each performer brought the heat, much to the crowd’s delight.

Gottmik got into a bar fight, Kim Chi walked like a duck until she laid an egg and so much more happened.

It’s the first day of Pride Month! Read our full story on “Drive ‘N Drag Saves 2021” here.

From the press box

Kris Bryant, off to a scorching start this season, still doesn’t give a you-know-what. “Two months in, there isn’t a better player story in the league,” Steve Greenberg writes.

More offensive line changes could be coming for the Bears, who will reportedly meet with former Washington right tackle Morgan Moses tomorrow. Moses started 96 consecutive games for WFT over the last six seasons.

Your daily question ☕

What’s one way you saw your neighbors help each other during the pandemic?

Reply to this email (please include your first name and where you live) and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

On Friday, we asked you: With Memorial Day weekend finally here, we want to know: What’s the key to a perfect cookout? Here’s what some of you said…

“Great food, family, friends and good weather!” — Maria Elena Vasquez

“Beer and whiskey.” — Andre Hogan

“Family, good food and a Cubs win.” — Carol Wortel

“Slow and low is the way to go. Real hardwood for the coals.” — Michael Thompson

“A bottle of Malort.” — Derrick Colon

“Having one of the soldiers who we remember on this day come back for that one celebration!” — Ryan Esquivel

“Lots and lots of coals.” — Judith Jorgensen Campbell

“For me, and the happiness of all other attendees, it’s letting others cook and having me bring booze.” — Mary Jane Tala

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Afternoon Edition: June 1, 2021Matt Mooreon June 1, 2021 at 8:00 pm Read More »

Sinovac vaccine restores a Brazilian city to near normalAssociated Presson June 1, 2021 at 8:14 pm

An aerial view of the entrance of Serrana, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, Friday, May 28, 2021. Brazil’s Butantan Institute has finished a mass vaccination of the city’s entire adult population with doses of Sinovac, to test the new coronavirus’ behavior in response to the vaccine. | AP

Most adults rolled up their sleeves when offered the vaccine made by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac, and the experiment has transformed the community into an oasis of near normalcy in a country where many communities continue to suffer.

SERRANA, Brazil — Just one COVID-19 patient is in critical condition at the Dr. Geraldo Cesar Reis clinic in Serrana, a city of almost 46,000 in Sao Paulo state’s countryside. The 63-year-old woman rejected the vaccine that was offered to every adult resident of Serrana as part of a trial.

Doctors say the woman was awaiting one of Pfizer’s shots, which remain scarce in Brazil. But she is an outlier here. Most adults rolled up their sleeves when offered the vaccine made by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac, and the experiment has transformed the community into an oasis of near normalcy in a country where many communities continue to suffer.

Doctors who treated COVID-19 in Serrana have seen their patient loads evaporate. They now help colleagues with other diseases and recently started eating lunch at home. Life has returned to the streets: Neighbors chat and families have weekend barbecues. Outsiders who previously had no reason to set foot in Serrana are arriving for haircuts and restaurant outings.

“We’re now as full as we used to be,” Rogério Silva, a staffer at a store for cheap refreshments and snacks, said in an interview. “Weeks ago, people wouldn’t form a line in here, wouldn’t eat in, and I wouldn’t let them use the bathroom. Now it’s back.”

The success story emerged as other population centers keep struggling with the virus, enduring rising infections and new government-imposed restrictions. Meanwhile, the vaccine appeared headed for wider use. The World Health Organization on Tuesday granted emergency use authorization to the Sinovac shot for people 18 and over, the second such authorization it has granted to a Chinese company.

The experiment known as “Project S” lasted four months and tested Sinovac’s shot in real-world conditions. The preliminary results made public Monday suggest the pandemic can be controlled if three-quarters of the population is fully vaccinated with Sinovac, said Ricardo Palacios, a director at Sao Paulo state’s Butantan Institute and coordinator of the study, which was not peer-reviewed.

“The most important result was understanding that we can control the pandemic even without vaccinating the entire population,” Palacios said.

The results offer hope to hundreds of millions of people, especially in developing nations. Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia, Zimbabwe and others are likewise reliant on the Chinese shot, which is cheaper than vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.

The city’s population was split into four geographic areas regardless of age and gender, and most adults received two shots by the end of April. Results released Monday showed that the pandemic was controlled after three of the areas had been vaccinated. It was not clear if vaccine uptake was the same in each area.

Serrana saw vast improvements: Deaths fell by 95%, hospitalizations by 86% and symptomatic cases by 80%.

The project “shows the protection exists and that the vaccine is effective. No doubt,” Gonzalo Vecina, one of the founders of Brazil’s health regulator and a medical school professor, told The Associated Press.

Likewise, Denise Garrett, vice president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, which advocates for expanding global vaccine access, called the results “good and very encouraging.”

Both Vecina and Garrett said unanswered questions remain and that more data is needed to properly analyze the results, including information about people who got shots but did not develop immunity.

The spread of the virus in Serrana slowed while neighboring communities like Ribeirao Preto, just 12 miles west, saw COVID-19 surge. The upswing was largely blamed on more contagious variants.

Hospitals in Ribeirao Preto are so full of COVID-19 patients that the mayor imposed strict shutdown measures last week, including halting public transportation and limiting hours for the city’s 700,000 residents to buy groceries. Some will wait months for their vaccines. Almost all shops are closed, and 95% of intensive-care unit beds are occupied by virus patients.

Elmano Silveira, 54, works at a local drugstore and for the first time wishes he lived in Serrana, which was looked down upon before the vaccination drive.

“My friends from there used to call me all the time. … Now I’m the one calling them,” Silveira said. “Before the pandemic, we had a big city vibe here. It was really busy. Now it’s like a desert.”

Just months ago, it was Serrana struggling to cope, according to Dr. João Antonio Madalosso Jr. For every patient who recovered in the first three months of 2021, two more arrived in bad shape, he said.

“Then, by the end of January, we heard this project was coming to Serrana. And calmness set in, little by little,” said Madalosso, 32, as he pointed at empty seats of the hospital’s COVID-19 ward. “Just look at this. This is much calmer than Ribeirao Preto and the entire region. The vaccine is no cure, but it is the solution to transform this into a light flu so people can carry on.”

That doesn’t mean Serrana is entirely rid of the virus. Some residents refused to get the shot. Others skipped the second dose or got infected before the vaccine took full effect. A few had prior diseases that prevented them from getting the vaccines.

Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, has repeatedly cast doubt on the shot’s efficacy. He said last year his administration wouldn’t buy the Chinese vaccine and that he wouldn’t let Brazilians become “guinea pigs.″ His health ministry signed a deal to buy tens of millions of doses only after Brazil’s health regulator approved the shot in January.

Had the government acted sooner, Brazil could have had twice as many Sinovac vaccines by now — 100 million doses, Butantan’s head, Dimas Covas, told a congressional inquiry last week. The shot accounts for half the vaccines made available to date in the country.

Vaccines arrived too late for some of the 463,000 people who have died from COVID-19 in Brazil, which has the world’s second-highest death toll.

The relative return to normal “could be happening all over Brazil if it were not for the delay in vaccinations,” said João Doria, Sao Paulo’s governor and an adversary of Bolsonaro. “These results show there’s only one way to control the pandemic: vaccines, vaccines, vaccines.”

Bolsonaro-fueled skepticism of Sinovac’s shot reached Serrana. It didn’t help that Sao Paulo state’s release of efficacy data was confusing, with Doria initially claiming 78% protection against mild cases on Jan. 7, then revising that five days later to 50.4%, barely above the level required by health authorities.

Carmen da Silva Cunha, 81, has lost friends to the virus, and she got vaccinated despite “a lot of people trying to get into my head regarding the vaccine.”

“Serrana got better, but it could be much more if a lot of people had taken their second shot,” she said in an interview at the hospital, where she sought treatment for a sore throat. She tested negative for COVID-19, and doctors expected her to return home in short order.

Mayor Leo Capitanelli is pleased with results. Standing beside a health screening station on the road into the city, he said people have had only mild and moderate COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. And he boasted about Serrana’s plan to host a music festival for about 5,000 spectators, all vaccinated with Sinovac’s shot.

“This project brought our pride back,” he said. “And it will bring hope for a fresh start next year.”

Sinovac vaccine restores a Brazilian city to near normalAssociated Presson June 1, 2021 at 8:14 pm Read More »

LA County fire station shooting kills 1 firefighter: ReportsAssociated Presson June 1, 2021 at 8:41 pm

Police vehicles appear on the scene of a fire near a home in Acton, Calif. on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. Authorities say there’s been a shooting at a Los Angeles County Fire Department station. Fire Department Supervisor Leslie Lua said paramedics responded to reports of gunshots at Fire Station 81, about 45 miles north of Los Angeles. The home on fire is about 10 miles east of the station, and there’s a heavy police presence, but it’s unclear if it’s connected to the shooting and authorities didn’t immediately have more information. | AP

Sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of multiple gunshot victims shortly before 11 a.m. at Fire Station 81, about 45 miles north of Los Angeles, according to a statement from the county sheriff.

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — A shooting at a small Los Angeles County Fire Department station Tuesday killed one firefighter and wounded another, multiple media outlets reported.

Sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of multiple gunshot victims shortly before 11 a.m. at Fire Station 81, about 45 miles north of Los Angeles, according to a statement from the county sheriff. Authorities didn’t have more details.

A home about 10 miles east of the station is engulfed in flames, and there is a heavy police presence, but authorities didn’t immediately have more information.

Media outlets reported that a body is visible outside the burning home and may be the shooter. Helicopters have been dropping water to control the fire.

The Fire Department described it as a “tragic shooting” on Twitter, saying the agency is “still in the process of gathering additional information” and it’s cooperating with law enforcement “throughout this ongoing incident.”

Police tape is surrounding the fire station in the Agua Dulce area near Santa Clarita, and police cars and ambulances lined the street outside.

Agua Dulce is a rural community of about 3,000 people in the desert of northern Los Angeles County known for its rock formations and panoramic views.

LA County fire station shooting kills 1 firefighter: ReportsAssociated Presson June 1, 2021 at 8:41 pm Read More »

Man fatally shot in Princeton ParkSun-Times Wireon June 1, 2021 at 7:31 pm

A man was shot dead June 1, 2021, in Princeton Park. | Ashlee Rezin García/Sun-Times file

He was on the sidewalk about 12:45 p.m. in the 9100 block of South Wentworth Avenue when someone opened fire, striking him multiple times, Chicago police said.

A man was killed in a shooting Tuesday in Princeton Park on the South Side.

He was on the sidewalk about 12:45 p.m. in the 9100 block of South Wentworth Avenue when someone opened fire, striking him multiple times, Chicago police said.

The 25-year-old was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. His identity has not been released.

Area Two detectives are investigating.

The shooting comes after a Memorial Day weekend in which 34 people were wounded, three fatally, in gun violence across Chicago. It was the city’s least violent Memorial Day weekend in three years.

Man fatally shot in Princeton ParkSun-Times Wireon June 1, 2021 at 7:31 pm Read More »

Chicago comedy calendar for Tuesday, June 1-Sunday, June 6, 2021

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