Good afternoon! It’s Tuesday, and we may be able to see the peak of a meteor shower tonight (if the clouds cooperate). Here’s what else you need to know today.
1. Meet the couple building a mini-empire of queer-focused spaces. Now open: Fathom
Whitney LaMora and Zoe Schor, known for the subterranean lesbian cocktail lounge Dorothy Downstairs in West Town, are building the city’s first lesbian-owned hospitality group solely focused on queer gathering places. Their ambitions stretch beyond Chicago, WBEZ food contributor Maggie Hennessy reports.
Between real estate negotiations, fundraising, buildouts, hiring and permitting, it took more than two years for LaMora and Schor to open Fathom from their first glimpse of 1622 West Belmont Ave. The couple’s business venture, Friend of Dorothy Bars, is backed by 30 mostly local investors who’ve bought into the vision.
“We are really showing that the queer community wants and deserves these beautiful spaces,” LaMora said. “Hopefully that is also translating to more investors taking what we’re doing and our vision seriously. Because that’s what holds so many women, queer people, people of color and trans people back. They don’t always have the resources or investment behind them, nor can they get it from banking institutions. I really do feel like that’s changing.”
Fathom arrives when prominently queer spaces are blossoming in the city. Tryst Hospitality is developing a luxury boutique LGBTQ+ hotel called Tryst in the Northalsted neighborhood. The sober, queer social club Everywhere is coming to Uptown this summer, according to reporting from Block Club Chicago. And the former home of beloved queer nightclub Berlin is transforming into a craft cocktail bar called The Belmont and a late-night dance club called Decibel. [WBEZ]
Illinois maintained a nearly 97% vaccination rate against the measles among school-aged children, according to new data from public health officials.
As my colleague Elvia Malagón reports for the Chicago Sun-Times, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reduced the number of recommended vaccines, but Illinois health officials were determined not to change local guidance.
Dr. Sameer Vohra, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said nearly all the vaccines met the state’s goal of having at least 95% coverage rate. Last month, Vohra told the Sun-Times that Gov. JB Pritzker and the state’s advisory immunization committee were ensuring residents had transparent and science-based information about vaccines as federal changes started to unfold.
The state did experience a slight slip in the number of school children vaccinated against hepatitis B after federal health officials stopped recommending the vaccine for newborns in 2025, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health; the rate decreased to 97.2% this year from 97.3% last school year.
State data also shows there has been an increase in the number of vaccine exemptions due to religious reasons. There were 17,460 for this school year compared to 2,425 a decade ago, according to state data. [Chicago Sun-Times]
3. Mayor Johnson is determined to block the Bears’ move to Arlington Heights
Mayor Brandon Johnson today mounted the legislative equivalent of a goal line stand against the Chicago Bears’ quest for the property tax break needed to pave the way for a domed stadium in Arlington Heights, my colleague Fran Spielman writes.
Johnson questioned why any lawmaker from Chicago would even think about providing a massive tax break for a professional sports team valued at nearly $9 billion while ignoring the need for what the mayor calls progressive revenue to increase school funding and help working people struggling to make ends meet.
Hours before joining fellow Chicago-area mayors in Springfield, where he has had little success, Johnson made it clear he would use whatever political muscle he has to block the so-called megaprojects bill now before the Illinois Senate after it cleared the Illinois House last month. [Chicago Sun-Times]
An analysis by Pritzker’s office found “negligible” property tax benefits for homeowners in the stadium bill passed by the Illinois House. [Chicago Sun-Times]
4. University of Chicago Press workers formed a union
The goal of UCP Workers Guild is to push for fair wages, better work conditions and protections from artificial intelligence, Amy Yee reports for the Chicago Sun-Times.
“The university’s financial crisis has tightened spending in several of the press’s departments, slowed hiring and created a sense of uncertainty about the future for many UCP workers,” Adrienne Meyers, senior promotions manager at the press and a UCP Workers Guild member, said in an emailed statement. “As of right now, the press has not experienced any layoffs due to the budget, and we hope our union will help protect and secure the stability of our workers.”
The press was founded in 1890 as one of the three main divisions of the University of Chicago. It’s one of the country’s oldest and largest university presses and has published titles such as “The Chicago Manual of Style” and “A River Runs Through It” by Norman Maclean. [Chicago Sun-Times]
All the elements came correct for the fifth annual Chicago Does the Met Gala thrown by The Chicago Fashion Coalition in a Streeterville event venue and timed to coincide with the Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos-fronted fashion gala in New York.
While the Bezos connection dominated headlines in the days running up to the Met Gala’s 78th year, themed “Fashion is Art,” Chicago offered its own twist on the theme. Here, the assignment was to choose an artwork by a Chicagoan and translate it into the look for the night: “formal to conceptual, playful to profound.”
Without access to multimillion-dollar fashion archives like so many celebrities, guests chose to dig into their creativity. You can see photos of their outfits in the link. [WBEZ]
Here’s what else is happening
- Here’s what to watch in today’s elections in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, including whether Democrats will sweep another special election. [AP]
- A cruise ship off the Cape Verde coast in the Atlantic Ocean is waiting for help after three people died in a suspected hantavirus outbreak. [AP]
- “The Lost Boys” and “Schmigadoon!” earned 12 Tony Award nominations each to lead the field, along with nominees for theater excellence with Chicago ties. [AP/WBEZ]
- In a banner month for book publishing, these 12 picks stand out. (I’ve already ordered two of these, and my TBR pile won’t be thrilled the other 10 also sound interesting.) [NPR]
Oh, and one more thing …
When your elementary school is named Forrestal, it makes sense the building resembles a forest, including trees holding up the lunch room’s ceiling and deer, dragonflies and hummingbirds painted on the walls.
As WBEZ contributor Dennis Rodkin reports, that’s the experience about 400 kids will have in the fall after the new Forrestal Elementary School opens in North Chicago, 38 miles north of the Loop.
In the gym, the forest theme gives way to big blue waves on the walls, a suggestion not only of Lake Michigan a little over a mile east but also of nearby Great Lakes Naval Training Center. About 1 in 4 of Forrestal’s students are from families attached to Great Lakes, the U.S. Navy’s largest installation and where all Navy recruits attend boot camp.
That’s the impetus behind construction of this new school building. Part of the federal Public Schools on Military Installations effort to upgrade out-of-date local public schools that children of U.S. military personnel attend, the new Forrestal will replace the next-door building it has been in since 1957. [WBEZ]
Tell me something good …
A lot of changes are coming to Chicago-area malls, from Lincolnwood Town Center’s imminent closure to Water Tower Place’s upcoming revamp. So I’m wondering, what are your favorite mall memories?
Marina writes:
“Going to Old Orchard Mall in Skokie in the mid to late ‘80s as preteens and grabbing a bite at Wag’s, a restaurant owned by Walgreens! I distinctly remember that they had a separate smoking section.
Savoring a tall paper cup of cheese fries from Boardwalk Fries in the food court of Golf Mill.”
Feel free to email me, and your response may be included in the newsletter this week.