Afternoon Edition: June 1, 2021

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.

Read more accounts from Renaissance at Beverly Ridge residents and background on the development in our full story.

More news you need

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Lawmakers also advanced legislation last night requiring menstrual products in all school bathrooms. The measure passed both chambers despite GOP opposition.
6. 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.”

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

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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