Good afternoon, Chicago. ✶
Chicago culture: There’s no one way to define it, but we know it when we see it.
Many films have missed the mark. Talking heads on TV can’t get it right. Countless voices on social media misunderstand us entirely. That’s all right — we get what we’re about.
In today’s newsletter, we zoom in on Chicago’s thriving drag scene, which has become a refuge from legislative and culture battles for performers and fans alike.
Plus, we take you to the Rathole Music Fest, rank the best Chicago TV shows — and catch up on the community news you need to know below. 👇
Thanks for spending a little bit of your afternoon with us.
⏱️: A 7-minute read
— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter (@MattKenMoore)
TODAY’S TOP STORY
How Chicago became a safe haven for the drag performers who call it home
Reporting by Kaitlin Washburn
Sense of belonging: Kylie Lefever and her drag persona, Kylee Hunter, moved to Chicago from Florida in 2022. The vitriol and legislation targeting drag performers and the larger LGBTQ+ community in that state had become too much for her, she said. Chicago is not only a premier stage to practice the art; it’s become a haven for drag queens, several performers told the Sun-Times.
A rich history: Drag in Chicago dates to at least the late 19th century. After the 1893 World’s Fair, people from around the city would gather in places like the Dill Pickle Club on the Near North Side to see performers. From political fundraisers to cabarets, the scene grew in the decades that followed. As for the mainstream, many credit the competition show “RuPaul’s Drag Race” for this once-underground culture exploding worldwide.
Schools of drag: With more acceptance came more ways to practice the art. Drag styles come in seemingly limitless options: pageant queens, comedy queens, camp queens, punk queens, avant-garde queens, bearded queens. Chicago has emerged as a creative hub for drag, with legendary performers like the late JoJo Baby blazing the trail.
Where to see queens: These days, there are ample ways to watch a drag performance in Chicago, said Matthew Harvat, who performs as CircuitMOM. Venues like Roscoe’s, Hydrate and Sidetrack boast regular shows. Even the Walnut Room, the posh restaurant on the top floor of Macy’s on State Street, hosts drag brunches. “You can’t swing a lace front wig in this town and not hit a drag queen,” Harvat says.
Key quote: “Chicago is a safe haven, and it’s the land of opportunity,” says Anthony Taylor, who performs as the Vixen. “There’s enough room for a new queen to come in and make space.”
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
- Training the next generation of workers: The Chicago-based 548 Foundation’s clean energy training program offers skill-based courses to help students land jobs in the state’s burgeoning solar industry.
- Assault weapons ban stands: The U.S. Supreme Court declined Tuesday to hear a set of challenges to Illinois’ assault weapons ban, but Justice Clarence Thomas said the court should take up the issue later, after lower courts are finished considering the controversial law.
- Unfunded pension debt rises: For the second year in a row, the city’s unfunded pension liability rose by more than 5% in 2023 — to $37.2 billion. It compounds a longstanding crisis as city pension funds for firefighters, laborers, police and municipal employees edge toward bankruptcy.
- Jelly Belly plant closes: The candy company will close its plant in North Chicago around Oct. 11 and lay off 65 employees, according to its Chicago-based parent company Ferrara Candy.
- CTA wants your feedback: The Chicago Transit Authority is seeking input from riders via a new online survey to help improve the bus network.
CHICAGO ON SCREEN 📺
Cops, docs and Dy-no-mite! The 10 best Chicago-set TV shows ever
Reporting by Richard Roeper
When Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto encountered a bear on a rain-soaked Clark Street Bridge in the opening sequence of “The Bear” in June of 2021, we had no inkling we were about to experience Chicago television greatness in the making.
In light of “The Bear” making its return, it’s time to rank the best Chicago-set TV shows of all time.
1. ‘ER’ (1994-2009): Set in the fictional Cook County General Hospital, “ER” remains arguably the greatest and most influential medical drama of all time, with Michael Crichton and John Wells creating must-see TV for an astonishing 15 seasons.
2. ‘The Bear’ (2021-): Even with the impact of “ER,” it can be argued that no Chicago-set show has made as big an impact on popular culture as “The Bear.” Think: articles about where to buy cookware on the show, the increased popularity of restaurants featured on the series, rabid fans posting about filming locations, a “Bear"-inspired food tour — we could go on.
3. ‘Crime Story’ (1986-1988): At a time when most TV series followed the episodic format, the criminally (sorry) short-lived “Crime Story” was the ongoing saga of a cop and a mobster who were obsessed with destroying one another. It was a richly layered, gritty and authentic series.
BRIGHT ONE ✨
Rathole Music Fest makes an impression on Wicker Park
Reporting by Erica Thompson
Back in January, at the peak of Chicago rat hole-mania, people were making pilgrimages to a rodent-shaped indentation in a Roscoe Village sidewalk.
Some left coins and candles; others even got engaged and married at the attraction, in the 1900 block of West Roscoe Street. The only thing left to do was host a music festival at the site.
Though it began as a joke six months ago, the “Rathole Music Fest” was held Saturday, a few miles away at Bourbon on Division in Wicker Park.
Outside the venue, a giant inflatable rat greeted attendees, who paid about $25 to see several local bands, including Malört & Savior and the King of Mars. As the bands played upstairs, a poet known as Kro, the Traveling Typist, read rat-inspired poetry on the first floor. The event’s official mascot was spotted in a rubber rat mask.
Multiple attendees were happy to celebrate the Chicago rat hole, which the city removed in April, with promises that it would be preserved. On Saturday, there was no trace of the indentation at its former site — only a few blocks of new sidewalk, along with new fencing and planters.
“I love how ridiculous Chicago is,” said Molly Lartz, 38, of Ukrainian Village, who attended the fest with her partner, Josh McKinley. “I think the rat hole is fun. It’s kinda like Chance the Snapper. We just latch on to these silly things.”
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
What is the best Chicago-set TV show of all time? Tell us why.
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Written by: Matt Moore
Editor: Esther Bergdahl
Copy editor: Angie Myers
