đź©ş Monkeypox in Chi? Not yet.
By Sidney Madden |Â @sidney_madden_
Hi, hi, party people!
Newsletters are short this week while we’re showing our out-of-town co-workers the 312. And we want to know where you take visitors around the city? Drop your suggestions, and we’ll share a crowdsourced non-basic tourist guide as Summertime Chi gets started!
đź“° Newsfeed
Monkeypox precautions in Chicago. The disease is primarily spread through skin-to-skin contact, with a rash being the main sign of contraction. City officials have said they can track and handle a potential outbreak. [South Side Weekly]
Ex-Park District leader a scapegoat. That’s what Avis LaVelle suggested in newly released footage at a closed-door meeting in the wake of investigations into the decades-long sexual abuse scandal at the city’s parks and beaches. LaVelle resigned in November. [WBEZ]
In campaign news…Former CPS CEO Paul Vallas is running for mayor again, joining a growing list of mayoral challengers. In statewide races, all six GOP gubernatorial candidates will debate on ABC7 at 7 p.m. [WTTW; City Cast]
Northwestern VentureCat winner. Sophomore Kevin Kaspar won the student startup competition with his remote wildfire detection system, which he’d been developing since high school. [Northwestern]
Local student advances in National Spelling Bee. Tune in to cheer on Grayslake eighth grader Sahasrad Sathish at today’s finals on ION at 7 p.m. [Scripps National Spelling Bee]
Sponsored by Moon: What are you doing this weekend, Chicago?
From that gallery in River North you haven’t visited yet to the lakeside weekend you keep meaning to plan, experience something new in your own city with Moon 52 Things to Do in Chicago. South Sider Rosalind Cummings-Yeates shares ideas for every week of the year: Kayak the Chicago River, sample Senegalese comfort food, soak up music and history at the Black Ensemble Theater, stroll the street art in Pilsen, and more. Find your next adventure with Moon Travel Guides.
🌊 Beaching Wrong? Nah.
With the city’s beaches opening last week, we asked if sitting on the concrete by the beach was weird — and most of you (correctly) said no!
Sure, the concrete is a little uncomfy, but it can be nice if you are just jumping in for a quick dip, looking to cool off, or need a break from some sand. Maybe it’s just one of those Chicago things, yeah?
👉 City Cast’s Jacoby Cochran and historian Shermann “Dilla” Thomas will face off in a parks vs. beaches essay battle in Lincoln Park June 15.
🌆 Cabrini-Green’s Destruction & Future
City Council approved plans last week for Bally’s casino at the old Tribune publishing site in River West, just a couple blocks from Cabrini-Green, the Near North Side public housing development where thousands of residents were displaced beginning in the late 1990s.
🎧 Earlier this year, we talked to residents who are still fighting for what the city promised them: a chance to return to their community.