Good afternoon! An ongoing heat wave in the southern U.S. reminds me why I no longer live in a place with regular triple-digit temperatures. Here’s what you need to know today.

1. Chicago’s air quality is expected to improve later this week

Chicagoans — particularly the young, old and medically fragile — should continue taking precautions like limiting strenuous outdoor exercise until the air quality improves, my colleague Stefano Esposito writes for the Chicago Sun-Times.

Local health experts told Esposito even people without respiratory problems may be experiencing discomfort or irritation; however, they could probably go outside to do everyday tasks.

The haze comes from winds blowing smoke from wildfires in Canada to parts of the Midwest. The air quality is expected to improve as the week progresses, according to the National Weather Service. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Meanwhile, here are some unsettling photos of the city covered in haze yesterday. [Block Club Chicago]

2. Chicago Police target minorities for traffic stops, an ACLU lawsuit says

Police are four to seven times more likely to pull over Black drivers, while Latinos are pulled over twice as often as white people, according to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The suit claims traffic stops on the city’s South and West sides are usually for minor reasons — or no reason at all — and serve as a tool for officers to search and detain drivers and passengers.

Cited in the lawsuit are CPD emails showing the department’s leaders calling for more traffic stops as a crime fighting strategy.

As Andy Grimm reports for the Chicago Sun-Times: “Fewer than 1% of the 600,000 stops made by CPD officers resulted in an arrest or the discovery of illegal drugs or a gun, according to the lawsuit, but the frequent stops do serious damage to minority Chicagoans’ faith in police, the lawsuit states, citing CPD records and community survey data.” [Chicago Sun-Times]

3. Local businesses hope NASCAR gives them a boost this weekend

Business owners and leaders are cautiously optimistic about the event’s long-term benefits for Chicago, my colleague David Roeder writes for the Sun-Times.

Data from Choose Chicago, the city’s tourism agency, and the consulting firm CSL International suggest a $113.8 million economic impact for the city this year.

But some local business owners told Roeder they expect most of that to come from tourists — not Chicagoans — and are weighing the impact from NASCAR against how much usual business will be lost over the holiday weekend.

Part of the concern stems from closures on DuSable Lake Shore Drive and other streets, as well as reconstruction on the Kennedy Expressway, keeping locals from heading downtown.

And it’s unclear how much NASCAR attendees will spend at local businesses, with free events available. [Chicago Sun-Times]

4. Abortion bans are fueling a rise in high-risk patients heading to Chicago hospitals

Even in states that allow abortion if the life of the mother is in danger, doctors say fear of prosecution is leading many to send high-risk patients to Illinois, Kristen Schorsch reports for WBEZ.

Before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, just 3% of abortions occurred in hospitals. Now, OB-GYNs in regions across the U.S. that protect abortions rights, including Chicago, tell WBEZ more out-of-state patients are showing up.

Though some patients prefer getting an abortion in a hospital because they can blend in with patients getting all types of procedures, many patients are high-risk to begin with, need more medical resources and typically can’t go to a clinic like Planned Parenthood.

But the price tag, which can reach tens of thousands of dollars for more complicated procedures, can be a barrier for high-risk patients, Schorsch reports. [WBEZ]

5. Inside the multiverse of a Chicago hip-hop chef with sell-out parties

Rapper SoloSam is cooking up something interesting this summer at the intersection between food and hip-hop with his new bimonthly dance party called B-EATS, Alejandro Hernandez writes for WBEZ.

B-EATS events earlier this year featured limited edition signature dishes that paid homage to SoloSam’s mixed Ghanian-Korean heritage.

“I think food and music are synonymous in the fact that they are both creative in nature,” he said. “The artistic journey in both is the same. When you first start making food, it’s terrible just like the music is terrible when you first start. Then you get to a point where you’re following things by the book with recipes, and it’s the same with music.”

SoloSam will headline a free concert tomorrow at Navy Pier. [WBEZ]

Here’s what else is happening

• President Biden gave a speech in Chicago today, focusing on the economy. [Chicago Sun-Times]

• Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration laid out its big picture plan for helping asylum-seekers. [WBEZ]
  

• The Chicago Blackhawks are expected to choose Connar Bedard tonight with the first pick in the NHL draft. [ABC7]

• The debris from the implosion of a Titanic-bound submersible was brought back to land. [AP]

Oh, and one more thing …

In the span of the two-plus-hour restaging of The Who’s Tommy, which opened this week at the Goodman Theatre, lead actor Ali Louis Bourzgui must sing, dance and spin like a tornado while dangling on a rope suspended several feet over the stage.

Bourzgui also pantomimes a lot of pinball, since the rock opera is, after all, about a pinball wizard.

But the major thread running through his performance, and the slick, high-tech show, is the music of the British band The Who. In the titular role, the Moroccan-American actor channels the artistry of Tommy co-creator Pete Townshend, the Who’s lead guitarist, who composed the concept album in 1969 at age 23 — the same age Bourzgui is now. [WBEZ]

Tell me something good …

The new season of The Bear on Hulu got me wondering about other shows or movies set in the Chicago area that I should check out over the upcoming long weekend.

Isabel says:

“The short lived, ‘Crime Story’ is one of my family’s fave shows about Chicago, because of how it captured the feel of our city. It ran from 1986-88, was set in 1960s Chicago, and starred Denis Farina. I think it was one of the first (if not the first) series about Chicago that was made here. Lots of local actors were in it as well as now famous folk who were then early in their careers. My dad was often mistaken for being a cop and Dennis Farina’s costuming and manner in Crime Story were just like Dad was in the 60s — bad ass, Chicago style.”

Tell me why you love these movies or shows and your response may be included in this week’s newsletter.