Good afternoon! I can’t get over how beautiful the weather is today. Enjoy it while you can, because it could rain Thursday and Friday. Here’s what else you need to know.

1. Legalized pot in Illinois could become cheaper as the Biden administration pushes to ease federal restrictions

The Justice Department this week recommended loosening restrictions on marijuana, a major shift in federal policy that could expand medical access to the drug and boost cannabis industries in Illinois and other states where it is legal.

The Biden administration wants to reclassify marijuana as a lower-risk drug, a move that would amount to a major tax cut for companies that grow and sell marijuana.

Industry leaders in Illinois say those savings could be passed along to customers.

“It’ll make a huge difference in consumers’ pockets and their ability to go into a store and get what they want,” said Dominique White, director of people and operations at Ivy Hall, the first dispensary to operate under Illinois’ Social Equity program. [Chicago Sun-Times]

2. Investigators say they found the gun of slain Chicago Police Officer Luis Huesca

The officer’s gun was discovered during a raid on a Far South Side home last Friday as authorities search for Xavier Tate, who has been charged in the officer’s killing but remains at large, my colleagues Rosemary Sobol and Matthew Hendrickson report.

Caschaus Tate, a relative of Xavier Tate, allegedly stopped officers at the home’s door, telling them, “Hold on, my girlfriend is naked in my bedroom,” according to a police report.

He then allegedly went into a bedroom, went out a back door and was seen tossing a Glock 9 mm pistol over a fence, according to police.

Caschaus Tate, who did not have a license to have a gun, was arrested and charged with unlawful use of a weapon. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Meanwhile, more details are emerging over the behind-the-scenes maneuvering to keep Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker away from Huesca’s funeral. [Chicago Sun-Times]

3. The Chicago Bears begin pitching their stadium plan directly to Pritzker’s office

Officials with the NFL team were expected to meet today with top aides to Gov. JB Pritkzer, who has repeatedly voiced skepticism over the Bears’ stadium plans that include public subsidies, my colleague Tina Sfondeles reports.

“And team officials are likely to hear that there isn’t a magic number to get them close to wiping away the governor’s ideological opposition, according to a source with knowledge of Pritzker’s thinking,” Sfondeles writes.

The Bears want the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority to issue $1.2 billion in new debt to be paid over 40 years — paid for by the 2% tax on Chicago hotel rooms used to build Guaranteed Rate Field and renovate Soldier Field.

But Pritzker has said a new Bears stadium is not a priority for him — a stark contrast to the support shown by Mayor Brandon Johnson, who last week attended a press conference debuting what the team billed as a $4.7 billion domed lakefront stadium. [Chicago Sun-Times]

4. Chicago millennials face a tough housing market

High interest rates and a record low number of homes for sale have created a miserable time for millennials who are entering the age when Americans have typically bought their first home, Block Club Chicago reports.

“As millennials we all had to delay things a lot in our lives,” new homeowner Bradley Ryba told Block Club.

“I feel like that’s part of the fraud that was sold to us growing up. You go to college, you have this great life and you have this house and this family. The reality is, you’re going to go to college, you’re going to have to delay getting married and having a family, you’re going to go into student loan debt, and then you’re going to have a difficult time finding a house you can afford.”

As homes become more expensive and harder to find, many Americans are putting off home buying. The median age for first-time home buyers hit a record high of 36 in 2022, according to the National Association of Realtors. [Block Club Chicago]

5. Michael Shannon returns to in-your-face Chicago theater

The venerable character actor has been booked and busy in recent years as Hollywood’s de facto supporting man.

But he has found his way back to A Red Orchid, the small theater company in Chicago’s Old Town that he helped found more than three decades ago, my colleague Courtney Kueppers reports.

“Red Orchid is where I became an actor,” Shannon said. “At this point, I don’t really come back [to Chicago] unless it’s for Red Orchid.”

For the next several weeks, Shannon stars in Turret, playing a grizzled soldier in a bunker in the wake of a war that nearly eliminated humanity. The play takes place in a two-story set that looks like a silo that’s been sliced open.

“We keep trying to find new forms and new stories to tell,” Shannon said of Red Orchid. “It’s kind of antithetical, I guess, to, you know, branding, which is what you’re supposed to do nowadays, but I feel like our biggest strength is that we don’t necessarily tie ourselves to one post — we’re willing to go anywhere and try anything.” [WBEZ]

Here’s what else is happening

• Tensions build on university campuses across the nation after police are called in to disperse pro-Palestinian demonstrators. [New York Times]

• A six-week abortion ban took effect today in Florida. [NBC News]

• U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she will call a vote next week on ousting House Speaker Mike Johnson. [AP]

• A cat climbed into an Amazon box and was found after a 630-mile journey. [Washington Post]

Oh, and one more thing …

I took a road trip recently and finally got a chance to listen to The Interview, a new podcast from The New York Times. As the name implies, the show is based on one-on-one interviews with famous or influential people.

The first episode is with Anne Hathaway, who has a new rom-com, The Idea of You, out tomorrow. I’m not a huge Anne Hathaway fan, but I was glued to this interview.

At one point her gait as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises is brought up and, well, here’s what she had to say.

“I worked with a choreographer for three weeks to find that swagger,” Hathaway says. “Because — oh, this is going to sound like a weird sentence — I wasn’t connected enough to my hips. I kept imagining a cat’s movement and the way it’s fluid and swishy but also strong and purposeful, and they helped me find my hips.” [New York Times]

Tell me something good …

What Chicago-area festivals or events are you looking forward to this summer?

Mary G. writes:

“Ravinia is my fav. Lots of great shows this summer. Indigo Girls and Melissa Etheridge, Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top, Little Feat and Los Lobos, James Taylor … I want to see them all!”

Feel free to email me and your response might be shared in the newsletter this week.