Good afternoon! Today’s newsletter serves as validation for spending summers as a kid watching movies nonstop, as you can tell by the first headline. Without further ado, here’s what you need to know today.

1. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s allies unveil a tax plan named ‘First We Get The Money,’ a widely recognized reference to Scarface

The plan’s full name is “First We Get The Money: $12 Billion to Fund a Just Chicago,” a passing reference to aspiring drug lord Tony Montana’s famous advice on picking up women in the movie Scarface. (Will the education plan be called “Say Hello To My Little Friend: A Guide to Boosting Test Scores”?)

As first reported by Crain’s Chicago Business, the $12 billion financial plan “doubles down on controversial tax-hike ideas pitched by Johnson during his campaign and adds a few more — including enactment of a city wealth tax and income tax, deep cuts in police spending, and an effective end to all tax-increment financing projects.”

The proposal comes from the Action Center on Race & The Economy and the People’s Unity Platform, two groups with strong ties to the Chicago Teachers Union. The report was also co-authored by Saqib Bhatti, who serves on Johnson’s transition team.

But the “First We Get The Money” plan goes against promises Johnson made on the campaign trail, such as not cutting “one penny” from the Chicago Police Department. [Crain’s Chicago Business]

2. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to temporarily halt Illinois’ assault weapons ban

The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to issue an injunction sought by Robert Bevis, a Naperville gun shop owner, and the National Association for Gun Rights, who are among those seeking to block the law.

They turned to Justice Amy Coney Barrett after being denied in lower courts. Barrett today referred the matter to the full court, which denied the petition, reports my colleague Jon Seidel.

That means the assault weapons ban will likely remain in effect as a federal appeals court in Chicago takes time to hear arguments.

Illinois’ law bans the sale of assault weapons and caps the purchase of magazines at 10 rounds for long guns and 15 for handguns. Anyone who already owns the banned guns is allowed to keep them so long as they register the weapons with the Illinois State Police by Jan. 1. [Chicago Sun-Times]

3. Earth will likely hit a key warming threshold within the next five years, according to the UN

There’s a 66% chance the world will briefly hit a key warming limit — 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the mid 19th century — between now and 2027, according to the UN’s weather agency.

Scientists say an incoming El Niño will lead to a temporary burst of heat, but temperatures are expected to fall afterward.

The odds of reaching the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit have grown from 48% last year, 40% the year before, 20% in 2020 and 10% about a decade ago.

Climate scientists say permanently going past that threshold would be cataclysmic to global ecosystems.

“We haven’t been able to limit the warming so far and we are still moving in the wrong, wrong direction,” said Petteri Taalas, the secretary general for the UN’s World Meteorological Organization. [AP]

4. Biden says he is ‘confident’ the U.S. won’t default on its debt

President Joe Biden today said he is confident the nation can avoid an unprecedented debt default that could wipe out 8 million jobs.

“I’m confident that we’ll get the agreement on the budget and America will not default,” Biden said from the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

The White House and congressional leaders face a tight timeline for hammering out a deal. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the U.S. will run out of money to pay its bill by June 1 if Congress does not raise the government’s borrowing cap.

“I think at the end of the day we do not have a debt default,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told CNBC’s Squawk Box today. “The problem is, the timeline is very short.” [AP]

5. Hundreds of mourners gather for the funeral of slain Chicago Police Officer Aréanah Preston

Among those who gathered to pay their respects were former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Mayor Brandon Johnson and interim Police Superintendent Fred Waller.

As her white casket arrived at Trinity United Church of Christ in a hearse, draped in the city’s flag, cries from the family pierced through the sound of bagpipes that were playing, report my colleagues Tom Schuba and Sophie Sherry.

“I stand before you guys today as a mother, a heartbroken mother, a mother that’s full of anger, rage,” Preston’s mother, Dionne Mhoon, told those gathered, adding she “really felt sorry” for the young people accused in her daughter’s killing.

Preston was fatally wounded earlier this month when she exchanged gunfire with a group of robbers who approached her as she returned home from work still wearing her police uniform.

Four teens have been charged in the killing. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Here’s what else is happening

• Penguin Random House and the writers’ group PEN America are suing a Florida school district over its book bans. [AP]
• The IRS is developing its own system to file tax returns online for free. [NPR]
• Cook County has been giving felony records to people who should not have them. [WBEZ]
• Pride Month is quickly approaching with a packed schedule of local events. [Block Club Chicago]

Oh, and one more thing …

Here’s a fascinating story: A Chicago-area journalist named Russell Working helped prove an unassuming watch once belonged to Aisingyoro Puyi, China’s last emperor, reports my colleague Stefano Esposito.

Movie buffs may remember Puyi’s story from the Oscar-winning The Last Emperor, which is streaming on HBO Max.

Anyway, the watch will go on the auction block May 23, with bids starting at $3 million.

And Working, together with his wife Nonna Working, played a key role in establishing the watch’s value because of a 2001 meeting with Georgy Permyakov, a translator who met Puyi in 1945 when the former emperor was being held in a Soviet prison camp.

The two became close friends, and Puyi gave Permyakov the watch just as he was about to be put on a train and returned to China in 1950. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Tell me something good …

What is one of your favorite pets?

Pamela writes:

“Growing up our family had several pets. My favorites would have to be Buffy (Great Dane) and Gladys (German shorthair pointer). They always slept with me and stretched out in my twin-size bed. Guess who would wake up on the floor!”

And Jackie writes:

“All cats are my favorite cat, but Rumpole, whom I got not long after moving to Chicago, stands out in memory. He lived into his 22nd year. All vets adored him.

“He loved being warm, so on cold nights he’d slip between the sheet and the comforter and curl up between my legs, and on hot days he’d sleep on the back of the stove.

“He never got down when told he was up somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be, but a few minutes later – just enough to make the point he was not accepting an admonition — he’d saunter over and hop onto my lap or demand to be picked up. It was always pleasant to understand that the EXACT center of the universe was resting right up against my heart.”

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