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Good morning, Chicago.
Over the holiday weekend, the U.S. fell short of President Joe Biden’s goal of giving at least one coronavirus vaccine to 70% of Americans. Illinois, however, has largely reached it, which allowed for a celebratory Independence Day locally without the social distancing guidelines that have diminished holidays in the past year.
However, even with the more promising vaccination rates here, officials are still struggling to convince young people to get the shots. My colleague Angie Leventis Lourgos spoke to some younger adults about why they’ve skipped being inoculated so far.
— Nicole Stock, audience editor
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Chicagoans celebrating their first relatively normal Fourth of July in two years were met with the usual markers of a long holiday weekend in the summer: scorching heat, fireworks, crowds of people downtown and along the lakefront, and bouts of mayhem, including more than 90 people shot.
Among those shot over the long weekend were two police officers, a 6-year-old girl and her mother, and a group of six people. First responders in the city and suburbs were busy with fires and injuries resulting from illegal fireworks, as well as water rescues and boating crashes as people flocked to Lake Michigan for recreation. And hundreds of young people and Chicago police officers flooded the Loop on Sunday, sometimes clashing while fireworks exploded and some dumpsters caught fire.
While the pandemic disrupted STEM education for students across the state, regardless of ZIP code and demographics, the potential for existing disparities to worsen in underserved communities prompted a call to action for teachers.
From home delivery of STEM supply kits and Wi-Fi hot spots to offering internships and dual credit courses, Chicago-area educators have spent 16 months scrambling to mitigate the pandemic’s damage
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to fledgling programs that were enrolling students facing formidable challenges even before the arrival of the coronavirus.
Liam Hendriks earned a spot on the American League roster for next week’s All-Star Game, one of three Chicago White Sox players announced Sunday by Major League Baseball. He’ll be joined by starting pitchers Carlos Rodón and Lance Lynn.
The Chicago Cubs had two players — third baseman/outfielder Kris Bryant and closer Craig Kimbrel — selected to the National League team.
In the midst of the pandemic, Christopher LeMark was almost a year into his charity dedicated to serving Black and brown communities around Chicago with mental health resources when he decided to expand into a full-service coffee shop based in Lakeview East. The charity seeks to normalize therapy for minority communities, as well as create safe spaces for creative and healthy expression.
The nonprofit that spawned the coffee shop, which opened in November selling creative hip-hop-themed drinks that funded sending people to therapy, is celebrating its two-year anniversary tomorrow at an event at Thalia Hall with live music and “the biggest mental health party in Chicago.”
Review: 88 Marketplace is an Asian food wonderland hidden just west of Chinatown
Just west of Chinatown, the historic neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, a strangely shiny building has landed along a row of old brick warehouses.
88 Marketplace sprawls across the second floor of the cavernous center. After 10 months and three vaccines, seven restaurants now stand open in the building. Tribune food critics Louisa Chu and Nick Kindelsperger visited every food court stall, bakery and hot pot restaurant currently open, tasting bao to bubble tea and everything in between. Here are their reviews of each.