Good morning, Chicago.
Yesterday the U.S. finally reached President Biden’s goal for 70% of American adults to have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The milestone was hit a month late, and amid the surge of delta variant. In Illinois, nearly 73% of people age 12 and up have received at least one shot.
Meanwhile, more than two years after the mass shooting at an Aurora warehouse, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into a law yesterday a measure that charges an Illinois State Police task force with taking guns from people who’ve had their FOID cards revoked but haven’t turned over their weapons. Advocates and lawmakers say it could prevent similar tragedies to the shooting. My colleague Dan Petrella has the story here.
And in Tokyo, Downers Grove-born pole vaulter Sandi Morris’ Olympics came to a rain-soaked end, while Oak Park wrester Ellis Coleman, aka the Flying Squirrel, is at Games to help someone else’s dream
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after his ended. Simone Biles is back on the medal stand and the men’s basketball team is back in the semifinals. Other standouts? These local Olympians on TikTok. See who has won medals for Team USA so far, keep tabs on our 60-plus local Olympians and stay current with Day 11 events here.— Nicole Stock, audience editor
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The story of the 2021 Chicago Cubs, who went from potential trade-deadline buyers to dismantling the championship core, won’t be the subject of any quickie books or “30 for 30? documentaries.
It’s a brief but important chapter in Cubs annals that might take years to fully assess, and many fans still are trying to process their feelings after the abrupt departures of the Big 3 — Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javier Báez — and others.
Here’s a brief synopsis of how an epic Cubs collapse led to the biggest 24-hour roster dump in franchise history.
Tom Ricketts issues a letter to Cubs season ticket holders after “difficult” moves at the trade deadline. Read it here.
From Kris Bryant to Javier Báez: What former Cubs look like in their new uniforms
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday “there’s no mixed message” in his last-minute decision to skip Lollapalooza this weekend over concerns about the delta variant of the coronavirus after previously saying that the event would be safe and he planned to attend.
Pritzker less than two weeks ago said that he and his wife, M.K., planned to attend the massive festival, which drew roughly 100,000 concertgoers per day to Chicago’s Grant Park. He planned to go Saturday but his press secretary issued a short statement the following morning saying the governor chose not to attend “out of an abundance of caution.”
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: Why did Lightfoot claim 90% of Lollapalooza attendees were vaccinated? It was in a tweet.
Ex-Gov. Blagojevich files federal lawsuit challenging state law precluding him from running again
Ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich filed a lawsuit challenging the Illinois General Assembly’s disqualifying resolution that prohibited him from running for any state or local office in Illinois because of his 2009 impeachment.
The long-shot suit, for which Blagojevich plans to act as his own attorney, offered the famously garrulous Chicago Democrat a chance to rehash his well-worn talking points for the cameras, from his familiar “play all the tapes” refrain to the railroading he said he received from House Speaker Michael Madigan and others after his arrest in December 2008.
As people begin to filter back into the office after a year-and-a-half in Zoom exile, the growing ranks of recreational cannabis users might want to take a peek at their employee handbook before lighting up.
Marijuana, which went from a controlled substance to a booming industry in Illinois during the pandemic, may still get you fired.
U.S. employers losing patience, ratchet up the pressure on the unvaccinated
Steve Dolinsky’s back on air with NBC 5. Just don’t call him the Hungry Hound.
Earlier this year, Steve Dolinsky left WLS-Ch. 7 after covering the local food scene for 17 years. At the time, the award-winning food reporter said he looked forward to getting “serious about my own business,” which he said would include a mix of food-related freelance projects.
But when WMAQ-Ch. 5 Chicago approached him about returning to the air, he couldn’t say no. For his new segment, which debuts Thursday, he’ll simply be known as “The Food Guy.”