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Good morning, Chicago.

Yesterday the city added four new states to its travel advisory, just leaving a handful of states around the country without COVID-19 warnings for unvaccinated travelers who return to Chicago from there. Here’s the full list.

Meanwhile, a federal judge rejected Republican efforts to immediately invalidate a Democratic-drawn Illinois legislative map, but warned Democrats that they should address concerns about undercounted minority populations. Read more here from my colleague Rick Pearson.

— Nicole Stock, audience editor

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Paolo Perrinez, 6, reacts after receiving a COVID-19 test by registered nurse Dara Wilson at a drive-thru testing site at Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago on Aug. 24, 2021.
Paolo Perrinez, 6, reacts after receiving a COVID-19 test by registered nurse Dara Wilson at a drive-thru testing site at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago on Aug. 24, 2021.

As school year starts, more Illinois kids hospitalized for COVID-19. But situation is far worse in other states.

As Illinois enters a new school year, more children are being hospitalized for COVID-19 than last time around — though such admissions remain relatively rare, in contrast to the chaotic scenes playing out in pediatric hospitals elsewhere.

This month, an average of more than 30 Illinois children a day have been admitted to hospitals with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, with the rolling seven-day average reaching 40 admissions last Wednesday. The higher numbers come as debates linger about how best to reopen schools, most notably in Chicago. Vaccination rates remain uneven, and kids under 12 are months away from qualifying to get their shots.

Illinois schools flouting Pritzker school mask mandate banned from fall playoff games

Chicago police officers work the scene where two officers were shot and the man who allegedly shot them was also wounded in the 1500 block of South Lawndale Avenue on May 16, 2021, in the Lawndale neighborhood. The officers were responding to a “shots fired” alert from ShotSpotter, the city’s gunshot detection system.

City inspector general raises questions over police use of ShotSpotter

A city inspector general analysis of the Chicago Police Department’s multimillion-dollar gunshot-detection system has found that it rarely results in officers documenting gun violence. The study also found that in some cases officers are using ShotSpotter as part of their justification for street stops.

The report lands as the reliance on the ShotSpotter technology by Chicago police to fight gun violence faces increased criticism, both by community members and the Cook County public defender’s office, which has filed motions to challenge the use of ShotSpotter evidence in court against defendants.

U.S. Army veteran Chris McClanathan shows a 2011 photo of one of his fellow soldiers with their Afghan translator, Romal, who they are now trying to help evacuate from Kabul. Romal's face is obscured for his family's safety.
U.S. Army veteran Chris McClanathan shows a 2011 photo of one of his fellow soldiers with their Afghan translator, Romal, who they are now trying to help evacuate from Kabul. Romal’s face is obscured for his family’s safety.

‘We made a promise’: Local Army veterans beg for help getting interpreters and their families out of Afghanistan

Since U.S. troops invaded Afghanistan in 2001, the government has promised safe harbor to Afghan allies in exchange for their services. In the case of Romal, a 30-year-old Afghan man who worked as interpreter for the U.S. military and government contractors for more than a decade, he believed there would be an immigration visa for him and his family. The United States, however, did not uphold its end of the deal before the Taliban gained control of the Afghan capital earlier this month, according to interviews and documents obtained by the Tribune. Romal is now stuck and, by all accounts, in grave danger.

Some 7,000 miles away near Chicago, U.S. Army veteran Chris McClanathan watched Kabul’s collapse on television. His thoughts instantly turned to Romal, the outgoing, extremely effective interpreter he worked with when he deployed to northern Afghanistan in 2011.

Former Loyola basketball star Jerry Harkness at his home in Indianapolis in 2018. Harkness, who led the Ramblers to a barrier-breaking national championship and a was civil rights pioneer, died Tuesday at 81.
Former Loyola basketball star Jerry Harkness at his home in Indianapolis in 2018. Harkness, who led the Ramblers to a barrier-breaking national championship and a was civil rights pioneer, died Tuesday at 81.

Jerry Harkness, captain of the 1963 Loyola basketball national champions and a ‘trailblazer’ for civil rights, dies at age 81

Jerry Harkness died Tuesday at age 81. He was remembered not only as a star of the Chicago basketball scene in the 1960s and captain of Loyola University’s 1963 national championship team, but also as a civil rights pioneer.

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BNB Mac & Cheese with three cheese béchamel topped with fried onions, cornbread crumbs and a caramel drizzle by chef Erica McGhee, owner of Brunch 'N' Burgers restaurant in the Tri-Taylor neighborhood of Chicago.
BNB Mac & Cheese with three cheese béchamel topped with fried onions, cornbread crumbs and a caramel drizzle by chef Erica McGhee, owner of Brunch ‘N’ Burgers restaurant in the Tri-Taylor neighborhood of Chicago.

Just opened: 10 new restaurants in Chicago and the suburbs, plus the city honors Calumet Fisheries ambassador

If you love Garrett’s Chicago-style mix of caramel and cheddar popcorn, there’s a new restaurant with macaroni and cheese that might pique your interest. Here are the details on the new spot from Tribune food critic Louisa Chu, as well as a full list of recent restaurant openings.