Good morning, Chicago.
Pfizer announced early Monday its COVID-19 vaccine works for children 5 to 11 and that it will seek U.S. authorization for this age group soon. For boosters, a lot remains up in the air. On Friday, an FDA panel overwhelmingly rejected the plan to distribute Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots to most Americans. However, many people with medical conditions have already begun getting third doses of the vaccines, and the FDA panel did endorse the extra shots for those who are 65 or older or run a high risk of severe disease.
Meanwhile, just before the weekend, Gov. J.B. Pritzker extended the deadline for workers in Illinois prisons and other congregate settings to get vaccinated by 10 days. The move came after he was met with pushback from the largest state employee union, my colleague Dan Petrella reports.
And in Bears news, the Justin Fields era arrived earlier than expected Sunday at Soldier Field after starting quarterback Andy Dalton injured his knee. The rookie said he wasn’t pleased with how he played, but the Bears defeated the Bengals 20-17 to even their record at 1-1. Read Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts about the game here.
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Mayor Lori Lightfoot is set to unveil a spending plan later Monday that is expected to boost funding for police as she seeks to move Chicago past the ongoing pandemic and to address rampant gun violence.
Last month, Lightfoot laid out a $733 million budget shortfall for 2022. The plan to close the gap is unlikely to include a sizable property tax increase. Instead, she is expected to propose filling the budget hole by refinancing outstanding debt and using one-time money from the federal American Rescue Plan.
Rittenhouse judge bars evidence connecting teen to Proud Boys during trial
Kyle Rittenhouse’s jury will not hear about his alleged ties to a far-right group or be shown a photo of him flashing a hand sign appropriated by some white supremacist groups when his murder case goes to trial later this year, a Kenosha County judge ruled Friday.
For the four years she was in high school, Angela Sustaita, 18, did everything she could to ensure that she would have a shot to attend college, hoping to pay for it with scholarships and financial aid.
Her plans were abruptly derailed after a court ruling in July blocked new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, putting her, and thousands more who were applying for the first-time, on standby as they wait to find out whether their applications will be processed.
Consumers are expected to be in the mood to spend this holiday season, but this isn’t the year to procrastinate.
With the COVID-19 pandemic snarling supply chains and threatening to leave stores and distribution centers short-staffed, consumers may need to shop early to avoid missing must-have items. Big discounts, too, could be tougher to come by, thanks to higher transportation and labor costs.
Louisa Chu column: Dave’s Red Hots, Chicago’s oldest hot dog stand, is even older than we thought
Dave’s Red Hots, the oldest hot dog stand in Chicago, can trace its history back to one teenager who walked out of Russia in the early 1900s. For decades, legacy customers and a 100-year-old former employee cited the shop’s original owners as a Jewish couple who opened it in 1938 on Homan Avenue and what is now Roosevelt Road.
The full story has now been unearthed with help from the living descendants of not one, but two families, including an 88-year-old who once ate a hot dog five days a week and returned recently to the same booths he polished as a boy, Tribune food critic Louisa Chu writes.