The Cook County Department of Public Health on Wednesday reported the first known case of the Omicron COVID-19 variant in suburban Cook County. The person “is asymptomatic and has received at least two doses of the vaccine,” according to the announcement. The county health department reported a seven-day average of 824 new daily cases on Tuesday, down from 1,179 one week earlier. 

The University of Chicago Institute of Politics announced former Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson as one of its new Pritzker Fellows. Ferguson will teach weekly seminars “about the role of Inspectors General in holding local and national governments accountable and will lead several seminars on police accountability in Chicago.”