Lakeview Pantry client Eustorgia Alcarav receives her first dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the vaccination site next to Wrigley Field on April 5, 2021. [Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago]

"As cases climb across the country, I encourage everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible," Gov. JB Pritzker said.

CHICAGO — The state will send 50,000 doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines to Chicago as the city suspends using its Johnson & Johnson doses.

The city and state announced Tuesday morning they’d temporarily halt vaccinating people with Johnson & Johnson doses “out of an abundance of caution.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Drug Administration are investigating if the doses are linked to reports of extremely rare but potentially dangerous blood clots found in a small number of women.

The pause is only expected to last several days, officials have said.

Horace Smith (left) and Steven Rothschild are among nine people nominated to the Chicago Board of Health.

Aldermen approved the appointment and reappointment of nine people to the city’s revamped Board of Health after grilling appointees on their stances on expanding mental health clinics, COVID-19 vaccinations and working as a “counterbalance” to the Chicago Department of Public Health.

The City Council Committee on Health and Human Relations during its Monday meeting also approved an ordinance advocates and aldermen say closes a loophole in a 2014 measure meant to ban so-called “puppy mill” dogs from being sold in Chicago, pushing the measure one step closer to council approval. Additionally, aldermen unanimously approved a resolution (R202184) condemning the remarks of U.S. Rep. Mary Miller from Jan. 5.

Employers would have to compensate workers for time they spend to get COVID-19 vaccinations during the workday under an ordinance set for consideration Tuesday. [Colin Boyle/Block Club]

Aldermen are scheduled Tuesday to beef up COVID-19-related protections for workers, loosen restrictions on home offices and approve a pair of industrial tax breaks in parallel attempts to boost Chicago’s post-pandemic economic recovery.

The City Council Committee on Workforce Development is set at 11 a.m. Tuesday to take up Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s proposed ordinance (02021-1219) to ban employers from firing, demoting or otherwise punishing workers who take up to two hours off work to get a COVID-19 vaccination.

Ald. Carrie Austin (34) speaks during a 2019 news conference [Heather Cherone/The Daily Line]

Ald. Carrie Austin (34) must return an illegal donation she received in 2018 and pay a $5,000 fine or risk facing a stiffer penalty, the Chicago Board of Ethics ruled on Monday.

However, the “probable cause for a violation” notice, approved unanimously by the mayoral-appointed board, represents a fraction of the $145,000 fine the board had voted to impose earlier this year.

Small apartment buildings near the 606 Bloomingdale Trail in the Humboldt Park neighborhood [photo courtesy of Steven Vance]

Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants to root out systemic racism from Chicago’s housing landscape by encouraging construction of affordable new homes, reshuffling funding priorities and disrupting eviction patterns, according to a sweeping policy report published Friday.

The mayor’s Office of Management and Budget is set to hold a hearing at 5 p.m. Monday to delve into the details of the “Blueprint for Fair Housing,” a 67-page report that details eight goals to “address the City’s housing segregation, disparities in access to opportunity, and history of inequitable investment,” according to a Friday news release.

Puppies advertised for sale by Pocket Puppies, one of three Chicago pet stores targeted by an ordinance set for consideration on Monday [Facebook/Pocket Puppies Boutique]

After months of animal welfare advocates urging for a vote — including during a meeting on reparations for Black Chicagoans — aldermen are scheduled Monday to consider an ordinance that would ban the for-profit sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in an attempt to put so-called “puppy mills” out of business

News in brief: Aldermen approve ordinance protecting Chicago’s 16 ‘traditional parades;’ Arwady: ‘Big drop’ in vaccine doses driven by ‘spoiled’ Johnson & Johnson batch   

Cyril Nichols, a senior athletics administrator with City Colleges of Chicago, was sworn in Thursday as the newest member of the Illinois House of Representatives. [Caroline Kubzansky / The Daily Line]

Democratic Party officials on Thursday appointed Cyril Nichols, a 55-year-old senior administration official at City Colleges of Chicago, to represent a slice of Chicago’s South Side and southwest suburbs in the Illinois General Assembly for the next 21 months.

Democratic committeepeople whose jurisdictions overlap with the 32^nd House District chose Nichols from a slate of five candidates vying to replace Rep. Andre Thapedi (D-Chicago), who stepped down last month after 12 years in the seat.

Cook County Comm. Deborah Sims (D-5), consultant Peter Creticos and election data scientist Kim Brace during a hearing on Thursday

Cook County commissioners on Thursday solidified the team they’ll use to redraw all 17 of their districts as they look to complete a no-drama remap with enough time to kick off their reelection campaigns this fall.

During the first-ever meeting of the county board’s 2020 Census Redistricting Committee, commissioners voted unanimously to approve a $193,000, one-year contract (21-1963) with consultant Peter Creticos, putting him in the driver’s seat for the county’s fourth consecutive redistricting cycle.

News in brief: Aldermen approve ordinance protecting Chicago’s 16 ‘traditional parades;’ Arwady: ‘Big drop’ in vaccine doses driven by ‘spoiled’ Johnson & Johnson batch

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said on Tuesday that she still intends to hold the April 22 City Council meeting in person at City Hall despite concerns from some aldermen about accessibility and safety amid increasing cases of COVID-19 in the city.

At the end of the March 24 City Council meeting, Lightfoot opened the door to holding the first in-person meeting since COVID-19 landed in Chicago. Mayor’s office staffers briefed aldermen in the weeks following the meeting on plans to meet in council chambers, but some say they still have questions about the plan.

A Metropolitan Water Reclamation District staffer, a college sports administrator, a radio commentator, a political communications professional and a former state government worker are set to vie on Thursday for the chance to fill the Illinois House seat vacated by Rep. Andre Thapedi (D-Chicago) last month.

Thapedi signaled in January that he would step back after 12 years representing the serpentine 32^nd District, which winds from Chicago’s Grand Crossing neighborhood out to suburban Hickory Hills. But the representative submitted his formal resignation on March 17, opening a 30-day window for local Democratic Party officials to pick his replacement.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot responds to results of the Chicago Index survey during a news conference on Wednesday

The city is headed in the wrong direction and its political leaders likely aren’t helping, according to the results of a new statistical survey of more than 2,000 Chicago-area residents published Wednesday.

With just 16 percent of respondents rating her “good or excellent,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot got the poorest marks of almost any public official included in the inaugural report of the Chicago Index, a quarterly sentiment index produced by The Daily Line, Crain’s and ABC7.

Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez speaks at a press conference at the Daley Center on Wed., April 7.

Via Injustice Watch

Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez has walked back a campaign pledge to give the public more access to records from her office under the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

The clerk is the official record keeper for the Circuit Court and is responsible for collecting and distributing tens of millions of dollars in court fines and fees. But the agency is not subject to the state’s open record laws. That exclusion means the public has largely been kept in the dark about the operations and funding of one of the largest unified court systems in the country.

Party leaders voted 51-5 to support elected school board legislation during a meeting of the Cook County Democratic Party’s Central Committee.

Dozens of top Cook County Democratic Party officials threw their support on Wednesday behind a legislative effort to democratize Chicago’s school board, giving the effort a powerful symbolic boost and handing a defeat to Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

The county party’s Central Committee voted 51-5 on Wednesday to endorse a resolution sponsored by 35^th Ward Committeeperson Anthony Quezada voicing the party’s official support for an Illinois House of Representatives bill (HB2908) that would end Lightfoot’s power to hand-pick members of the Chicago Public Schools Board of Education. The House bill and its Senate counterpart — also named in the party resolution — would direct the state legislature to draw 20 districts whose voters would populate the board.