Hugs? Some. Travel? Meh. New CDC guidelines for those fully vaccinated against COVID-19 clear inoculated grandparents to hug unvaccinated adult children and grandchildren.
■ Want to gather with others who’ve been vaccinated? Party on!
■ Thanks to reader Mike Braden for making this edition better.
■ But even those who’ve had their shots are encouraged to stick close to home.
■ CNN’s Stephen Collinson: “The glimpse of post-vaccination liberation could offer a new incentive to buckle down.”
Watch ball! Chicago’s cleared the Cubs and the Sox to host some in-stadium fans for Opening Day …
■ Here’s the deal on tickets.
■ The Tribune’s Rex Huppke: “Will my saying, ‘Sorry, I’m allergic to people who wear pants and talk to each other’ be enough to get me out of going to a game?” (Cartoon: Keith J. Taylor.)
Middle milestone. With middle school students’ return Monday, all Chicago elementary school grades are open citywide—more or less.
■ More than a dozen people are in quarantine after a COVID-19 positive test at a Northwest Side elementary school.
■ Gov. Pritzker’s signed a bill designed to “change the face of education” in Illinois …
■ … hailed by Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford as “a step toward ridding Illinois of the damaging policies and procedures … that have created deep inequities and opportunity gaps in education for Black students.”
A ‘damaging double standard.’ The ACLU welcomes President Biden’s order for a review of the sex-discrimination policies adopted under Donald Trump’s education secretary, Betsy DeVos …
■ … including rules governing the handling of college campus sexual assaults.
■ DePaul University’s getting sued over the use of facial-recognition and other technology to survey students during remote exams.
Water Target Place? Target is in talks to replace Macy’s at Water Tower Place …
■ … a swap one politician calls “disgusting.”
■ Looks like a strike won’t happen at Jewel-Osco warehouses.
A blues museum for Chicago. A joint plan with the Oak Park Regional Housing Center would turn a former bank building on the West Side into a museum, cafe, business incubator and, yes, a bank branch.
‘Irresponsible neighbors.’ A Sun-Times editorial says states considering undermining federal gun laws—to become “Second Amendment sanctuaries”—put Illinois at risk.
■ The Illinois State Rifle Association—a National Rifle Association affiliate—is suing the state, demanding speedier issuance of Concealed Carry Licenses.
■ Joining a wave of Republican-led voter suppression efforts nationwide, Iowa’s governor has signed a bill cutting the state’s early voting period and closing the polls an hour earlier on Election Day. (Cartoon: Keith J. Taylor—again!)
We’re No. 1. A new report ranks the Eisenhower Expressway between downtown and the Tri-State as the United States’ most congested road.
■ Overall, Chicago’s traffic is the nation’s third worst …
■ … and the world’s seventh worst.
And to think you won’t see ’em on book checkout sheets. Now that Dr. Seuss Enterprises has flagged six Seuss books as portraying “people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” the Chicago Public Library is at least temporarily yanking them from circulation.
■ Fact check: A meme comparing Seuss’ work to Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s WAP is off the mark.
Graham Crackers is a Chicago Public Square advertiser.