Good afternoon! It’s Monday, and the internet went down at my place, so I’m writing the newsletter from Great Lakes Tattoo. Here’s what you need to know today.

1. Veteran Chicago aldermen show up to work the least, an analysis finds

And the council member with the lowest attendance rating is Ald. George Cardenas, who showed up to just 54% of meetings since 2019, according to a joint analysis by The Daily Line, WBEZ and Crain’s Chicago Business.

Cardenas, who is running for a spot on Cook County’s property tax appeals board, disputed that finding, asking, “How would I get stuff done here?”

Coming in at second place for the worst attendance record is Ald. Ed Burke at 55%. Ald. Howard Brookins Jr., who is running for a judgeship on the Cook County Circuit Court, comes in at third place with 58%.

Attendance at council meetings can make or break critical legislation. Earlier this year, city lawyers had to shelve a $125,000 payment to Lenora Bonds, who sued the city after her son was shot to death by Chicago police in 2013, because not enough aldermen showed up to vote “aye” on the proposal. [WBEZ]

Meanwhile, council committees that could address some of the most pressing issues facing the city, such as education and racial equity, rarely meet, raising questions over their six-figure budgets. [WBEZ]

2. Willie Wilson enters the race for Chicago mayor

Businessman Willie Wilson announced today he will run for mayor in next year’s election, becoming the second declared candidate after Ald. Raymond Lopez jumped in last week. [WBEZ]

And Wilson’s candidacy could seriously damage incumbent Lori Lightfoot’s reelection chances, a veteran political operative tells the Chicago Sun-Times.

“Her strongest base of support is older African American women. That’s where he would potentially cut in — with the church folks he appeals to. It does significantly hurt her in the context that he might appeal to that older Black base that seems to be sticking with her,” said Victor Reyes, who is not involved in the mayoral race.

Adding to the complexities of the election is the potential for a crowded field of contenders, which would increase the chances of a runoff election. Among the potential candidates are U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates, and state Reps. Kam Buckner and La Shawn Ford. [Sun-Times]

3. Thousands of Russian troops are preparing for a massive assault in eastern Ukraine, Zelenskyy warns

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s warning today comes as an eight-mile-long Russian convoy is heading to the Donbas region of Ukraine, reports The New York Times, citing satellite images.

Pentagon officials say the convoy signals a new offensive from Moscow that could look very different from the battles seen in other parts of Ukraine. [New York Times]

Meanwhile, the mayor of Mariupol today said more than 10,000 civilians have died during the Russian siege of the city, and the death toll could surpass 20,000. [AP]

Ukrainian authorities continue to investigate claims of potential war crimes committed outside the capital of Kyiv. In Bucha, residents claim Russian soldiers were shooting anyone who came outside of their houses. [AP]

The Biden administration is “vigorously debating how much the United States can or should assist an investigation into Russian atrocities in Ukraine by the International Criminal Court in The Hague,” the Times reports. [NYT]

4. Alabama’s ban on treatments for transgender youth is challenged in a lawsuit

Two families of transgender teenagers and two physicians are suing the state in federal court and seeking to overturn a law that bans gender-affirming care to transgender youth under the age of 19.

The lawsuit comes just days after Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed the measure into law.

In doing so, the governor “has told kind, loving, and loyal Alabama families that they cannot stay here without denying their children the basic medical care they need,” Dr. Morissa Ladinsky, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement.

Several states with Republican-majority legislatures are either seeking to pass or have approved legislation that challenges the existence of transgender youth.

The flurry of legislative action comes as the U.S. Supreme Court has a solid conservative majority, emboldening the GOP to tackle top issues in the nation’s culture wars, including access to abortions. [AP]

5. Lightfoot went to The Wieners Circle, and you can guess what happened next

A video recently posted on social media shows Mayor Lightfoot and Chicago’s first lady, Amy Eshleman, stopping by the infamous and beloved hot dog stand, where employees are known to jokingly give customers “curbside abuse,” reports Block Club Chicago.

And the mayor got large-sized portions of mockery, with employees jumping on a recent lawsuit in which Lightfoot is accused of berating staff and making obscene comments during a discussion about the ongoing fiasco over the Grant Park Columbus statue. (Warning, it’s The Weiners Circle, so there is foul language.) [Block Club Chicago]

Here’s what else is happening

• The next coronavirus vaccine could be a nasal spray. [Washington Post]
• A federal mask mandate for planes, buses and trains could be extended beyond April 18, said Ashish Jha, the White House’s new COVID-19 response coordinator. [Axios]
• Here’s a look at the top 10 Senate races that could flip to the other party. [NPR]
• Chicago’s road construction season is underway. [Chicago Tribune]

Oh, and one more thing …

The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie is among a growing number of museums and archives using advances in technology to preserve the stories of aging Holocaust survivors, reports NPR.

For example, you can slip on a virtual reality headset at the museum and enter the world of survivor George Brent, at the moment the terrified teenager stepped off a boxcar at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1944.

It’s part of the exhibit “The Journey Back: A VR Experience,” which takes viewers from that first heartbreaking separation from his family to the grueling slave labor Brent was later forced to perform in the mines of the Ebensee concentration camp in Austria.

“It gives me the chills when I think about it, that this technology became available just in time to capture these stories,” says Susan Abrams, CEO of the Illinois Holocaust Museum. [NPR]

Tell me something good …

Writing the newsletter from a tattoo shop today really has me second guessing my career choice, and I wish I became a tattoo artist. So I’d like to know: If you could do it all over again, what job would you do?

Feel free to email or tweet me, and your response might be shared here this week.