Hey there! It’s Friday, and it’s gloomy out today, but this will always be a bright spot for me. Here’s what you need to know.

1. Chicago prepares to welcome refugees fleeing war-torn Ukraine

Mayor Lori Lightfoot says the city is gearing up after the U.S. announced it would welcome up to 100,000 people escaping the war in Ukraine, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

The mayor’s comments came during a virtual meeting yesterday with Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, who says the city has taken in some 300,000 Ukrainian refugees.

Lightfoot said her “hope is, we’re gonna see that pipeline” to Chicago, where she will work with local Ukrainian and Polish communities to help refugees adjust. [Sun-Times]

President Joe Biden today visited U.S. troops and refugees in Poland, which has been the main destination for civilians seeking to exit Ukraine. The Associated Press reports more than 3.5 million Ukrainians have fled to Poland since Russia’s invasion began a month ago. [AP]

Ukrainian authorities today said about 300 people died from a Russian strike last week on a theater in Mariupol. The theater was being used as a shelter for civilians, and the Russian word for “children” had been written in large letters around the building. [AP]

2. Virginia Thomas, whose husband is Justice Clarence Thomas, pressed Trump’s chief of staff to overturn the 2020 election, texts show

Conservative activist Virginia Thomas repeatedly urged then-President Donald Trump’s chief of staff to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the weeks after the vote, according to messages obtained by The Washington Post.

“Help This Great President stand firm, Mark!!!…You are the leader, with him, who is standing for America’s constitutional governance at the precipice. The majority knows Biden and the Left is attempting the greatest Heist of our History,” Thomas texted to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Nov. 10 after Joe Biden was projected to win the election.

The text messages were among the 2,320 that Meadows handed over to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. The messages once again raise questions over whether Virginia Thomas’s activism creates a conflict of interest for Justice Clarence Thomas. [Washington Post]

3. Health experts worry the U.S. will be caught off guard in the next COVID wave

Health experts in the U.S. are currently watching to see if the spread of BA.2, aka stealth omicron, will result in a surge of infections similar to what many parts of Europe are confronting.

And they say a number of factors put the U.S. at a disadvantage, reports The Associated Press. They include an increasing focus on the number of hospitalizations, which typically rise after the surge has already begun.

And another potentially ominous sign is a warning from the White House that the government is running out of money for tests, treatments and vaccines.

“We’re not in a great situation,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, a Brown University pandemic researcher. [AP]

In Chicago, cases continue to rise. City officials yesterday reported a seven-day average of 177 cases per day, a 29% increase compared to the previous week. [COVID Dashboard]

4. Illinois Supreme Court declines to ban public officials from using their campaign funds to pay criminal defense lawyers

In a case that sounds like it could only come from our fine state, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that politicians can tap into their campaign funds to pay for criminal defense attorneys, but in limited circumstances.

The court “found that because the General Assembly had not specifically prohibited the payment of criminal defense attorney fees from campaign funds, it is reasonable for the Board of Elections to rule on a case-by-case basis,” reports Capitol News Illinois.

The case involved former Chicago Ald. Danny Solis, who avoided federal prosecution by cooperating with the feds in an investigation of Ald. Ed Burke. Solis’s successor on the City Council, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, argued Solis improperly used his campaign fund to pay his lawyers. [Chicago Sun-Times]

5. TikTok celebrity and Chicago historian Shermann ‘Dilla’ Thomas wants to buy a bus

Historian Shermann “Dilla” Thomas is looking to raise $200,000 to buy a bus for his popular tours of the South Side, reports Block Club Chicago.

Thomas, who is a contributor to WBEZ and brings his delightful history lessons on air, tells Block Club he has been renting buses and paying drivers and other expenses. Buying a bus would help cut down on expenses, help reduce ticket prices and open up the possibility of providing free tours.

“I’ve been going to a lot of schools lately, and when I speak to young people, they’re always surprised about the history that is taking place in their neighborhood,” Thomas told Block Club. “I think if you know the history of a space, you respect and treat it better.”

A fundraiser is scheduled for Thursday, March 31 at the DuSable Museum of African American History. [Block Club Chicago]

Here’s what else is happening

• Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced he would vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. [NPR]
• The attorney general of Texas said an annual Pride celebration at Austin schools breaks state law, marking the state’s latest move to confront LGBTQ rights. [NPR]
• The U.S. men’s soccer team is close to qualifying for the World Cup. [NPR]
• A strike at WTTW-Channel 11 is putting politicians on the spot. [Robert Feder]

Oh, and one more thing …

Risking fines from the Federal Communications Commission, a radio pirate and self-professed “bad boy nerd” is airing old timey, crime-thriller radio dramas near Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood, reports WBEZ’s Linda Lutton.

“It’s all broadcast illegally out of a nondescript two-flat on a residential block,” Lutton writes. “There’s a spindly antenna on the roof, visible mainly from the alley, and a 50-watt transmitter in the upstairs apartment. And there’s Bill, a retired computer and audio engineer who’s been operating this illegal station for some 15 years. He asked us not to use his last name for fear of ‘FCC prison.’ ”

The station has been up and running, 24/7, for 15 years. And I’m aiming to take a drive this weekend to see if I can catch it on 87.9 FM. [WBEZ]

Tell me something good …

The Oscars are on Sunday, and I’d like to know what movie or actor you loved but ended up getting snubbed.

Linda Padgurskis writes:

“One of my all time favorite movies was 2010’s Hot Tub Time Machine. I loved the plot and the acting, and it was so funny. Love time travel movies. I wish it had been nominated for one of the Oscars. I still have to watch it when I see it on one of the cable stations.”

Beth McLaughlin writes:

“2017 was a great year for movies, and I assume that split the vote, but Dunkirk worked on every level. Cleverly constructed, beautiful, and emotionally gripping. Shape of Water was… good.”

DoctorNando writes:

“Of the movies I’ve seen and comparing them to some of the drivel that has been nominated, (let alone won,) two titles stand out: Coming to America (1988) with Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall, and A Bronx Tale (1993) with Chazz Palminteri and Robert De Niro.”

And before I sign off, it turns out I’m not the only one who dreads the song “Africa” by Toto.

Meg De Young writes:

“Holy Cow … that song depressed the hell out of me. I heard it a lot driving home from work with the baby in the car. When I heard it, I knew my night would be filled with making dinner, washing dishes and getting the baby ready for bed. I feel bad but not very pleasant when I hear it. I thought I was the only one.”