Good afternoon! It’s Tuesday, and boy do I need a vacation. I had a weird dream last night that hippies were banned in America. I don’t even know how that works. Tie-dye checkpoints? Here’s what you need to know today.

1. Can Chicago’s Water Tower Place be saved?

The future of the downtown shopping mecca could have profound consequences for the Magnificent Mile, the city’s most important retail district, as businesses try to find a path forward amid rising competition from the internet and two years of pandemic shutdowns, reports Zachary Nauth for WBEZ.

“Solving these problems for Water Tower Place and downtown won’t be easy, but there are a lot of people trying,” Nauth reports. “The trouble is, many of the innovations that made the mall so exciting and popular have turned it into a ‘relic’ or are no longer practical.”

One way the area can regain its mojo is “experiential” retail, experts say. It means that people not only want something they haven’t seen before, but they want an experience to go along with their purchase. Think the Apple Store and the Starbucks Reserve Roastery. [WBEZ]

2. Planned Parenthood of Illinois is offering abortion pills through the mail

The nonprofit this week announced it has begun delivering the abortion pill Mifepristone by mail to qualifying Illinois residents, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

This new program, which began last month, includes a series of telehealth screening questions to help determine a patient’s eligibility.

The services are available to out-of-state patients, but they must be in Illinois for the telehealth screenings and pick up the medication from a state address.

The news comes as the future of Roe v. Wade is far from certain after a leaked draft decision from the Supreme Court signaled there were enough votes to overturn the landmark decision. [Sun-Times]

3. Long COVID lasted a median of 15 months, a new study found

A new study from Northwestern helps provide more information about persistent coronavirus symptoms known as long COVID, reports the Chicago Tribune.

The study looked at 52 patients who were seen at Northwestern’s Neuro COVID-19 clinic between May 2020 and November 2020. It found there was no significant change in the frequency of patients experiencing symptoms, such as brain fog and fatigue, between their first appointment and when they completed a screening six to nine months later.

Some good news is the loss of taste and smell decreased over time. But “heart rate and blood pressure variation and gastrointestinal symptoms increased at follow-up,” the Trib reports.

Long COVID is estimated to affect up to 30% of people who get COVID-19. That comes out to possibly 24 million Americans. [Chicago Tribune]

4. More than 176,000 people applied for Chicago’s guaranteed income program

But only 5,000 people will be chosen via a lottery to receive a monthly income of $500 for a year under the pilot program. That means an applicant has about a 2% chance of being selected, reported the Chicago Sun-Times.

Sixty-four percent of applicants are Black, 24% are Latino, 15% are white and 3% are Asian, city officials said in a statement. Seventy percent identified as women, and a majority are also a caregiver or a parent of a child.

Chicago residents who are not selected will have another chance to receive $500 a month. Cook County officials are working on a similar program that will provide the monthly benefits to 3,250 residents for two years. [Chicago Sun-Times]

5. Chance the Snapper, three years later

The alligator grabbed the national spotlight after being discovered in Chicago’s Humboldt Park lagoon in 2019.

Now, Chance is living the good life in Florida, where he is one of the largest gators at St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, reports Block Club Chicago.

“People were asking everyday to see him. It’s neat to have him back out there again,” said alligator trapper Frank Robb.

When he was caught at the lagoon, Chance measured around 4 feet long and 18 pounds. He is now 6 feet long and 55 pounds, Robb said.

“He’s definitely enjoying the Florida sunshine here,” said Gen Anderson, general curator at St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park. [Block Club Chicago]

Here’s what else is happening

• After three months, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is increasingly looking like a war of attrition. [AP]
• The Justice Department will now require federal officers and agents to stop others from using excessive force. [NPR]
• An ally of Mayor Lori Lightfoot abruptly issued his resignation from the Chicago City Council. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• A Cook County judge sided with WBEZ in a public-records dispute with Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office over the contents of a 2020 complaint letter from a young female lifeguard. [WBEZ]

Oh, and one more thing …

In response to the firestorm over book censorship, author Margaret Atwood this week announced a fireproof copy of The Handmaid’s Tale will be auctioned through Sotheby’s New York.

And there’s even a video of Atwood using a flamethrower on this special edition but to no avail.

It took more than two months to create the book, which uses a specially treated aluminum product instead of paper and is sewn together with nickel copper wire, NPR reports.

Proceeds from the auction will be donated to PEN, which advocates for free expression around the world. [NPR]

Tell me something good …

What are some of your favorite restaurants?

@PeaceNWarWithIN tweets:

“Lexington Betty just opened up in Pullman.”

Georgia writes:

“My family and I just tried a fairly new Greek restaurant in Fulton Market called Lýra. It was phenomenal. Everything was delicious and the presentation of all the food was amazing. The atmosphere is on the energetic side, so a little loud but in a fun way. Plan on sharing everything so you can order more to try as much as possible. The bougatsa and loukoumades desserts are a must! Enjoy!”

And Sarah writes:

“I highly recommend you take your visiting friends to Dove’s Luncheonette in Wicker Park. Delightful diner-like atmosphere, incredible breakfast and brunch foods (get the Back to Life Cocktail for the seafood lovers and split the terrific Tlayuda with a friend), and kind and fun and generous waitstaff. You will not regret it!”

Feel free to hit me up, and your response might be shared in the newsletter this week.