Hey there! It’s Friday, and don’t get me wrong, I love Chicago with all my heart. But you know this beautiful city is kinda messed up when experts say this could be a “banner year” for convictions on the City Council. Here’s what else you need to know today.

1. Don’t take a snow day on shoveling those sidewalks. City fines totaled $155,000 last year.

I hope everyone stayed safe during the winter storm last night. But if you haven’t already, you might want to remove the snow from your sidewalk ASAP.

The Chicago Department of Transportation issued more than $155,000 in snow and ice removal fines in 2021 — more than four times the total from 2020, according to an analysis from my colleague Charmaine Runes.

The city issued more than 1,600 citations, with the bulk of them located in high-traffic areas on the North and Near West sides. Enforcement is largely based on complaints, a department spokesperson said.

Last year, residents filed more than 6,000 sidewalk snow removal complaints, about 13% more than the 5,300 in 2020, according to 311 service request data. Similar to citations, these requests were concentrated in North Side and Near West Side neighborhoods. [WBEZ]

2. Students can go maskless at some school districts, Illinois court says

Students in about 170 school districts can continue to go mask optional and reject other COVID-19 mitigations, a state appellate court ruled late last night.

The ruling is another major blow for Gov. JB Pritzker, who has unsuccessfully tried to revive a statewide mask mandate for schools. The governor says he will appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court.

Earlier this month, a downstate judge issued a temporary restraining order on the mandate, saying Pritzker overstepped his authority. Last night’s ruling was only about the restraining order and did not settle the underlying lawsuit.

Still, the ruling likely opens the door for more school districts that aren’t directly affected by the order to reject the state’s COVID school rules.

Already, a growing group of school districts have gone mask optional even though the governor’s office insists its COVID-19 mandates remain in effect. [WBEZ]

3. California becomes the first state to unveil a plan on how to live with COVID-19

In yesterday’s newsletter, I talked about how politicians in Illinois have struggled to articulate a plan for this new phase of the pandemic.

Shortly after, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a plan that treats COVID-19 as a manageable risk rather than a crisis. The strategy ditches broad mandates and business shutdowns, instead emphasizing prevention and quick reaction to outbreaks.

As The Associated Press reports: “The milestone, nearly two years in the making, envisions a return to a more normal existence with the help of a variety of initiatives and billions in new spending to more quickly spot surges or variants, add health care workers, stockpile tests and push back against false claims and other misinformation.” [AP]

Will Illinois see a similar plan? So far, a statewide mask mandate for restaurants, bars and other businesses is set to end on Feb. 28. But after that, it’s not clear if Pritzker will stick with the same strategy — relax broad mandates and then bring them back when infections rise — or adopt a more targeted response.

4. Moscow plans to test nuclear-capable missiles as standoff over Ukraine intensifies

The saber-rattling in the standoff over Ukraine escalated today, with the Kremlin announcing tests Saturday of Russia’s nuclear forces in a show of its military might, reports The Associated Press.

And in another ominous sign, Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine called for mass evacuations of civilians, claiming the Ukrainian military was about to launch an attack, the AP reports.

Ukrainian officials say that claim is false and is designed to give Moscow a reason to attack. U.S. officials have routinely warned that Russia is seeking to create these so-called “false-flag attacks.”

At the same time, U.S. officials now estimate that as many as 190,000 Russian troops have been deployed near or in Ukraine. [AP]

5. A record number of U.S. adults identify as LGBTQ, largely due to Gen Z

A record 7.1% of American adults say they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or something else that isn’t heterosexual, according to a new Gallup poll. That’s double the 3.5% reported in 2012, CNN reports.

Gallup says the rise can be attributed to Gen Z, people born between 1997 and 2003. About 21% of this generation identifies as LGBTQ, making them the largest portion of all LGBTQ people. Looking at millennials, 10.5% say they’re LGBTQ.

LGBTQ members of Gen Z were most likely to identify as bisexual, at 15%, according to Gallup. [CNN]

Here’s what else is happening

• The former suburban Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright was sentenced to two years in prison. [AP]
• Police began making arrests and towing trucks in Ottawa, where protests over vaccine mandates have roiled the city. [AP]
• Mayor Lightfoot denied a permit for a controversial metal shredder on the Southeast Side. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• This week’s episode of Art of Power talks to a reporter who covered the war on terrorism in the Middle East. [WBEZ]

Oh, and one more thing …

WBEZ has two upcoming events in honor of Black History Month that sound fun, and you can catch them both online.

On Tuesday, Feb. 22, Reset host Sasha-Ann Simons talks about Black musicians who shaped Chicago with Vocalo’s Ayana Contreras, Chicago radio legend Richard Steele, Grammy-winning creator Rhymefest and acclaimed instrumentalist Nnamdi. [Eventbrite]

Then on March 1, local historian, TikTok celebrity and WBEZ contributor Shermann Dilla Thomas gives a virtual exploration of some of Chicago’s most important Black landmarks. [Eventbrite]

Tell me something good …

What movie or TV show actually scared you, either now or as a kid?

Joyce Miller Bean writes:

“The scariest to me is an episode of the old TV show One Step Beyond,

which may still be seen on Amazon Prime😳. All stories dramatized in the series are based on true events.

“This episode is entitled Epilogue, and it’s about a man who is separated from his wife but wants to reconcile. He meets her and their young son at a hotel, but when the wife takes the son to explore an old silver mine, it collapses.

“The husband abruptly awakes from a nap to find his wife standing over him covered with soot and terrified. She tells him their son is still trapped in the mine and the two rush to rescue him. Along the way two truckers come to help. They rescue the son only to find that the wife died instantly in the mine’s collapse and the truckers came to help because they heard a woman screaming for help as they were driving past the mine. I’m getting chills just writing this description.”

And AmySue Mertens writes:

“I saw Warriors when I was way too young. It’s about the rival gangs in NY—the clowns on roller skates wielding bats? Yeah, still to this day terrified of the idea — and the chant, “Warriors! Come out to play-yay!” Yikes!

“Also, Creepshow! Several vignettes all based on a comic book—the scene where the hyper-clean guy loses power in his completely white apartment, and when the power comes back he’s covered in cockroaches. Any time I think of it I get nauseous with fear of that ever happening to me.”

Thanks for all the responses this week! I’m sorry I couldn’t share them all, but it was nice hearing from you all!