Hey there! It’s Thursday, and I’m still thinking about these graphics from South Korea’s presidential election. (The race was actually way more bitter than the videos suggest.) Here’s what you need to know today.

1. The Chicago Transit Authority has some big problems to solve as more workers return to the office

April could be a big month for public transit in Chicago, as many employers call workers back to the office.

And city officials appear to be taking note, this week announcing they will double the number of unarmed security guards and add more police officers to trains and buses amid a spike in crime.

“The word is visibility. What we need to do is make sure that, on every platform across our system, you, the commuters, see the visibility of sworn police officers as well as these unarmed security guards,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

CTA ridership is down considerably since the beginning of the pandemic, and complaints of filthy conditions and crime on CTA buses and trains have shot up, officials say. Will the transit agency be able to woo back commuters, whose fares help keep buses and trains running? [Chicago Sun-Times]

At the same time, the price of a gallon of gas is at an all-time high. Altogether, getting to the office may be a challenge for many Chicago residents.

But … is it really the best place to work?

“The office was never one size fits all. It was one size fits some, with the expectation that everybody else would squeeze in,” writes The New York Times in a piece that examines the “two-year, 50-million-person experiment” in how Americans work. [NYT]

2. Chicago Public Schools wants to change the admissions process for some of its top schools

Chicago Public Schools is poised to make a significant change to the admissions process for its coveted test-in elementary and high schools in an attempt to award more seats to low-income students.

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez is proposing to drop part of the current system that awards 30% of the seats at these schools to students strictly based on their grades and test scores.

“It is a move some have long advocated for, especially as the student population in some of the most coveted schools, including some of the top schools in the state, have become more affluent, white and Asian,” reports WBEZ’s Sarah Karp. [WBEZ]

3. High-level talks between Ukraine and Russia go nowhere

Foreign ministers for both countries met in Turkey but failed to make progress at ending the war or establishing a cease-fire. The news comes as the war enters its third week, with Ukrainian forces denying Moscow the quick takeover it once envisioned.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he proposed plans to create humanitarian corridors out of Mariupol and a 24-hour cease-fire.

After the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters, “We will define Ukraine’s destiny by ourselves.” Lavrov also dismissed reports that Russian forces were targeting civilians.

One of those attacks took place at a maternity hospital in Mariupol, where three people died and at least 17 others were injured.

“What kind of country is this - the Russian Federation, which is afraid of hospitals and maternity hospitals and destroys them?” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. [NPR]

Meanwhile, here’s a look at how one Chicagoan kept her relatives safe in war-torn Kyiv. [WBEZ]

4. Black people, Latinos and Native Americans were significantly undercounted in last year’s census

The 2020 census undercounted the U.S. population by nearly 19 million people, underrepresenting Black people, Latinos and Native Americans, the Census Bureau said in a report today.

At the same time, white and Asian residents were overcounted.

As NPR reports, the census numbers “guide the distribution of an estimated $1.5 trillion each year in federal money to communities for health care, education, transportation and other public services.”

Today’s report only provides a national look, and state-level metrics are expected to be released this summer.

The 2020 census faced a series of challenges, including the pandemic and efforts by the Trump administration to speed up the process. [NPR]

5. T-minus two days until Chicago parties hard

This weekend’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations may be one for the books, coming as many COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted and a desire, in some parts of society, to get back to something close to the “before times” now that vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 are more widely available.

“The truth is, on St. Paddy’s weekend in Chicago, it’s an ‘everything goes’ situation,” David Strauss, co-owner and operator of Sluggers sports bar in Wrigleyville, told Block Club Chicago. “For sure I’m excited. Because we’re going to feel back at full strength again.”

Many bar owners and employees told Block Club they are optimistic that this weekend’s crowds could hit pre-pandemic levels. Seth Gamino, who is the general manager of The Irish Oak, said he ordered an extra truckload of Jameson “just to be safe.”

“I anticipate over-excitement from people — bottled up and ready to go,” he said. [Block Club Chicago]

And as if on cue, news broke this week that Chicago’s Pride Parade will return in June. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Here’s what else is happening

• Inflation hit another 40-year high, further straining low-income households. [NPR]
• Major League Baseball owners and players reached a deal, allowing the regular season to begin April 7. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• The TSA extended its mask mandate for planes and public transit to at least April 18. [NPR]
• Jussie Smollett is expected to be sentenced today. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Oh, and one more thing …

Just when it seems like there’s nothing new to watch on TV, Disney+ drops a trailer for the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi starring Ewan McGregor. The series, out May 25, takes place between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.

And it will feature actor Hayden Christensen returning as Darth Vader.

“We’re going to see a very powerful Vader,” Christensen tells Entertainment Weekly. [EW]

Tell me something good …

What is the funniest or most embarrassing thing to happen to you at work?

Dave writes:

“I have worked on packaging-related trade magazines for the majority of my career. At my last job, my editor gave me some products to use on a photoshoot of the cover of the magazine. One of those products was fresh broccoli in a ‘breathable’ plastic bag.

“It was a Friday afternoon, and the photoshoot was scheduled for Monday morning. I asked my editor if the broccoli would be okay in my cubicle over the weekend, and he said yes. Fresh veggies sit out all the time unrefrigerated, so I didn’t see why this would be any different.

“When I entered my part of the building on Monday morning, the entire first floor stunk! I asked someone what the smell was, and they said they had heard that a sewer backed up.

“When I got to my cubicle, I was shocked to find that ground zero of where the odor was emanating from was the bag of broccoli. In a panic of embarrassment, and to try and avoid coworkers from discovering that the odor was coming from my cubicle, I quickly and discreetly shoved the broccoli into a box, and took it to the mail room to try and seal the odor in … unsuccessfully. I then took the box to my editor’s office — who was not in yet — and closed the door to contain it and the odor in there until I could head out to the photo studio within the hour.

“When I finally made it out of the building with my products for the photoshoot, I drove across the street and discarded the box of broccoli in a dumpster outside of some apartment buildings.

“Needless to say, that bag of broccoli didn’t make it onto the cover of the magazine. But aside from some closer friends at work who I confided in, and the editorial staff of that magazine, nobody else in the office ever found out that the cause of that foul odor was my unintentional doing.”

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