Hey there! It’s Friday! A pledge drive is coming up, but unfortunately the station will not offer “The Rundown Cannabis Club” as a member incentive this year even though NPR has a wine club. Here’s what you need to know today.

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1. Can the nation meet Biden’s vaccine pledge?

President Joe Biden significantly accelerated the nation’s vaccination effort last night, saying he is directing states to make vaccines available to all adults by May 1, with the hope that the Fourth of July will look closer to normal.

Is that doable?

If vaccinations continue at their current pace, 50% of the nation’s population will receive at least one shot by May 22, according to The New York Times. But that’s at the current pace. The Biden administration has been looking for ways to secure more vaccines and get shots into people’s arms faster.

About 2.2 million shots are administered each day in the U.S. Even if that rate stays the same, an estimated 130 million to 140 million Americans will be fully vaccinated by May, according to Vox. That’s more than half the nearly 260 million adults in the U.S. [Vox]

What does this mean in Illinois? The state is currently averaging 95,121 vaccinations a day, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. And there are more than 7.4 million Illinois adults who have not received their first shot, according to a WBEZ analysis.

Even if the state maintains its current pace of vaccinations and all available doses are all used for people who need the first shot, Illinois would need until late May to at least partially vaccinate every adult.

Of course, some shots will be used for people who need a second dose, so it stands to reason it could take longer if the vaccination supply doesn’t increase dramatically.

2. Chicago’s Mag Mile may not stay magnificent

Every other day this week appeared to bring news of another retailer exiting the Magnificent Mile. The departures not only highlight the pandemic’s enormous toll on businesses, but they add more questions about whether the downtown area, the city’s economic engine, will ever be the same again.

Crain’s Chicago Business columnist Joe Cahill argues the “normal” we once knew isn’t coming back, and the city needs to activate a plan that adapts to a new reality.

“Michigan Avenue and suburban shopping malls may never draw the crowds they attracted before COVID,” Cahill writes. “But Chicago’s transportation and warehousing sector is poised to capitalize on the continuing rise of e-commerce. Shifts like that reverberate across the local economy, affecting everything from employment to municipal finance.” [Crain’s]

The future of Water Tower Place looks especially uncertain. Since 2019, Macy’s and 10 other retailers have either closed or announced plans to leave. [Chicago Tribune]

3. Chicago could soon expand vaccine eligibility

The city is on track to move forward with the next group of people around March 29. The next phase, called 1C, includes people who work in the food service, higher education, finance and legal industries. [Block Club Chicago]

If you don’t know which group you’re in, WBEZ created this tool that helps you find more information. All you have to do is answer a few quick questions. [WBEZ]

In suburban Cook County, officials today released 20,000 appointments for people in high-risk categories to receive a vaccination. You can register for an appointment at vaccine.cookcountyil.gov or by calling 833-308-1988 on weekdays. [Chicago Sun-Times]

4. Federal authorities are building a large conspiracy case against the Oath Keepers in Jan. 6 attack

The Washington Post reports that the FBI and the Justice Department want to bring big conspiracy indictments against members of the right-wing group called the Oath Keepers for their alleged roles in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

But the newspaper reports that “the group’s sometimes fractious and fantasy-laden internal workings may complicate efforts to bring such a case.” The group presents itself publicly as a paramilitary group, but it’s organized in a much looser way that uses a trove of misinformation and conspiracy theories to keep itself glued together.

At least 12 alleged members of the Oath Keepers have been arrested on charges related to the Jan. 6 insurrection, and prosecutors have accused the group’s founder of directing followers before, during and after the attack. As the Post reports, the case against the Oath Keepers could be a big test of the Biden administration’s vow to combat domestic terrorism. [WaPo]

5. Calls grow for Cuomo’s removal

More lawmakers in New York are calling for Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation and are moving forward to impeach him as at least six women have accused him of sexual misconduct.

Today, a dozen members of New York’s congressional delegation called on Cuomo to resign, including House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

That follows news yesterday that New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie has authorized an impeachment investigation into the allegations against Cuomo. New York Attorney General Letitia James has already launched an independent investigation.

Cuomo today said he would not resign, and he has pledged to cooperate with the attorney general’s probe. [CBS News]

Here’s what else is happening

• The city of Minneapolis reached a $27 million settlement with the family of George Floyd. [Axios]
• The Chicago area could see snow and rain next week. [Chicago Tribune]
• A vast majority of college scholarships in esports, aka playing video games, go to men. [AP]
• I really should have gone into another career. [AP]

Oh, and one more thing …

Major League Baseball announced this week that it will experiment with robotic umpires in minor league games to call balls and strikes, reports NPR. So I guess if a player is angry about a call, they can just unplug the robot instead of yelling in the umpire’s face?

The robot doesn’t look anything like Robin Williams’s Bicentennial Man. It’s basically a system called the Automatic Ball-Strike System. Normally my brain goes to Terminator territory when robots are in the news, but this sounds more like a WALL-E situation. Robot rebellion averted, everyone. [NPR]

Tell me something good …

If you could live your life in a movie genre, what would it be?

Samina Hadi-Tabassum writes:

“I would say Bollywood as my genre — it’s like attending a giant Indian wedding. You get to wear bright sequined clothes, dance around to the sound of electric sitars with handsome men, use bawdy humor, and piss off your parents and family lineage by chasing the wrong boy. Of course, there is always catharsis at the end, and now more Bollywood movies are not choosing the happy ending.”

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

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