Hey there! It’s Thursday, and Region 11 of my brain is in Phase 3b of Tier 2 of wishing this pandemic was over already. Here’s what you need to know today.

(By the way, if you’d like this emailed to your inbox, you can sign up here.)

1. Lightfoot says she wants a deal today to reopen Chicago’s public schools

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she has run out of patience with the Chicago Teachers Union and wants a deal reached today over reopening the city’s public schools.

The mayor’s ultimatum raises the possibility teachers could go on strike for the second time in less than two years. If CPS locks teachers out of their remote classrooms or otherwise retaliates, that could trigger a strike by the union.

Lightfoot and the union have blamed each other for the stalemate in negotiations. Both sides have reached agreements on stuff like safety protocols inside schools. But some of the more contentious issues remain on the negotiating table, such as what public health metrics would be used to determine when schools should revert back to remote learning. [WBEZ]

Meanwhile, Chicago teachers are scrambling to secure vaccine appointments and are essentially competing against each other. [WBEZ]

Other cities are also debating when and how to reopen schools. The city of San Francisco is suing its own school district in an attempt to reopen schools. [Politico]

2. GOP lawmakers will be forced to go on the record over Marjorie Taylor Greene

The Democrat-led House today is moving forward with a vote to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of her assignments to the budget and education committees.

The vote means Republican lawmakers will be forced to go on the record over whether they support Greene, who has supported baseless QAnon conspiracy theories and endorsed executions of Democratic leaders.

The vote comes as Republicans face internal division over the future of the party. On one side are pro-Trump Republicans, and on the other are lawmakers who want to move away from the former president.

The Trump loyalists suffered a defeat yesterday when they did not get enough votes to boot Rep. Liz Cheney from her leadership post. Cheney faced criticism for voting to impeach Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. [NPR]

In Illinois, Rep. Adam Kinzinger also faces a backlash for his vote to impeach Trump. As Politico reports, the LaSalle County Republican Central Committee overwhelmingly voted to censure Kinzinger. [Politico]

Meanwhile, Trump’s lawyers rejected a request for him to testify under oath before or during his impeachment trial next week. [Axios]

3. Health experts are concerned the Super Bowl could be a superspreader

Dr. Allison Arwady, Chicago’s top public health official, today urged residents to avoid large gatherings during this weekend’s Super Bowl game. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued guidelines on … how to safely watch a football game. I can’t believe I’m typing this right now. The CDC basically encourages people to watch the game virtually with others or people you already live with.

The warnings come as cases are dropping in the U.S. but remain at levels that dwarf last summer’s peak. And scientists are racing to understand what dangers virus variants pose as nations rush to hand out vaccines. [CNBC]

As I mentioned yesterday, Illinois lags behind most states and U.S. territories when it comes to distributing vaccines. The Washington Post looked at states that have been more successful and found they keep the process as simple as possible. [WaPo]

4. Unemployment claims fell for the third week in a row

New jobless claims fell to 779,000 last week but remained historically high, according to a Labor Department report released today. Prior to the pandemic, weekly unemployment claims never surpassed 700,000, even during the Great Recession.

The report once again signals that the U.S. job market is struggling and held back by the pandemic. Tomorrow, the Labor Department will release a broader jobs report for the month of January, and some economists expect it will show the U.S. gained 100,000 jobs. The unemployment rate is also expected to remain at 6.7% for the third month in a row. [AP]

As we await the January jobs report, congressional Democrats today are moving forward with President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief package. Lawmakers today can propose amendments to the plan in what is called a “vote-a-rama.” Republicans are expected to pitch proposals regarding former President Donald Trump’s border wall and supporting the Keystone XL pipeline. [Politico]

Meanwhile in Europe, a double-dip recession appears likely as the European Union struggles to distribute vaccines, potentially creating a political backlash that will test the 27-nation bloc. [New York Times]

5. The weather in Chicago is going to get bad

In news that might make you go “uugggghhh,” the Chicago area could see a couple of inches of snow today that might be mixed in with rain to create icy road conditions.

After that bummer is over, we’ll be hit by an arctic blast resulting in the lowest temperature we’ve seen so far this year.

Just check out this sentence: “The National Weather Service in Chicago predicts a low temperature of 2 below Friday night, with the high winds dropping the chill as low as negative 20, in addition to blowing the new snow,” reports the Chicago Tribune.

Saturday, Sunday and Monday aren’t looking a whole lot better. Stay warm out there, my friends. [Chicago Tribune]

Here’s what else is happening

• More than 175 people so far face charges related to the Capitol attack on the Capitol. [NYT]
• Business consultant McKinsey & Company agreed to pay $573 million for its role in the opioid crisis. [NPR]
• Chicago parishes, schools and ministries got at least $77 million in federal small business loans even though the Archdiocese of Chicago had more than $1 billion. [AP]
• Chicago police have installed more license-plate readers on Lake Shore Drive in an effort to combat carjackings. [Block Club Chicago]

Oh, and one more thing …

Some good news for shut-ins like me: Law & Order’s Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler are getting back together!

Actors Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay will reunite for the first time in nearly a decade during the April 1 debut of Law & Order: Organized Crime, according to The Hollywood Reporter. [THR]

Still no word from NBC about my proposed spin-off called Law & Order: Citizen’s Arrest.

Tell me something good …

If you could date any fictional character, who would it be?

Bryn writes:

“If I could date any fictional character? Hands down, Johnny Utah from Point Break. No hesitation whatsoever. Of course, I might have to teach him a thing or two about how gender roles have evolved since the ’90s … (I’m nonbinary lol).”

And Jen writes:

“I would want to date Prince/Firelord Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender. He’s just awkward enough for someone like me, and I admire his leadership skills and the passion for peace that he develops over the course of the series. And obviously, I wouldn’t say no to a firebending demonstration — so cool! (Unfortunately, he is canonically bad at dating.)”

Which fictional character would you date? Feel free to email or tweet me, and your responses might be shared here this week.

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