Good afternoon! It’s Wednesday, and all adults in Chicago and Illinois will soon be able to book COVID-19 vaccine appointments. My pal Vivian McCall put together this guide to help you navigate what can be a frustrating process. Here’s what else you need to know today.

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1. Chicago Teachers Union: Delay high school reopenings as coronavirus cases increase

The union wants Chicago Public Schools to delay the tentative April 19 return date for high school students by a week and provide vaccines to eligible students and their families.

To support the argument for a more cautious reopening, CTU President Jesse Sharkey pointed to the city’s recent increase in coronavirus cases. Chicago officials are reporting an average of 606 cases per day, up 21% from last week. The city’s positivity rate has climbed to 5.2% from last week’s 4.4%.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said today there is “no basis” for a delay and she expects high schools to reopen in two weeks. [WBEZ]

What do studies say about the risk of infections and the transmission of the virus in children and teenagers?

The Atlantic took a look in January and argues that fears over reopening schools may be overblown because “people under 18, and young children especially, are less susceptible to infection, less likely to experience severe symptoms, less likely to be hospitalized or die, and less likely to transmit the disease than older teenagers and young adults.”

But the magazine reports that placing a lot of kids in a school with inadequate safety measures could exacerbate outbreaks. [Atlantic]

Meanwhile, Illinois today reported the highest number of cases in a single day since late January. [Chicago Tribune]

2. Toddler remains in critical condition after Lake Shore Drive shooting

Chicago detectives questioned a “person of interest” in the shooting of a 21-month-old boy, who suffered a brain injury and is being treated at Lurie Children’s Hospital. No charges have been filed, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Authorities say the shooting took place Tuesday during a road-rage incident over one car not letting another car into a lane on Lake Shore Drive near Soldier Field.

Mayor Lightfoot condemned the shooting and said people in both cars were firing weapons.

“It’s mind boggling to me that people carry guns in the way that they do. That they use them in the way that they do. … It’s just a terrible tragedy,” she said. [Sun-Times]

The Chicago Tribune interviewed a Gold Coast man who was driving on Lake Shore Drive moments after the shooting. He said he saw a woman crawling out of a car that had crashed, holding a small boy and screaming, “My baby’s been shot! My baby’s been shot!”

The man told the woman to get in his car, and he drove the child to a nearby hospital. [Chicago Tribune]

3. Another month, another Illinois politician gets the feds’ attention

Cook County Commissioner Luis Arroyo Jr., D-Chicago, is now under the federal microscope as part of a sprawling federal corruption investigation into lobbyists and politicians in Illinois, reports WBEZ’s Tony Arnold.

Federal prosecutors issued a subpoena earlier this year seeking tax returns for Arroyo Jr., his lobbying firm and his wife, Desiree. Arroyo Jr. did not respond to requests for comment. Neither he nor his wife are charged with wrongdoing.

An interesting side note: Arroyo is the son of former State Rep. Luis Arroyo, who was first charged in 2019 for allegedly offering bribes to an unnamed Illinois state senator in exchange for supporting legislation that would benefit Arroyo’s lobbying client, a sweepstakes gaming business. He has pleaded not guilty. [WBEZ]

4. George Floyd saying “I can’t breathe” was a form of resisting arrest, says Derek Chauvin’s defense team

Defense attorney Eric Nelson today argued that George Floyd was resisting arrest when he told officers he couldn’t breathe as he pleaded to not be put in the back of a squad car.

Nelson argued his client, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, was justified in using force because Floyd was not passing out when he said, “I can’t breathe.”

Nelson’s comments came during a cross examination of Los Angeles Police Sgt. Jody Stiger, a paid witness by the state who testified that “no force should have been used” on Floyd. [Washington Post]

5. U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz reportedly sought blanket pardons from Trump

During the final days of the Trump administration, Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida privately asked White House officials for blanket pardons for himself and unidentified congressional allies, reports The New York Times.

It’s unclear if White House officials at the time knew federal investigators were questioning people close to Gaetz about whether the lawmaker had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl. Gaetz has denied the allegations.

The Times reports that aides told then-President Donald Trump of Gaetz’s request, but it’s unclear if the two men spoke directly. [NYT]

Here’s what else is happening

• An overwhelming majority of Chicago residents surveyed by three local media organizations said they disapproved of Mayor Lightfoot’s job performance. [Crain’s Chicago Business]
• China threatened to retaliate if the U.S. and its allies boycott next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing. [Axios]
• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen today said raising corporate tax rates will not hurt the economy because President Biden’s infrastructure bill will create jobs. [AP]
• Director Ken Burns talked to WBEZ’s Reset about his documentary on Ernest Hemingway. [WBEZ]

Oh, and one more thing …

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week said the opening of a bar in rural Illinois was a superspreader event that infected 46 people and caused a school to temporarily close.

Turns out the bar’s name is (no joke) The Embarras, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. The newspaper reports that bar owner Ryan Garrett initially denied his establishment was the one referenced by the CDC, but he later admitted The Embarras hosted a superspreader event.

Garrett told the Sun-Times that no one was denied entry to the bar’s grand opening if they weren’t wearing a face mask or social distancing.

“You can’t make them wear masks,” Garrett said. “You can’t throw customers out for not wearing a mask.”

Ummm, pretty sure you can. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Tell me something good …

What’s a good TV show or movie you’ve watched recently? I’m looking for suggestions, because I’m really hitting the bottom of the barrel after more than a year in this lousy pandemic.

Diane H. writes:

“Like you, we were glued to the series The Fall with Gillian Anderson. We watched all three seasons on Amazon Prime and was sorry to see it end. It is ‘edge of the seat’ suspenseful.

“Now, we are hooked on Resident Alien, watching the episodes on Peacock as they become available for free. It’s refreshingly odd, yet offers moments of kindness from both humans and aliens. There’s a subtle message running throughout episodes — Yes, anyone can change for the better.”

Feel free to email me at therundown@wbez.org or tweet me at @whuntah.

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