Good afternoon! It’s Wednesday, but who’s keeping track anymore? Here’s what you need to know today.

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1. Why is Illinois so bad at distributing vaccines?

The state has fallen behind almost every state and U.S. territory when it comes to handing out vaccines, according to breakdowns of federal data from The New York Times and The Washington Post.

According to both newspapers, only 6.6% of Illinois’ population has gotten the first vaccine dose, just a few percentage points higher than Alabama, Kansas, Iowa and Idaho. Leading the pack are American Samoa (19.6%), Palau (17.4%) and Alaska (13.3%), the Times reports.

Looking at the broader picture, it will take the U.S. until Sept. 11 to partially vaccinate 70% of the nation’s population if things don’t change, according to The New York Times. Some health experts believe the country needs to hit 70% in order to reach herd immunity. [NYT]

According to the Post, Illinois has received nearly 1.5 million first doses, enough to vaccine 11.7% of the population. [WaPo]

As the Chicago Tribune reports, local health care providers are “performing a complicated, logistical dance” as they prepare to offer first doses of the vaccine to more people while also keeping track of who is up for a second dose. [Chicago Tribune]

Meanwhile, Gov. JB Pritzker today announced a plan aimed at speeding up vaccinations for front line workers and people 65 years old and over. Pritzker says he will divert 97,000 unused doses away from a federal partnership with Walgreens and CVS, which he has criticized for moving too slowly. [Chicago Tribune]

The race to distribute vaccines has taken on even more urgency in recent weeks as scientists rush to understand the potential dangers posed by new virus variants. [Washington Post]

2. House will vote on yanking Marjorie Taylor Greene’s committee assignments

Rep. Steny Hoyer, the second highest ranking Democrat in the House, said today that a vote will be taken tomorrow on stripping Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of her assignment to the education and budget committees. Hoyer said he talked to House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and concluded there was “no alternative” to stripping Greene of her assignments.

Greene faces widespread criticism for several controversial and conspiratorial remarks she made before being elected. Greene has suggested the 2018 Parkland school shooting was staged, top Democratic leaders should be executed and California wildfires were caused by laser beams from space.

Hoyer’s comments come as House Republicans are scheduled to meet any minute now and discuss the fates of Greene and Rep. Liz Cheney, who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump. The meeting serves as something of a proxy war between Republicans who remain loyal to Trump and those who want to move the party in a different direction. [NPR]

3. Democrats suggest stimulus payments may be more targeted

President Joe Biden today discussed his $1.9 trillion economic relief bill with congressional Democrats, who have taken steps to approve the plan without Republican support.

Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., told reporters that limiting who gets stimulus payments was discussed during an hourlong meeting with the president. But Carper added that Biden is “not going to forget the middle class.”

The current stimulus plan calls for $1,400 payments that will diminish for individuals making $75,000 a year and couples who earn $150,000 a year. Republicans and some economists have argued that stimulus payments should be more targeted to people lower on the economic ladder who have faced greater challenges during the pandemic.

On a call today with the House Democratic Caucus, Biden signaled he is open to relooking at the thresholds, but he will not reduce the $1,400 payments. [NPR]

4. Will Chicago’s public schools reopen tomorrow?

Chicago Public Schools and the teachers union are nearing the end of a “cooling off” period after a heated weekend in which both sides blamed each other for the failure to reach a deal for resuming in-person learning.

The city’s vaccination plan has become a big issue at the negotiating table. Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey said CPS might be able to provide roughly 1,000 shots each week, but the union wants to increase that number.

Dr. Allison Arwady, the city’s top public health official, would not say yesterday how many vaccine doses would be set aside for teachers, potentially indicating the two sides are still discussing the issue, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Arwady did say about 3,700 CPS employees have either received a shot or were offered one. [Sun-Times]

Meanwhile, the director for the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention said schools could reopen even if not every teacher is vaccinated. [Chicago Tribune]

5. In “Only in Illinois” news …

The person pitching a new Rockford casino to the Illinois Gaming Board has a company that is being investigated by said board. Yes, you read that right.

As WBEZ’s Dan Mihalopoulos reports, businessman Dan Fischer of Naperville is presenting plans for the casino while the gaming board conducts a separate, disciplinary investigation into a deal involving another company owned by Fischer, Illinois Cafe & Service Co.

“The company, based in Des Plaines, runs the Dotty’s chain of video gambling outlets in Illinois and has faced state scrutiny of its deal to buy another group of gambling parlors in 2018,” Mihalopoulos reports, citing court records.

Fischer’s lawyer said in a statement that there was nothing wrong with the deal involving Illinois Cafe & Service Co. [WBEZ]

Here’s what else is happening

• The Obama Presidential Center could break ground as early as August. [Chicago Tribune]
• With carjackings soaring in Chicago, a Facebook group helps residents find their stolen vehicles. [Block Club Chicago]
• Myanmar’s military accused Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s civilian leader who was deposed during a coup this week, of illegally importing walkie-talkie radios. [NPR]
• Netflix dominated the Golden Globe nominations with a total of 42 nods. [NPR]

Oh, and one more thing …

Here’s something that might make you feel better the next time you screw something up at work: The Texas Department of Public Safety last week sent an AMBER Alert for residents to watch out for Chucky, the doll possessed by a serial killer in Child’s Play movies.

And the department sent the alert out three times.

According to The Guardian, the messages “described the suspect as being called Chucky and listed him as a 28-year-old with red, auburn hair, blue eyes who stood at 3ft 1in tall and weighed 16lbs. He was said to be wearing blue denim overalls with a multi-colored striped long sleeve shirt and carrying a large knife — matching his appearance in the films.

“His race was listed as ‘Other: Doll.’ ” [Guardian]

Tell me something good …

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

Karla writes:

“The fictional character I would like to date is Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird. Smart, morally upright, a good father, champion of the wrongly accused, empathetic and strong yet gentle. It’s really hard to find ‘em like that! And it certainly wouldn’t hurt if he looked like Gregory Peck, too!”

And Lois Elaine Colaprete writes:

“Clark Kent, Superman, because my name is LOIS ELAINE Colaprete (and he’s cute).”

Which fictional character would you date? Feel free to email me at therundown@wbez.org or tweet me at @whuntah.

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