Hey there! It’s Friday! Unfortunately, today is also the season finale of WandaVision. Here’s what you need to know today.

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1. Senate Democrats agree to reduce weekly enhancement of jobless benefits

It’s going to be a long night in the Senate as lawmakers inch closer to voting on President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package. Debate over the plan is expected to stretch past midnight, meaning a vote on the legislation could take place over the weekend.

The Senate’s version of the plan will likely have significant changes from one that passed the House. This morning, Senate Democrats agreed to lower enhanced jobless benefits to $300-per-week and extend them into September. The House plan called for $400 in weekly benefits that would expire in August. The Senate plan would also include tax forgiveness for people who receive the benefits. [CNN]

If the Senate plan diverges from the one approved in the House, then that means the House will have to reconvene and vote on the Senate’s proposal. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., says he expects the House will return on Monday to take a vote. [CNBC]

In the background, the process Democrats are using to approve Biden’s stimulus plan is increasing pressure on the White House to support ending the filibuster. [Washington Post]

2. Chicago Public Schools says every teacher could receive a vaccine by the end of the month

Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson told the Chicago Sun-Times that she has “no doubt” that all teachers and staff members will be able to receive a shot by the end of the month. The newspaper reports that more than 19,000 school employees so far have had access to securing a vaccination.

Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey said he sees no problem with calling back teachers to classrooms in April if every teacher who wants a shot gets one. The news comes as the union and district officials are negotiating over the return of high school students by the end of the school year. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Meanwhile, Illinois’ distribution of vaccines appears to be improving even though the United Center mass vaccination site isn’t expected to open until March 10. According to The Washington Post, the state averaged about 84,000 vaccinations in the last week, up 22% from the previous week. [WaPo]

At the same time, the state’s decline in coronavirus cases appears to be stalling. According to The New York Times, Illinois is reporting an average of 1,779 cases per day, just a 6% decrease from the average two weeks ago. [NYT]

3. Former impeachment manager sues Trump over attack on U.S. Capitol

U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., filed a federal lawsuit today that accuses former President Donald Trump and his allies of inciting the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection and conspiring to prevent Congress from certifying President Biden’s election victory.

Also named in the lawsuit are Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani and Republican Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama.

Swalwell’s lawsuit comes after the NAACP last month sued Trump, Giuliani and extremist groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers on similar grounds. [AP]

Meanwhile, a former State Department aide under the Trump administration was arrested by the FBI for allegedly assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6 attack. [NPR]

4. The U.S. added more jobs than expected last month

Hiring picked up in February as states relaxed more pandemic restrictions and the nation ramped up vaccinations.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics today reported that the U.S. added 379,000 jobs last month. That’s considerably higher than the 210,000 jobs expected by economists. The unemployment rate fell to 6.2% from January’s 6.3%.

But there are still about 9.5 million fewer jobs today than a year ago. [NBC News]

If job growth continues at its current pace, the U.S. won’t reach pre-pandemic employment levels for another two years, reports The New York Times in this analysis of today’s jobs report. [NYT]

5. Vaccine hesitancy in the U.S. is declining … but there is a political divide

A report released today from the Pew Research Center found that 69% of Americans plan to get or have already gotten a shot. That’s up from 60% in November.

Hesitancy among Black Americans saw a much larger drop. According to the report, 61% of Black Americans say they want or already have received a vaccination, up from 42% in November.

But only 56% of Republicans said they were willing to get a shot or already had gotten one. That’s compared to 83% of Democrats. [Axios]

Here’s what else is happening

• Former Illinois state Rep. Eddie Acevedo, D-Chicago, has pleaded not guilty to federal tax evasion charges that are partly connected to the sprawling ComEd corruption scandal. [WBEZ]
• The Chicago ZIP code that includes the Magnificent Mile and Navy Pier saw the biggest drop in sales tax revenue in the entire state. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• Boardroom diversity is still lacking at Illinois companies. [WBEZ]
• This week’s Nerdette looks at cancel culture, the lifting of coronavirus restrictions and other news with fantasy author Leigh Bardugo and bona fide science star Emily Graslie. [WBEZ]

Oh, and one more thing …

Take a seat, Chicago Botanic Garden. A Rogers Park man successfully grew his own “corpse flower” into a full bloom, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

Dave Wheeler told the newspaper he bought several bulbs of the so-called corpse flower about a decade ago, and the 7-foot-tall plant currently outside his building was planted about seven years ago.

In 2015, many Chicago-area residents were captivated by a corpse flower at the Chicago Botanic Garden that ended up not blooming, though another one that wasn’t on public display did bloom later. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Tell me something good …

March is Women’s History Month, and I’d like to know who is among the women you look up to and why.

Maia writes:

“Listen folks, it is important to highlight trans women and Black women during Women’s History Month, because they are an integral part of our history, and we must include them wholeheartedly. So I’m writing in to say that I look up to Black trans women, because they deserve respect and celebration for embracing who they are all while parts of society try to shut them down — or even murder them — for it.

“Women such as activist and model Munroe Bergdorf; Miss Peppermint, who competed as openly trans on RuPaul’s Drag Race; actress Laverne Cox of Orange is the New Black fame; and all the way back to Marsha P. Johnson, who helped instigate the Stonewall riots. But also, ordinary Black trans women who are just trying to live their lives and pursue happiness like the rest of us. They are all worthy of our protection and our pride.”

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

Thanks for reading and have a nice night! I’ll see you on Monday. And if you like what you just read, you can subscribe to the newsletter here and have it delivered to your inbox.