Good afternoon! It’s Wednesday, and right here’s a video of a Lincoln Park Zoo bear named Birch consuming some flowers. Right here’s what it’s good to know at the moment.
Well being organizations and docs in Illinois are expressing concern over the choice by U.S. Well being Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to cease recommending COVID-19 pictures for wholesome youngsters and pregnant girls, calling it “shortsighted” and warning it might restrict well being care selections for households.
In a video posted yesterday to social media website X, Kennedy mentioned he eliminated the pictures from the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention’s suggestions for these teams. Nobody from the CDC was within the video, and CDC officers referred questions in regards to the announcement to Kennedy and HHS.
The Illinois-based American Academy of Pediatrics blasted the choice.
“By eradicating the advice, the choice might strip households of selection,” Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of the AAP Committee on Infectious Illnesses, mentioned in an announcement. “Those that wish to vaccinate could now not have the ability to, because the implications for insurance coverage protection stay unclear. It’s additionally unclear whether or not well being care employees could be eligible to be vaccinated.”
Dr. Corinne Kohler, a household follow doctor and president-elect of the Illinois Academy of Household Physicians, famous the vaccine will not be solely supposed to forestall extreme sickness but in addition to cease the unfold of the virus.
A CDC advisory panel is about to satisfy subsequent month to make suggestions in regards to the fall COVID-19 vaccines. One among its choices is suggesting pictures for high-risk teams however nonetheless giving lower-risk folks the selection to get vaccinated. [Chicago Sun-Times]
2. Chicago noticed its least violent Memorial Day weekend in no less than 16 years
4 folks have been killed and no less than 21 wounded in shootings throughout town final weekend, my Chicago Solar-Occasions and WBEZ colleagues report.
Tallies from 5 p.m. Friday via 5 a.m. Tuesday present violence dropped dramatically from every of the final three years, when between 9 and 12 folks have been shot and killed over the vacation weekend and whole capturing victims ranged from almost 40 to almost 50, in response to metropolis knowledge.
It’s a part of a decline in violent crime citywide, as final yr was the primary since 2019 with fewer than 600 homicides. An almost three-year upswing in robberies ended final summer season.
Mayor Brandon Johnson credit the hiring of 200 detectives and elevated clearance charges in homicides and shootings as key components for the dip in violence. [Chicago Sun-Times]
Police mentioned the 18-year-old bicycle owner rode via a crimson gentle into Michigan Avenue with two different mates on bikes a couple of half-hour earlier than daybreak on Memorial Day, my colleague David Struett reviews for the Chicago Solar-Occasions.
“They will need to have thought there was nobody coming. I will need to have been midway via the intersection. I believed it was a automobile,” the motive force, Peter Aleck, informed the Solar-Occasions.
Officers reviewed police surveillance video of the intersection and confirmed Aleck drove via a inexperienced gentle.
The deadly crash occurred on a city-designated route for cyclists to and from the lakefront. Though Randolph has bike lanes, the intersection with Michigan Avenue can really feel harmful to cyclists and pedestrians who should cross its 10 lanes of visitors, mentioned Christina Whitehouse, founding father of security advocate group Bike Lane Rebellion. [Chicago Sun-Times]
4. Pet surrenders are surging and overcrowding Chicago’s solely city-run animal shelter
Chicago Animal Care and Management is struggling to maintain up with a median of 56 intakes per day to this point in Could, Block Membership Chicago reviews. That quantity is in comparison with 34 per day on common between 2013 and 2017.
Adoptions elevated early on in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, however the prices of pet provides, vet payments and housing have all gone up since then. Armando Tejeda, the company’s public data officer, informed Block Membership the rise displays a development in different main cities, together with New York, Los Angeles and Miami.
He additionally mentioned stray animals obtain precedence over proprietor surrenders in the case of house within the shelter.
“When it comes time to decide on for euthanasia, we attempt to go primarily based on habits, deterioration, well being of the animal, something like that,” Tejeda mentioned. “But when these classes are out, sadly, proprietor surrenders are subsequent, simply because we’re mandated to maintain strays right here.” [Block Club Chicago]
5. Pope Leo XIV will share a video message throughout a Mass and celebration at Fee Area
Although the pope is on the opposite facet of the Atlantic Ocean, the pontiff’s supporters will get to listen to from him nearly subsequent month at Fee Area, Mohammad Samra writes for the Chicago Solar-Occasions.
The “once-in-a-lifetime celebration” will embody music, movie, in-person testimonials and prayer, the Archdiocese of Chicago mentioned. A Catholic Mass can be celebrated after this system.
The White Sox unveiled a mural final week honoring Chicago native Robert Prevost, who grew to become the primary pope from the U.S. when he was elected Could 8. The paintings is plastered on a pillar in Part 140, the place he sat throughout Sport One of many 2005 World Sequence. [Chicago Sun-Times]
Right here’s what else is going on
- Elon Musk criticized President Donald Trump’s “huge stunning invoice,” a mixture of tax cuts and enhanced immigration enforcement. [AP]
- A cybersecurity breach uncovered the information of 38,000 College of Chicago Drugs sufferers. [Chicago Sun-Times]
- A CPS senior mirrored on her yr on the Chicago Faculty Board. [Chicago Sun-Times]
- The Matrix filmmaker Lilly Wachowski spoke with WBEZ on making motion pictures about trans id and liberation. [WBEZ]
Oh, and yet one more factor …
In addition to the climate, one of the best factor about Chicago summer season is its live performance lineup. So my WBEZ colleagues tapped a bunch of die-hard music followers — from reporters and critics to the employees of our sister station, Vocalo — to construct a information filled with suggestions from now via Labor Day.
They prioritized exhibits at smaller and midsized venues and live shows held within the nice open air, although you’ll discover one of the best of every thing throughout 15 genres. The information might be filtered to seek out exhibits which are free, within the suburbs or that function native expertise. [WBEZ/Vocalo]
You can too join textual content messages that can warn you to one of the best exhibits of the week, plus ship occasional updates and interviews with artists stopping within the Chicago space. To get on the checklist, textual content WBEZ to 872‑210‑5562.
Inform me one thing good …
I spend a number of days per week alongside the lakefront within the summertime, whether or not it’s on the seaside or wandering across the Montrose Level Chook Sanctuary. So I’m questioning, what’s your favourite spot to hang around alongside Lake Michigan?
Paul writes:
“On the very finish of Navy Pier. Stunning views plus a Bob Newhart statue the place you may think about his ‘Dr. Bob Hartley’ character listening to your issues!”
Kathy writes:
“Illinois Seashore State Park. It was the state’s first devoted nature protect and is the go-to spot for devoted birders and naturalists.”
Be at liberty to e-mail me, and your response could also be included within the e-newsletter this week.
