Appeals court rules against Pritzker’s school mask mandate. A mask melee in the general assembly. Lightfoot’s gang ordinance moves forward. And another Chicago alderman found guilty in federal court.

Officials with the Chicago Department of Public Health rejected the permit because of the “potential adverse changes in air quality and quality of life that would be caused by operations, and health vulnerabilities in the surrounding communities.” 

The ruling declared the governor’s appeal moot because a General Assembly committee declined on Tuesday to reissue rules from the Illinois Department of Health requiring masks to be worn in school buildings. 

As a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine looms, residents in the neighborhood are feeling the impact acutely. Many have family still living in Ukraine and feel limited in what they are able to do to help them.

Early this week, a city assessment said the proposed Southside Recycling plant would not have an adverse effect on resident’s health. But advocates, who’ve been protesting the plant, disagree.

Biden’s March 1 address to Congress will play out against what Vice President Kamala Harris has called a “malaise” over the persistence of COVID and growing public impatience to get back to normal after two years of pandemic restrictions.

City officials said they would announce no later than Sunday whether they will issue the final permit Southside Recycling needs to start operations.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House briefing that the government is contemplating a change to its mask guidance in the coming weeks.

Local advocates say so-called safe injection sites – safe havens for people to use drugs with protections against fatal overdoses – are crucial, especially with a rise in overdoses amid the pandemic.

The families and a survivor of the shooting sued Remington in 2015, saying the company should have never sold such a dangerous weapon to the public. They said their focus was on preventing future mass shootings by forcing gun companies to be more responsible with their products and how they market them.

Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly lost his job after failing to move decisively against the bumper-to-bumper demonstration by hundreds of truck drivers. The protests by the so-called Freedom Convoy have infuriated many residents, who have complained of being harassed and intimidated on the streets.

Revealing that they’ve been the victim of a sexual assault is a frightening task for any survivor.And if a private insurer is billed for the cost of treatment, family members may learn about the attack through insurance documents.

The new book “Love in the Time of Contagion: A Diagnosis” explores the lockdown experiences of singles and couples and new approaches to love, intimacy and vulnerability.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot declined Monday to say whether the city is on track to lift its mask mandate along with the state or lift the vaccine mandate for patrons of restaurants, fitness centers and bars on Feb. 28.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the statewide mask mandate for most indoor public spaces will be lifted at the end of February. Despite the ongoing court challenge to the school mask mandate, it will remain in place for now. 

Friday, the FDA reversed course and said it had become clear the agency needed to wait for data on how well a third shot works for the youngest age group. Pfizer said in a statement that it expected the data by early April.