Mayor Lori Lightfoot did not respond to a question from WTTW News about whether she thought it was appropriate for her appointees to reject the inspector general’s recommendation to fire an employee of the Chicago Department of Public Health and punish two other employees of the Department of Buildings responsible for approving and overseeing the implosion of the smokestack.

Each business was issued two citations, which will trigger a hearing before fines ranging between $100 and $10,000 can be imposed.

The first report from interim Inspector General William Marback disclosed that Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration declined to fire an employee of the Chicago Department of Public Health or punish two other employees of the Department of Buildings responsible for approving and overseeing the implosion of the smokestack.

Irish eyes will be smiling in March as all three of Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day parades are set to return after a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As COVID-19 hospitalizations surge, more than 2,000 health care workers will be sent to hospitals to help care for those who are ill. 

“I fear the climb will continue” with the surge accelerated by post-holiday gathering infections, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday.

Many, including doctors, are still searching for treatment for people whose symptoms continue more than a month after being infected and answers about persistent symptoms.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers showed nearly a six-fold increase in omicron’s share of infections in only one week.

The $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill includes $15 billion to fund lead service replacement efforts, and $3 billion will flow to states and cities in 2022, officials announced.

The city’s public health department has been distributing the tests since October to try and reduce the number of deaths due to the drug. The city has distributed somewhere between 14-1500 kits.

The White House on Wednesday insisted there is no need for a lockdown because vaccines are widely available and appear to offer protection against the worst consequences of the virus. 

Earlier in the pandemic, the program began by focusing on contact tracing. But it has since expanded to meet other needs – like scheduling vaccine appointments and working the city’s COVID-19 hotline. 

The nation’s COVID-19 death toll stands at around 800,000 as the anniversary of the U.S. vaccine rollout arrives. A year ago, it stood at 300,000. 

Dr. Allison Arwady said “preliminary conversations” were taking place with representatives of business groups about requiring proof of vaccination or a negative test for diners or revelers, but no decision had been made.

“We’re coming together with one simple message: the time to get your shot is now,” said Dr. Claudia Fegan, chief medical officer of Cook County Health.

U.S. health officials on Tuesday gave the final signoff to Pfizer’s kid-size COVID-19 shot, a major expansion of the nation’s vaccination campaign.