“…We have been made aware that some suburban park districts are now implementing COVID restrictions for children as a result of the new Cook County COVID Mandate,” Commissioner Sean Morrison said. “To be very clear, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle made the unilateral decision to implement these new COVID restrictions for Cook County. The Cook County Board of Commissioners played no role in this decision.”

As of Monday, there were more than 2,000 reports of sexual assault citywide so far this year, a total percentage increase of 28%.

Mr. Dad’s Father’s Club encourages fathers and positive male mentors to be actively involved in children’s lives through mentoring and literacy. “It’s important because our children need to see black and brown fathers, black men … represent that type of space,” founder and father of five Joseph Williams said.

The county is guided by three main principles for a countywide bike plan. One is to make cycling safer for people of all ages and abilities — from a child to an experienced rider. Another goal is to make it easier for people to ride their bikes instead of driving for everyday habits, like buying groceries and getting to work. And there’s a key focus on making biking more equitable.

Spokespeople for the city and state health departments said their agencies aren’t responsible for regulating the pop-ups, and those facilities aren’t recommended on the departments’ websites. But officials have suggested everyone, including fully vaccinated people, get tested before gathering for the holidays or if they think they’ve been exposed to COVID-19.

Streets and bridges in the Loop will close to all traffic as early as 11 p.m. on Friday and anticipate reopening at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday. Closures are subject to change if necessary due to public safety and operational needs.

CPS wanted parents to get the home test samples back to labs in enough time. Parents did their part, but FedEx boxes – and even shipping stores – were inundated with samples. It all made many question whether CPS was ready for what they themselves requested.

Nineteen of the city’s 22 police districts saw an increase in sexual assault reports this year compared to 2020. “We are seeing a lot more calls to hotlines, a lot more asks for trauma therapy, and so that could also be influenced by folks just having more exposure to those resources,” said Maggie Arthur, of Chicago-based Resilience, which has provided services to more than 2,500 survivors since the start of 2020. “Or that they’re actually experiencing harm at higher rates.”