🌱 COVID Surge Continues + Lakeview Couple Wins Wedding Lottery

Happy new year, Lakeview! It’s great to be back bringing you the news. Let’s get to everything you might have missed over the holiday weekend.

First, today's weather: Breezy and not as cold. High: 37 Low: 25.

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Here are the top stories today in Lakeview:

1. Chicago and Cook County are now enforcing proof of vaccination requirements at indoor businesses. Beginning yesterday, patrons older than age five will be required to show valid COVID-19 vaccine proof upon entering restaurants, entertainment venues and gyms. (NBC)

2. Illinois set a record Friday for the highest number of reported COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began: 31,461. More than 20,800 cases were reported yesterday. (ABC)

3. The Chicago Teachers Union could vote today to switch to remote learning at the city’s public schools amid the record-breaking virus surge. Chicago Public Schools returned to in-person class yesterday despite widespread issues with the district’s testing program. (Block Club)

4. Four men robbed a store Sunday night in the 3100 block of North Clark. According to Chicago police, they smashed the register and fled south on Clark with stolen cash. No one is in custody. (CBS)

5. Jake Harris and Justin Luna of Lakeview were the first couple in Cook County to get married in 2022. Their Zoom wedding was held Monday morning after they won a lottery to be the county’s first wedding of the year, officiated by Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough. (Patch)

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Today in Lakeview:

• Chicago Northside AARP Community Group meets at Third Space. (12:30 p.m.)
• “A Very Cajun Christmas” Happy Hour continues at Nola Bar & Kitchen through Jan. 20. (4 p.m.)
• “The Tragedy of Macbeth” screens at Music Box Theatre. (4:30 p.m.)
• Drive bumper cars on the Gallagher Way ice rink. (5 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• In case you missed it: a woman was beaten and robbed by a group of eight offenders on Dec. 29 in the 3200 block of North Sheffield. A second woman was attacked 30 minutes later at the CTA Red Line stop on Belmont. (ABC)
• Children ages 12-15 could have access to COVID-19 booster shots later this week, after the FDA approved the Pfizer booster for the age group. (Patch)
• Secretary of State Jesse White announced that all driver’s facilities in Illinois will be closed to in-person services through Jan. 17 due to the COVID-19 surge. (NBC)
• Former Lakeview pizzeria Kitchen 17 is getting an “upgrade” in its new Avondale location. (VegOut)

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That's all for today, Lakeview! See you tomorrow for more news.

— Georgi Presecky

About me: Georgi is a Chicago-based reporter with seven years of experience writing for entertainment-based publications. She represented FF2 Media for five years at film festivals across the U.S., from Sundance to Austin. Her feature articles have been recognized with awards from the Illinois Women's Press Association and National Federation of Press Women. As Editor-in-Chief of the Lewis University campus newspaper, she earned honors from The Associated Collegiate Press Association and American Scholastic Press Association. She began working for Patch in 2019.