By Sidney Madden | @sidney_madden_

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😷 CHANGING MASK, VAX RULES

The city is set to lift its mask and proof-of-vaccine mandates Monday. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot is following Gov. JB Pritzker’s lead, who is ending the state’s mask requirement the same day. 

But don’t throw away your masks: They’ll still be required on public transit and in health care facilities, and businesses can keep both requirements at their establishments. 

The change comes as other states relax their mask rules and as a legal battle over masks in schools has led more than 80% of Illinois’ school districts to go mask-optional. But not in CPS. 

CPS will keep all COVID safety measures in place after Feb. 28. Read our statement: pic.twitter.com/0IenHbAGHd

— CPS – Chicago Public Schools (@ChiPubSchools) February 22, 2022

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🛒 GROCERY STORES REIMAGINED

Nearly 20% of people in the Chicago area were food insecure in late 2020, with rates higher in Latinx and Black communities, according to the city. But could different grocery store models change that? 

City-owned market in West Garfield Park?

The city could acquire a now-vacant Aldi in the West Side neighborhood pending a City Council vote today and if the discount supermarket chain fails to sell the $700,000 building to a new grocer. There are no grocery stores currently operating in the area after Aldi closed its doors in the fall and Save-A-Lot failed a health inspection. 

🎧 WBEZ’s Linda Lutton and community leader TJ Crawford tell City Cast about the fight for accessible food and what residents want.

Community-run market in Englewood 

Go Green Community Fresh Market is set to open March 8. Run by community org Inner-City Muslim Action Network, the market will have fresh produce from local vendors, meals from South Side restaurants, and workers from the neighborhood, according to The Triibe. 

👉 Donate to help get the market up and running.

Rogers Park co-op 

Wild Onion Market signed a lease at a Rogers Park storefront to serve residents on the far North Side. A decade in the making, the grocery store and cafe will likely open late 2022 or early 2023, Block Club Chicago reported. 

📋 Join 1,000+ members and become an owner.

Want to learn more about food insecurity in Chicago? Attend the city’s annual food justice summit through Friday.

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📰 NEWSFEED

▪️ The family of a veteran who killed herself in a Greater Grand Crossing holding cell is suing the city and police department for failing to get her mental health help. [WBEZ]

▪️ City Clerk Anna Valencia has another big name backing her in the Secretary of State race: Pritzker. Jesse White endorsed her last week. [Crain’s Chicago]

▪️ Learn about the long history of segregation in the city with a new docuseries that premiered earlier this week. [WTTW]

▪️ CTA released its plan to convert all 1,800+ of its buses to electric by 2040.

▪️ Familiarize yourself with the Great Chicago Soup Scandal 🤯

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🎉 MOMENT OF JOY 

Hope Chicago is giving 1,800 students at Benito Juarez High School in Pilsen and Al Raby High School in Garfield Park full rides to college. 

But it doesn’t stop there. The nonprofit is giving full scholarships to FOUR more schools on the South, Southwest, and West Sides later this week. Which ones? We don’t know yet. 

By the end of the week, 4,000 students will be given the awards! 

👉 Donate if you can.