Hey there! It’s Friday! We did it! (Hits button that drops balloons, bags of Funyuns and John Wick DVDs from the ceiling.) Here’s what you need to know today.

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1. Lightfoot faces growing criticism over the direction of the Chicago Police Department

Three controversial stories crashed into each other this week and have put Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the leadership of the Chicago Police Department on the defensive.

The biggest news was a scathing report on the Police Department’s handling of last year’s unrest. Inspector General Joseph Ferguson, the top government watchdog at City Hall, found that the Department was so unprepared for the mass demonstrations that it endangered the safety of protesters and officers.

Now, some aldermen want to hold hearings and get answers from Lightfoot and Police Superintendent David Brown. According to Ferguson’s report, Brown repeatedly underestimated the potential for violence and looting last spring. [Chicago Sun-Times]

The report coincides with a push to create civilian oversight of the Police Department. Some aldermen are outraged that a committee meeting scheduled for today was canceled at the request of Lightfoot, who wants to introduce her own plan. Many City Council members have blasted Lightfoot for interfering in the process at the last minute.

“I think people across the city should question really what kind of confidence there is in the executive branch to have any say in the accountability of police officers, especially in light of the report from the inspector general,” Ald. Andre Vasquez told the Chicago Tribune. [Trib]

And then there’s the news that Lightfoot used $281.5 million in federal pandemic funds to cover payroll costs at the Police Department. Some aldermen and activists said that money should have gone to things like housing relief and small business aid.

Lightfoot today defended the decision by saying it saved taxpayers millions of dollars. [Tribune]

2. Chicago reports improvements in closing racial gap in vaccinations

About 50% of first doses have gone to Black and Latinx residents in recent weeks, Mayor Lightfoot’s office said today. That’s a significant improvement from the 18% reported in December.

The news comes as the city expands access to vaccines in vulnerable areas of the city that have been hit especially hard during the pandemic. Lightfoot touted those efforts, but said the city still has a “long way to go.” [Chicago Sun-Times]

More good news is coming in about one of the leading COVID-19 vaccines.

A study in Israel found that the first shot of the Pfizer vaccine remains effective from 15 to 28 days later. The finding could cause officials to expand access to vaccines by moving away from a strict schedule for administering second doses. [Baltimore Sun]

Meanwhile, the White House today said this week’s bad weather has delayed the delivery of 6 million doses. [Washington Post]

3. Biden tells world leaders that “America is back”

President Joe Biden today essentially declared the end to former President Donald Trump’s “America First” doctrine during a virtual address to world leaders at the annual Munich Security Conference.

Biden touted the importance of alliances and urged world leaders to show that “democracies can still deliver.”

“America is back, the transatlantic alliance is back, and we are not looking backward. We are looking forward together,” Biden said.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration says it’s ready to meet with Iran and European partners to “discuss a diplomatic way forward on Iran’s nuclear program.” [NPR]

4. A record number of Black residents died from suicide last year in Cook County

Ninety-seven Black residents in Cook County died by suicide in 2020, the most in more than a decade, according to an investigation by The Trace and the Chicago Sun-Times.

The rise comes after the county reported a nine-year low of 56 suicides in 2019. And rise also came as suicides among white residents fell to a near-decade low, the investigation found.

The troubling numbers raise questions about city and county efforts to improve suicide prevention programs after The Trace and the Sun-Times initially reported on the uptick in July. [Chicago Sun-Times]

5. People find new ways to get from downtown to O’Hare

First it was Elon Musk’s super-fast pod train. Now there’s “urban air mobility,” also known as a helicopter.

New York-based company Blade announced this week that it’s partnering up with a downtown heliport to provide air taxi services as soon as this summer, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Blade CEO Rob Wiesenthal told the Trib that prices have not been set, but rides in New York are about $95 per person. Aside from O’Hare, other possible destinations include Lake Geneva, Wis., and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. [Tribune]

Here’s what else is happening

• While power is being restored in Texas, millions of residents are without water. [NPR]
• Uber drivers must be treated as employees, the U.K. Supreme Court ruled. [BBC]
• Many Chicago parents, especially in Black families, say they don’t trust the school district enough to send their kids back. [WBEZ]
• Here’s some nightmare fuel. [AP]

Oh, and one more thing …

Cue up some David Bowie because we got a robot on Mars!

NASA released images of its Perseverance rover touching down on the red planet yesterday, and it’s pretty cool. The rover is now embarking on a quest to gather rocks that could shed light on whether life once existed on Mars.

The rover’s landing comes as China and the United Arab Emirates each have spacecrafts in orbit around Mars to study the planet. [BBC]

Tell me something good …

I’m going to do something different this week: What questions do you have for me?

Michael writes:

“Very simple. How are you doing?”

That’s very kind of you to ask. Honestly, I’m like everyone else I know. I’m tired of this pandemic and generally feeling burnt out.

But my daily affirmation is reminding myself that Michelle Pfeiffer did the mannequins scene in Batman Returns in one take. If she can do that, we got this!

Felipe writes:

“You often playfully swipe at WBEZ’s official location in Navy Pier. If you had your druthers, where would you rather have the location, assuming working from home is not an option?”

Navy Pier is the closest you can get to downtown and still be nowhere. If it were up to me, anywhere that’s not literally on Lake Michigan and within reasonable walking distance from society.

Renuka writes:

“Tell us what your first day at WBEZ was like.”

I got sick and ended up going home during my first week at the station.

Thanks for all the questions this week! I’m sorry I couldn’t get to everyone, but maybe we’ll do this again soon.

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