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A girl gets vaccinated Friday at Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet High School, one of more than 20 city schools offering pediatric vaccines to newly eligible kids between the ages of 5 and 11. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and her wife, Amy Eshleman, got their booster shots Friday alongside a bunch of newly vaccine- eligible children.

The background noise at a busy pediatric vaccination site where Mayor Lori Lightfoot held a news conference Friday could be gut-wrenching at times.

Sobs, whimpers and the occasional scream of “No!” from fearful kids punctuated the gathering at Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet High School.

Children ages 5 to 11 — who just became eligible for the jab — were then offered a Band-Aid and a cupcake.

The noise, however stressful for everyone in the room, was a sort of music to the ears of Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady.

It meant kids were getting vaccinated and contributing to a bump in vaccinations that has reached 10,000 a day — the highest number of daily vaccinations since last June.

“The numbers are increasing beautifully,” she said.

And there’s no time to spare.

“We are, as of today, averaging 414 new cases of COVID in Chicago … an increase of 24% from just a week ago,” Arwady said.

“I worry that as these holidays are coming we’re going to see more of a surge,” she said.

Lightfoot echoed the concern as she and her wife, Amy Eshleman, rolled up their sleeves to get a booster shot at the vaccination site in front of news cameras.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Mayor Lori Lightfoot gets a booster shot Friday.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said the moment presented a “magic period” where kids and families were able to be vaccinated before the holidays.

CPS canceled classes Friday and city workers got two hours of paid time off to allow time for vaccinations.

Vaccinations were being offered at more than 20 schools, said Martinez, who emphasized that inoculation was the best way to tamp down on classroom quarantines that can result in frustrating bouts of remote learning.

He said there will not be another day off to allow kids to get their second dose.

Martinez said there will be outreach to the families of kids who haven’t been vaccinated. He noted the city will begin visiting homes Monday to offer at-home vaccinations.

Marcia Kay, 37, said her appointment Friday to inoculate her daughters Mina, 9, and Brea, 8, went pretty smooth.

She thought an ice cream bribe would help mitigate anxiety and tears. It did not.

Sebastian Northrop, 6, stood next to his mom, Angela, and said he got the shot “so I could keep my sister safe.”

She’s 3, he said.

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Cicero is one of the closest suburbs to the city and the only incorporated town in Cook County. As one of the oldest and largest municipalities in Illinois, the town is filled with colorful histories. While the western suburb is primarily associated with manufacturing, you may be drawn to nearby attractions like Columbus Park, Oak Park Conservatory, or Hawthorne Race Course. And if you’ve worked up an appetite after all the exploration, we’ve got you covered with some of the best restaurants in Cicero, IL to visit for lunch and dinner.

4700 W Cermak Rd, Cicero, IL 60804

This popular restaurant in Cicero, IL has been serving Italian classics in the area since 1953. Scatchell’s is an iconic neighborhood restaurant with signage that lights up the town and a menu that will satisfy your hungry appetite.

In addition, since Scatchell’s is a member of the Vienna Beef Hot Dog Hall of Fame, so the Polish Dog is a must. If that’s not enough, the menu also has their famed Italian beef sandwiches, pizza, and other fast-food eats.

1600 S 61st Ave, Cicero, IL 60804

Since 1968, Freddy’s has been an old school, family-owned, and operated Italian market and deli. It’s a treasured spot in Cicero and well-loved for its squares of thick-crust pizza.

The menu also features pastas, salads, sandwiches, and classic desserts like gelato and Italian ice. If you can’t get enough of the sweets, you can even order quarts to take home.

4836 W Cermak Rd, Cicero, IL 60804

Feast on traditional Mexican fare and wash it down with fresh margaritas. First opened in 1975 with just eight dining tables, Cocula has expanded to six different locations in the Chicagoland area today, including Cicero. The menu at this restaurant offers classic Mexican breakfast items, like Chilaquiles, and has all your favorites for lunch and dinner, including tacos, tortas, and tostadas.

6031 Ogden Ave, Cicero, IL 60804

If you’re driving down Historic Route 66, make a pit stop at Henry’s Drive-In to field up for the road. This restaurant in Cicero, IL is famous for its hot dogs and has served classic fast food since 1950. For something unique, try the BLT Dog, a deep-fried hot dog wrapped in bacon. Then, finish the meal with a delicious shake, slushee, or malt!

5960 Ogden Ave, Cicero, IL 60804

This cash-only spot serves up casual Mexican staples like tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and enchiladas. Open late, Mr. Taco is perfect for those late-night cravings or after a few rounds. Try customer favorites like the steak tacos and quesadillas and pair it with a fresh cup of horchata.

5647 Ogden Ave, Cicero, IL 60804

5556 W 26th St, Cicero, IL 60804

5601 W Roosevelt Rd, Cicero, IL 60804

Steak’n Egger is a 24-hour restaurant with various locations in Cicero, IL that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The family-run restaurant has served the Chicagoland area since 1955 for three generations. There are a total of seven locations, with three in Cicero alone.

From pancakes and omelettes to burgers and homemade chili, you can have it all in one place! Try the customer favorite Big Boy Sandwich, a half-pound chopped steak on Texas toast with fries.

6043 Roosevelt Rd, Cicero, IL 60804

Lucky Dog is a family business that first opened in 1984 in Melrose Park. It has since expanded to Cicero and Berwyn and all locations serve their signature hot dogs, Italian beef, gyros, and other late-night grub. The eatery adds a homemade touch to every menu item and serves generous portions, so come hungry!

Featured Image Credit: Freddy’s Pizza

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Tea’s great year-round, but nothing is as comforting as a cup of tea when the temperatures drop. Fortunately, Chicago delivers these cozy feels with both casual and fancy tea shops for you to enjoy everything from greens to blacks. Below are eight of our picks for a nice spot of tea.

1802 S Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60616

TeaPotBrew Bakery is “where flavor and love meet.” The team puts all their love and passion into their food and service. This near South Side tea shop and bakery serves freshly baked desserts in small batches and has a big selection of teas outside the standards, like Chocolate Chai, Cinnamon Plum, and White Peony.

The bakery has a hip aesthetic with wide-open doors and an outside seating area in front of their mural of delectable drinks and treats.

1453 W Taylor St, Chicago, IL 60607

Living Water Tea House is a contemporary East Asian tea parlor in Little Italy. More than just a tea house, Living Water also offers one-hour tea ceremony classes.

This tea shop in Chicago sources all tea leaves from East Asia, bringing authentic flavors and recipes to the city. The open and calming space also serves East Asian style pastries like cotton cheesecakes that pair perfectly with your choice of tea.

5842 N Broadway, Chicago, IL 60660

This casual, modern Indian bistro in Edgewater serves a seasonal menu combining American cuisine with Indian heritage. Mango Pickle’s offerings include supper events, cooking classes, at-home catering, and weekend cafe fare.

Mango Pickle has occasional High Chai events with tea-time snacks and Bombay Masala Chai, a great way to relax in the middle of the day.

630 W Lake St, Chicago, IL 60661

Located in the West Loop, Kumiko is a Japanese dining bar specializing in creative bites and beverages. This bar or shop in Chicago has a hip and modern aesthetic that matches its offerings, like Japan’s finest saké or the Uni Toast.

Kumiko’s café menu offers a variety of Japanese and herbal teas as well as specialty serves, like the Hibiscus Matcha Latte. Enjoy in a warm and welcoming space!

1816 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

For an elevated tea experience, visit Hugo Tea Space in Bucktown. This tea shop has limited seating reserved for in-house gongfu sessions and private tastings, but offers to-go signature drinks as well.

A gongfu session is Hugo’s take on modern tea service, inspired by the team’s time in the tea houses of Kunming and Kyoto. You can book individual or shared tea sessions led by a teatender.

108 E Superior St, Chicago, IL 60611

Before you take on the Magnificent Mile for some retail therapy, stop by the Peninsula Hotel for its signature Afternoon Tea service. Served in the heart of the hotel, The Lobby, this Chicago favorite is the perfect way to treat yourself. 

Afternoon Tea is available Fridays through Sundays, with reservation slots at 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Indulge in a seasonal menu of tea, tea sandwiches, and desserts in a luxurious space—reservations for adults also include one glass of champagne! Afternoon Tea is $125 per adult and $55 per child.

77 E Adams St, Chicago, IL 60603

Located in the Loop, Russian Tea Time offers Afternoon Tea and Samovar Service all day from Tuesdays to Sundays. Choose from Regular Tea ($34.95) or Queen Tea ($54.95) tiers, both including a pot of tea and assorted tea sandwiches, mini sweets, and other delicacies.

Desserts like eclairs and medovik, or honey cake, can also be ordered as add-ons. If you’re looking for more unique tea blends not included in the service, this tea shop in Chicago boasts a wide selection of premium teas, like Caramel Apple, Luscious Lychee, and Cream Oolong. 

203 N Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60601

Sip, sip, hooray! Leave it to Virgin Hotels to bring a little party to tea time. The Loop hotel offers two approaches to high tea: $35 for regular and $45 for the hard stuff, with a choice between Warm Boozy Tea or Chilled Champagne Tea. Sweet and elegant tea bites accompany all tea services.

Located at the Commons Club, the second-floor bar and restaurant inside the hotel, Upside Down Tea Party is open for reservations Saturdays 2-5 p.m.

Featured Image Credit: Hugo Tea Space

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There’s no reason to stay cooped up all winter! While Chicago winters make it tempting to be a couch potato until spring, the Windy City has no shortage of fun indoor and outdoor activities for all ages. Here are 10 of our favorite winter activities in Chicago you should try this year to have an active and fun winter!

5700 S Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, IL 60637

WHEN: Nov. 17 – Jan. 3

Christmas Around the World and Holidays of Light at the Museum of Science and Industry is a one-of-a-kind experience. The Christmas exhibit began with a single tree in 1942 and has since grown into a forest of more than 50 trees and displays decorated to represent the holiday traditions and cultures around the world.

This year’s theme is the golden age of travel with a spotlight on the museum’s Pioneer Zephyr train and Take Flight’s 727. Patrons can also visit and pose with Santa in a festive photo studio in the museum’s holiday store. Tickets are available now. Don’t miss the lighting of the museum’s four-story Grand Tree on Nov. 17!

201 E Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60602

WHEN: Nov. 19 thru Jan. 9

The Tree Lighting Ceremony for Chicago’s official Christmas tree was virtual in 2020, but returns for in-person dazzling Friday, Nov. 19. If you are looking for things to do in the city for the winter season, the ceremony starts at 6 p.m. with the actual lighting occurring at approximately 6:30 p.m. Fireworks and a special concert headlined by singer-songwriter Brian McKnight will follow at 6:35 p.m.

This year, the event has been reimagined and expanded. There will be multiple viewing locations with screens and concessions across the park and a main stage on the Great Lawn. If you miss the ceremony, the 51-foot Blue Spruce will still be shining brightly daily until Jan. 9.

337 E Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60601

WHEN: Nov. 19 – Mar. 13

One of the joys of winter in Chicago is outdoor ice skating—it’s a classic snow globe scenario after all! Nothing beats the skating ribbon at Maggie Daley Park, where you’ll get city views and a quarter-mile path to loop around.

This season has a nice bonus with Gogh Skating, a Vincent van Gogh experience brought to you by Immersive Van Gogh and the Chicago Park District. Immersive Van Gogh had a successful exhibit in Chicago this year and although its stop in the city ended in September, the magic continues on the skating ribbon.

The themed experience lets skaters glide across Van Gogh-inspired visuals, like “Starry Night” and “Sunflowers.” Reserve your spot today!

50 W Washington St, Chicago, IL 60602

3635 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60613

WHEN:

Christkindlmarket Chicago, Nov. 19 – Dec. 24
Christkindlmarket Wrigleyville, Nov. 19 – Dec. 31

Christkindlmarket offers a unique holiday shopping experience for residents in Chicago with tents selling crepes, bratwurst, fresh pretzels, ornaments, and other festive gifts all in an open-air market. This traditional winter holiday market is one of the most authentic of its kind outside of Europe.

This year celebrates Christkindlmarket’s 25th anniversary and the debut of special annual mugs and a new ornament. Fill your mugs with mulled wine and cheer on the start of the holiday season!

2200 N Cannon Dr, Chicago, IL 60614

WHEN: Nov. 19 thru Jan. 2

This fun, family-friendly Chicago tradition features hundreds of dynamic LED displays and dazzling lights in the shape of animals, trees, and more to create a twinkling winter wonderland.

There are also festive events like visits with Santa, a holiday pop-up bar, an enchanted forest, a light maze, and concerts. Reservations are required and tickets are available now—Mondays and Tuesdays are free!

201 E Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60602

WHEN: Nov. 26 thru Dec. 17

Put your karaoke chops to the test with the new Millennium Park Holiday Sing-Along series, previously “Caroling at Cloud Gate.” The winter event in Chicago has been reimagined to be more inclusive of different backgrounds, cultures, and holiday music traditions.

Sing your heart out before Happy Hour Fridays at 6:00 pm, Nov. 26 to Dec. 17, and Sunday, Dec. 12.

WHEN: Dec. 11

TBOX, the world’s largest holiday bar crawl, returns in December for its 25th anniversary. This Chicago party tradition has hardcore partiers travel through 30 Wrigleyville bars from 10:30 am to 7:00 pm. Additionally, to make up for its 2020 hiatus, this year’s TBOX theme is “Back to the 90s” with a celebration of the music, fashion, movies, and culture of everything from the decade. 

Get your tickets now—proceeds support local Chicago and Lakeview charities as well as The Lakeview East Community Partnership.

3540 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60657

WHEN: Feb. 19

Who strips down to their underwear in the dead of winter and runs? Every February, thousands across the U.S. do. Cupid’s Undie Run supports those affected by neurofibromatosis, a rare genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body.

This mile(ish) run starts with drinking and dancing at Sluggers World Class Sports Bar and ends with a dance party to get your body heat rising. Registration is now open.

1415 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607

The Winter Olympics aren’t until February, but you can channel your inner athlete with outdoor curling right in the city. Kaiser Tiger has three ice curling lanes in their spacious beer garden.

The sausage, bacon, and beer-focusing gastropub has hearty eats and tons of brews on tap to keep you warm all winter long.

1410 Special Olympics Dr, Chicago, IL 60605

We may be in the flat Midwest, but you can still catch some thrilling heights right here in the city. The Soldier Field Sledding Hill located on parkland outside the stadium features a 33-foot slope with city views.

The Chicago Park District even makes faux snow when there isn’t enough, so you’ll always be whooshing down a white and fluffy hill. Snowball fights, snowmen, and snow angels are also welcome—just watch out for the sleds!

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Isabella Andrews (from left), Nicole Cready, Alexis J. Roston and Leah Morrow star in “Sister Act” at the Mercury Theater. | Brett Beiner Photography

Based on the 1992 movie of the same name, the Mercury Theater’s production goes down as easy as cotton candy. But it’s cotton candy as served by a Michelin-starred restaurant.

“Sister Act” is musical theater comfort food. It makes no intellectual demands. The songs are eminently hummable.

And the plot is a markedly inane: When mobbed-up nightclub singer Deloris Van Cartier accidentally stumbles onto a murder scene, she’s forced hide in a struggling Philadelphia convent. Shenanigans ensue.

Based on the 1992 movie of the same name, the musical, running through Jan. 2 at the Mercury Theater, goes down as easy as cotton candy. But it’s cotton candy as served by a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Directed by Reneisha Jenkins, “Sister Act” hinges on questions with obvious answers: Can Deloris (Alexis J. Roston) turn a bevy of tone-deaf sisters into a supergroup that’ll pack the pews enough to save their church from closing? Will the endlessly disapproving Mother Superior (Jane Grebeck-Brewer) come to appreciate Deloris’ flashy ways and craven desire for cheesesteak? Will the nuns zhuzh up their habits by covering them in sparkles? Does anything rhyme with “transubstantiate”? Can nuns credibly rap?

Spoiler alert: This is comedy, not tragedy. Verily does it follow that in less time than it takes to deliver your average homily, Deloris has the nuns singing in righteous harmony and shaking it “like Mary Magdalene” (Glenn Slater’s lyrics are wholly hilarious as they pivot between pious and party).

Alan Menken’s score draws on the sacred and the profane, moving from hymn to hedonism without missing a beat. The songs aren’t complicated, but music director Diana Lawrence has the cast taking that simplicity and rendering it showstopping. Bookwriters Bill and Cheri Steinkellne and Douglas Carter Beane fill the space between the music with humor — including a narcoleptic shout-out to Barabbas.

As Deloris, Roston owns the stage from the opening number through the finale. Her nightclub banger “Take Me to Heaven” is a star turn, and her earnest delivery of the 11th-hour title tune is a moving ode to female friendship.

Brett Beiner Photography
Alexis J. Roston (right, front) leads the cast of “Sister Act” in a rousing turn on “Take Me to Heaven.”

Grebeck-Brewer makes an adequate foil as an old-school Mother Superior who sees cheesesteak as a stepping stone toward Sodom and Gomorrah levels of debauchery.

The gangster trio (Austin Nelson Jr., Marcus Jackson and Ruben Castro) featured in “Lady in the Long Black Dress” delivers Barry White-smooth vocals paired with foxy moves (excellent work by choreographer Christopher Chase Carter) worthy of 1970s “Soul Train.”

Which brings us to Gilbert Domally as Eddie the detective. Domally’s “I Could Be That Guy” will tug on your heartstrings with its sweetness while simultaneously knocking your socks off with Carter’s timeless, groovy moves.

There are also not one but two marvelous costume reveals, courtesy of Marquecia Jordan’s tearaway creations.

Finally, let’s take a moment for the spiritual journeys of Monsignor O’Hara (Ed Kross) and Sister Mary Robert (Isabella Andrews). Once the monsignor’s sequined vestments appear in the second act’s “Fabulous Baby” reprise, Kross makes the stage his catwalk, stomping and prancing like he was just crowned America’s Next Drag Superstar. When Andrews’ Mary Robert steps into the light for soaring anthem “The Life I Never Lived,” the sound is positively heavenly.

Jenkins’ cast isn’t the most polished. But the actors bring joy and funk to spare to “Sister Act.” That’s all the show needs. Amen.

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