Chicago cops must now follow the city’s vaccination mandate.

Wednesday, Arbitrator George Roumell, Jr. denied police union grievances against Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s vaccine requirement for all city workers.

The decision calls for police department employees to be vaccinated for the first time in March 13 and a second hit before April 13.

• Catholic schools are going mask-optional from Monday. The Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Chicago. Greg Richmond said in a letter to parents that the mask requirement was waived due to low infection rates and advice from medical advisers. (Room)
• The federal government raided the North Side’s LabElite coronavirus testing operation on Wednesday.. The FBI confirmed that agents were conducting law enforcement activities authorized by the court. A LabElite spokesperson said the company is cooperating with investigators. (CBS2)
• City Hall is ending its contract with an upscale hotel that housed Chicago’s homeless during the pandemic. Journalist Mariah Woelfel spoke to people who called Hotel Julian home during the coronavirus crisis. (WBEZ)
• Four aldermen have delayed city council’s vote on a proposed police misconduct bylaw worth nearly $1.7 million. City attorneys say they have a less than 10% chance of winning a lawsuit filed after police were seen on video shooting a car by the hair at the Brickyard Mall in 2020. (Patch)
• Chicago’s restaurant and bar scene has garnered 15 James Beard Award nominations. Among the highlights: Filipino hot spot Kasama in West Town was nominated for Best New Restaurant. (Eater)

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About me: Mark Konkol, 2011 Pulitzer Prize winner for local reporting, wrote and produced the Peabody Award-winning series Time: The Kalief Browder Story. He was producer, writer and narrator for the CNN docuseries “Chicagoland” and consulting producer for the Showtime documentary “16 Shots.”