Chicago City Wire

Chicago is requiring proof of vaccination for indoor public spaces like restaurants, bars, and gyms in response to the surge in COVID-19 and its variants.

The mandate announced by Mayor Lori Lightfoot took effect on Jan. 3 and requires anyone age 5 and older to show proof of full vaccination for what the mayor called a “response to an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases both locally and nationally driven in part by the omicron variant.”

The delta and now omicron variants have allowed the pandemic to endure for nearly three years. "New steps must be taken to protect the health and wellbeing of our residents,” Lightfoot said when she announced the mandate. “This public health order requiring proof of vaccination to visit certain indoor public places is a necessary measure to ensure we can continue to enjoy our city's many amenities as we enter the new year."

Anyone 16 and older must also provide identification that matches their vaccination record. Furthermore,  the employees at venues such as restaurants, bars, gyms, coffee shops, breweries, banquet halls, hotel ballrooms, fitness classes, movie theaters, concert venues, sports arenas, bowling alleys, and performing arts centers must either be vaccinated or wear a mask and show proof of weekly negative COVID-19 tests.

“Throughout the pandemic, businesses have shown their commitment to the health and safety of their employees and patrons by strictly following public health guidelines,” Lightfoot wrote on her Twitter account. “Do your part by getting vaccinated and help us put this pandemic in the past and move towards a new normal.”

Some black Chicago business owners fear the mandate could lead to a loss of revenue in their establishment. Blacks in Chicago have the lowest vaccination rates and those unvaccinated will not be allowed into indoor public places.

"I am not extremely mad at the mandate from a safety perspective, but yes there will be fewer bodies, meaning less revenue," Dave Jeff, owner of Alpha Space in South Loop, told ABC 7. "I think they're just going to stay at home,"

According to CBS2, the city sent a strong message the first week of the New Year by issuing 26 citations to 13 businesses for non-compliance with the new mandate. The Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection is responsible for enforcement of the mandate, issuing fines and evaluating licensing.