Chicago City Wire

Mask mandates and vaccine requirements will be a thing of the past at certain indoor spaces in Chicago by the end of the month, a move Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) credited to a declining number of positive cases.

Lightfoot's announcement on Twitter followed a similar announcement made by Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) earlier this month, who promised to lift the statewide indoor mask mandate, with the exception of schools, on Feb. 28, according to NBC 5 Chicago.  

"Folks, thanks to the ongoing progress we're making coming out of the #Omicron surge, we'll remove the mask mandate and vax requirement for certain public locations on February 28," Lightfoot wrote in a series of tweets on Feb. 22. "This decision is in alignment with the State's plans to lift the statewide indoor mask mandate on the same day. To be clear, masks will continue to be required in congregate spaces, per federal mandates and @CDCgov guidance. There are a number of people we have to thank for getting us to this point, including @DrArwady and her team. As we work toward this transition, please remember to be kind to your fellow Chicagoans. If folks prefer to continue wearing a mask, that's ok. There are a number of considerations that can impact this decision. Stay safe."

Cook County has required customers to show proof of vaccination status for businesses where food and drinks are served since Jan. 3, the Cook County Public Health website states.

As of late February, Illinois was one of four states in the country that had a mask mandate in place, according to AARP. The other states included Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii. 

In January, The Brownstone Institute released a study using COVID data from every state beginning at the start of the pandemic in March 2020 through April 2021. The study ranked each governor based on strictness and effectiveness of their attempts to slow the spread of the virus. Pritzker was ranked among the worst and given a "complete fail" along with other several other Democratic governors including Andrew Cuomo (NY), Phil Murphy (NJ), Gabin Newsom (CA), Gretchen Whitmer (MI), and Tom Wolf (PA).