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A Providence St. Mel student lands perfect ACT score
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FREE Vol. 36 No. 9
March 2, 2022
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State mask mandate lifted But exceptions linger, most notably in Chicago Public Schools By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
On Monday, the statewide indoor mask mandate ended, with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle both agreeing to follow Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s lead and end city and county-wide mandates, as well. State and local officials also ended the vaccination card mandates, which required anyone seeking to dine in restaurants, exercise in gyms and patronize entertainment venues, among other places, to present proof of their vaccination status. In addition, weekly testing for employees covered by the mandate was also lifted. In a statement on Feb. 25, Pritzker said the decision to end the mandates comes as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to decrease across the state, while the availability of ICU beds steadily increases. Since the governor announced earlier this month that he would lift the indoor mask requirement, “the number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 has been cut in half and the number of ICU beds available increased by 24%. Illinois’ weekly COVID-19 case rate has also decreased by 70%,” state officials said. “More than 8 million people in Illinois are fully vaccinated with an average of approximately 16,000 COVID-19 vaccines administered each day, including more than 4,600 first doses daily,” they added. “Today, our hospitals are much better positioned to handle emergencies and more than See MASK MANDATE on page 5
Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Precious and Vetress Boyce pose for a photo at Boyce Enterprise Beauty Supply, 3722 W. 16th St., in North Lawndale on Feb. 16, 2022.
West Side native opens beauty supply shop in Lawndale
Vetress Boyce’s Boyce Enterprise Beauty Supply is the community’s only Black-owned beauty supply store By PASCAL SABINO Block Club News
Beauty supply stores that specialize in selling hair are staples in Chicago’s Black communities. But until recently, none of the shops in North Lawndale were Black-owned. West Side native Vetress Boyce changed that when she opened
Boyce Enterprise Beauty Supply late last year at 3722 W. 16th St. Like other Black entrepreneurs, she had to overcome gatekeeping and discrimination to break into the ultra-competitive hair industry, where supply is dominated by Korean companies. Across the country, an estimated 20 percent of beauty supply shops catering to Black customers are Black-owned, said Sam Ennon, founder of the Black Owned Beauty Supply Association. “It’s very similar to real estate, where there’s redlining and blockbusting,” Boyce said. “If these companies won’t give African American businesses access to a product that we’re the No. 1 consumers of, it’s a problem. It’s a serious problem.” Natural and synthetic hair — which can be used for braids, See BEAUTY on page 4
RICHELLE M.
CHI.GOV/REALSTORIES