https://mailchi.mp/tomwoods/chicago?e=fa1aba8cd8

I’ve been wondering about what will happen with the various vaccine passport systems in certain American cities.

To me it’s obvious that they will harm business and undermine tourism. Supporters say they will benefit business because (ignorant) people will feel “safe” going to restaurants now.

Even if that were true, any gains would still be less than the loss in business, but I’m not even sure it is true: anyone who, two full years later, is still fearful of restaurants, is the kind of person who won’t go even with a vaccine passport system in place. After all, patrons remove their holy masks while eating!

Inside the Tom Woods Show Elite, someone shared what’s happening with the vaccine passport system in the Chicago area, and it sounds like good news to me:

I just listened to the latest episode with Lew Rockwell and based on what you mentioned about vax passports, wanted to shed some light on what’s happening in Chicago. I live just outside of the city limits of Chicago so I’m mostly impacted by the rules of the Cook County Health Dept, which are mostly the same.

Before the Cook County vax passport on everybody 5+ ever even took effect, they revised it to be 16+ for entertainment or fitness-related stuff. Only about a fourth of 5-11 year olds even in Cook County are “fully” vaccinated, so this was going to be a death blow to all child activities. I was in the process of calling all extracurriculars for my kids before the revision to pull out my kids, and they said they had been getting flooded with similar calls and didn’t know what they would do. I go to a small mom and pop gym, and when I called them to cancel my membership, they told me they would not be enforcing it — my first sign of hope.

Many cities surrounding the Chicago core in Cook County have outright defied the order and said they will leave it up to the Cook County Health Dept to enforce it, and in effect this means it’s flagrantly violated. Cook County and Chicago are trying their hardest to get people in line with violations, but the disobedience to the order is so widespread. I went to lunch downtown last week and despite the signs of the vax and mask requirements, I walked right in unmasked and didn’t hear a peep about any of it. Most people are just sick of this.

I’m trying to find a place to schedule my kids’ birthday party, and I’ll ask them up front — plenty in the defiant suburbs have told me they are not enforcing.

The places that do seem to be enforcing the order are all major chain businesses and restaurants or places with a heavy concentration of Branch Covidians. Portillos is a Chicago staple of a restaurant, and they are rigidly enforcing the order. When I went there with my family to test it, the restaurant was completely empty — unheard of on a Sunday afternoon. We went down the street to a small, family-owned restaurant and ate there just fine and it was packed.

Some places are also being upfront about their disobedience. I was also in another part of Chicago that is largely non-woke zealots to a Wendy’s the other day and half the employees there weren’t even wearing masks. I’m hearing through the grapevine from friends that in parts of the south and west neighborhoods of Chicago, businesses are laughing at people if they need to show vax cards. Those that are enforcing it are seeing massive drop-offs of about 50% of their revenue.

So there is hope. What I bet will happen is that when omicron wave naturally dies down, they will get away from this order quickly, claim their fake victory, and then put it behind them.

I have the same hope.

I for one intend to vacation in places that actually want me there, and to avoid places governed and cheered on by deranged hypochondriacs.

Still, it was encouraging to get this report from a member of my Elite group.

It’s an example of what I mean when I say it’s full of smart people who haven’t lost their minds over the virus.

I hope you’ll join me in there:

http://www.SupportingListeners.com

Tom Woods

Be seeing you