It’s been nearly 5 years since Gov. JB Pritzker issued a stay-at-home order to attempt to curb the unfold of COVID-19. We requested individuals how the pandemic modified their lives. Right here’s a sampling, frivolously edited for readability.
“My grandma handed from COVID, and that was actually exhausting. However I bought to be nearer to my grandpa. I bought to know his story, and he turned my finest buddy. Sadly, he additionally handed, however I turned nearer to my Jewish roots and my household. … My dad would take us on weekly walks. It might simply be me, my sister and my dad. Certainly one of my favourite spots was this deserted warehouse within the West Loop that was coated in graffiti. We’d simply sit there, and the solar was hitting that spot on the actual proper second. Nobody was out, and you possibly can simply be in peace and silence and mirror.”
— Dali Silverberg, Chicago
“My co-workers and I felt like we had been all, like, actually quick mates. Like, we’d keep on Zoom after the time was over.”
—Candace Bey, Chicago
“My sister-in-law was getting nervous having me round her women, so the one masks she may discover had been made out of panties — G-strings. So I did that just for my sister-in-law so I may spend time with my nieces. … I noticed all of the COVID canine showing. It made me notice all these individuals are going to wish dog-walkers and sitters, and I began my very own dog-walking enterprise.”
— Renee Brody, Chicago
“I adopted slightly kitten. His title is Beanie. We name him the COVID cat.”
— Kendra Neill, Chicago
“I had organized a coaching for my whole crew at my work. We’d flown individuals in. Proper round lunchtime, the constructing directors got here in and stated, ‘You all have to depart proper now.’ [They] instructed the crew they needed to go straight to the airport and hope they may catch planes as a result of issues had been closing down.”
— Steve Rummel, Forest Park
“I simply keep in mind my day being like, the simplest factor ever. I might get up, and we might get within the automotive, and we might go sit within the Starbucks or the Dunkin drive-thru. That was the spotlight of our day. … I picked up a variety of hula-hooping, which is admittedly random. I did that rather a lot within the again yard as quickly because it was good out.”
— Justine Neill, Chicago
“COVID positively helped me decelerate slightly bit and be comfy with being alone and never having one thing on the calendar. Like, it’s OK to be residence and enjoyable and never doing something. … I lived alone, so I attempted to social-distance myself earlier than I might go see my household. Then, possibly the UPS man would come, and I might query, ‘Does that rely? Do I’ve to restart my 10 days earlier than I am going see my household?’ My mother instructed me to take a bleach bathtub — all of those bizarre issues. We thought we knew what was occurring, however we didn’t.”
— Margaret Dyer, Chicago
“I used to be at a restaurant with my mother and father. It was spring break, and I used to be on the time attending SIU Carbondale, and I had simply gotten from my fraternity group chat a complete screenshot of the SIU web site being, like, ‘Hey, we’re not letting college students again.’ ”
— Danny Connolly, Niles
“My daughter and I began doing extra movies on-line. I even bought into TikTok. I had by no means even went on there or watched any movies on it till the pandemic. Now, we bake and cook dinner on a regular basis collectively and make cooking movies.”
— Stephanie Segura, Chicago
