Five years ago, COVID-19 upended Illinoisans in so many ways, and life hasn't been the same since.

• The pandemic affected all parts of our lives, but we're taking a closer look at five specific areas — public health, education, office life, politics and restaurants — to understand what has changed.

Public health: More than 40,000 Illinoisans have died from COVID-19 since 2020.

• The virus hit elderly people, those with preexisting conditions and the Black community especially hard.

By the numbers: From March 2020 to March 2023, more than 1.5 million cases of COVID were reported in Cook County.

• In mid-January 2022, the seven-day average for COVID hospitalizations in Illinois was more than 7,000 patients, according to the New York Times.
• By March 2024, that number had fallen to less than 500.

Education: Chicago Public Schools launched remote learning on April 13, 2020, and did a staggered return to the classroom beginning in 2021, which became a very contentious issue between the Chicago Teachers Union and Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

• Five years later, one analysis from right-of-center Education Now suggests that blue states with extended remote learning suffered greater learning loss.
• But another study showed Chicago's reading scores are rebounding faster than many districts.

Office occupancy: Chicago is not expected to regain its pre-COVID office levels, and with a 52% return rate last month, according to Placer.ai data, the city has now fallen behind perennial last-place finisher San Francisco.

More companies continue to roll out return-to-office mandates.

• Downtown retail also bears lasting scars from the pandemic, including massive vacancies along Michigan Avenue and the South State Street corridor.

Read more about politics and restaurants

Sticker shock at the grocery store became a fact of life during the pandemic as food prices skyrocketed.

The big picture: Food prices increased by 23.6% from 2020 to 2024, outpacing overall inflation of 21.2% during that period, according to the U.S. Economic Research Service.

• Supply chains broke, costs rose for raw materials, energy and labor — and shoppers paid in the end.

Friction point: Consumer advocates accused grocers and food companies of raising prices to bolster the bottom line, but there's little "concrete evidence" of excessive prices, CFRA Research analyst Arun Sundaram tells Axios.

• "Profit margins for retailers as well as packaged food companies have remained relatively stable over the years," he said.

Read full story

Chicago Public Media's buyout deadline has passed and several Sun-Times staffers have announced their departures.

Why it matters: CPM, which owns the Sun-Times and WBEZ-FM, is in the midst of a $3-5 million expected budget shortfall and is asking journalists to leave their jobs.

The latest: The Sun-Times guild confirmed to Axios that seven guild members have taken a buyout and will leave the company, while several others who have applied could learn their fate later this week.

• Prominent names include sports columnist Rick Morrissey, advice columnist Ismael Pérez, entertainment editor and writer Darel Jevens and White Sox beat writer Daryl Van Schouwen.
• Editorial board member Lorraine Forte also announced she is leaving, although she is not in the guild.

What they're saying: "This opportunity came along just as it was feeling like time for a pause," Jevens, who has been with the paper since 1989, tells Axios.

Yes, but: CEO Melissa Bell told staff in an email that the savings needed to be closer to $5 million due to a rough financial start to 2025. The late February email, obtained by Axios, also said 16 employees had taken the buyout while imploring others to consider leaving.

Between the lines: The CPM email suggests the company may not be done cutting. If enough staff members don't accept buyouts, they will resort to layoffs.

• CPM would not comment but said it would share budget details later this week.

Go deeper

🗳️ Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said she's planning to run for re-election (Politico)

🏠 The Department of Housing and Urban Development has terminated grants to a south suburban fair housing organization because HUD said the organization no longer represents the department's priorities. (Crain's)

🎥 Asian Pop-up Cinema is moving from bi-annual screenings to an annual festival, with its first juried competition this year. (Block Club)

Like many Chicagoans, we went a little shopping crazy during the pandemic, buying stuff we thought we'd need for our new reality.

What's happening: We're sharing some of our best and worst pandemic purchases.

🖥️ Monica: My best was this foldable and adjustable desk table that lets me work on the floor, couch, and tub. Plus, I can use it as a standing desk on the dining room table.

• Worst: The $200-plus Yogibo bean bag that I thought would be a great work chair/surface, but it mushes down to the floor too quickly and my family still makes fun of me for buying it.

💡 Justin: My biggest investment was buying a ring light for my desk. It was flimsy and broke about a year later, but it lit me up nicely when streaming live from home!

🏃‍♀️Carrie: My best purchase was the online fitness program Obé that has both live and recorded classes, giving me a sense of sanity during the gym closures.

Read reader responses

👋 Hi, all!

It's been a while since we met up in person!

The latest: We've got a great event planned for this week, including a conversation with Mayor Brandon Johnson.

• Join us this Thursday at 9am as we discuss ways to expand Chicago's affordable housing. The program features Johnson, Rep. Jonathan Jackson and The Chicago Community Trust.
• It's at the Chicago Athletic Association on Michigan Avenue.

It's free, but you have to register. See you Thursday morning!