Good afternoon, Chicago ✶
Thursday marks five years since Gov. JB Pritzker issued a statewide stay-at-home order in response to the COVID-19 pandemic — one of many hallmarks of an era defined by loss, divisiveness and collective trauma.
In today’s newsletter, we’ve got reporting from my colleague Kristen Schorsch on the issues revealed by the pandemic and how local health officials and community leaders are putting what they’ve learned into action.
Plus: More details in last month’s near-collision at Midway, 40 years of Shaw’s Crab House and more community news you need to know below. 👇
⏱️: A 7-minute read
— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter
TODAY’S TOP STORY
Five years since COVID, how Chicago is working to improve the health of the city
Reporting by Kristen Schorsch
Pandemic lessons: Five years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials and community leaders are working to make sure the trust they built and the lessons they learned during the pandemic to help people become healthier aren’t lost — with fewer resources and a federal government that has targeted Chicago for everything from gun violence to immigration.
Key detail: The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 illuminated inequities that were invisible to so many people even though health disparities raged long before the virus tore through the city, particularly on the South and West sides.
West Side story: Daisy Gabriel manages the nonprofit Beyond Hunger, delivering fresh food to mostly seniors who live in Austin and in neighboring suburban Oak Park and River Forest. During the pandemic, Beyond Hunger expanded the home delivery program and added an extra delivery of fresh produce every month for clients.
Lasting change: What started as a massive effort to vaccinate neighborhoods hardest hit by COVID-19 turned into a longer-term effort to pour other resources into these areas. The city was divided into six health equity zones and invested more than $25 million with the help of federal dollars into programs based on what residents said they needed to improve their health. The goal: to reduce the life expectancy gap in Chicago.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
- Sun-Times cuts: Thirty employees of the Sun-Times — around 1 in 5 on its payroll — have agreed to resign under buyout terms the paper’s nonprofit ownership offered in hopes of stanching persistent financial deficits.
- WBEZ investigated: WBEZ is among more than a dozen public media stations being investigated by the Federal Communications Commission for its underwriting practices.
- Accommodation controversy: Trans advocates are pushing back against a north suburban mom who says her 13-year-old daughter was forced to change in front of a transgender classmate.
- NTSB cites sunshine: Blinding sunlight was partially to blame for last month’s near-collision between a Southwest Airlines jet and a Flexjet business aircraft at Midway Airport, according to a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report.
- Pritzker in DC: Gov. JB Pritzker was in Washington Tuesday to address a Democratic-allied think tank about resisting President Donald Trump and Elon Musk as they consolidate power. Sun-Times Washington Bureau Chief Lynn Sweet recaps his remark in her latest column.
- Springtime in Chicago: A “wild 24 hours of weather” is expected to bring rain, snow and winds in excess of 45 mph Wednesday afternoon.
- Cubs swept in Tokyo: The Cubs are still looking for their first win of the season after dropping the Tokyo Series finale to the Dodgers 6-3 on Wednesday. On the bright side, we’ll always have Pikachu in a Cubs jersey.
MURALS AND MOSAICS 🖌️
Mayfair mural celebrates flowers found in the neighborhood
Reporting by Genevieve Bookwalter
Erin Minckley drew inspiration for her Mayfair mural by walking through the North Side neighborhood on spring and summer days and shooting phone photos of the flowers.
Now, the Mayfair resident and custom wallpaper designer shows off the flowers in her “Welcome to Mayfair” mural near Lawrence and Tripp avenues on the side of Relativity Textiles, the business that she owns.
“I literally was walking Mayfair and taking the flora of the neighborhood and incorporating it in,” she says. “In Chicago, when it’s winter, we need something to boost our mood. And we need to see color, and we need to see flowers and organic things. Otherwise it’s quite drab.”
BRIGHT ONE ✨
At 40, Shaw’s Crab House continues to lure seafood aficionados
Reporting by Lisa Shames | For the Sun-Times
River North’s Hubbard Street these days is a frenzy of bars and restaurants — and the party people that flock to them.
Back in 1984, it was a much different story. Unlike today, there was limited commercial business, and by 6 p.m. the area was a ghost town.
But that didn’t stop Lettuce Entertain You’s founder Rich Melman, Executive Chairman Kevin Brown, Managing Partner Steve LaHaie and Executive Chef/Partner Yves Roubard from envisioning a grand Hubbard Street restaurant where fresh seafood and oysters from both coasts would dominate the menu.
Now 40 years and more than 10 million oysters later, Shaw’s Crab House continues to attract a regular clientele of locals and visitors alike, garnering a new generation of fans in the process.
To honor its 40th anniversary, Shaw’s is hosting a variety of events at the restaurant April 7-11, including an oyster and champagne reception and a performance by Chicago blues legend Big Dog.
“To me, quality first has been the guiding principle of Shaw’s,” says Brown. “We always emphasized letting the seafood speak for itself.”
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
How would you describe springtime in Chicago to someone who’s never experienced it before?
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Written by: Matt Moore
Editor: Dorothy Hernandez
Copy editor: Angie Myers