Isabella Popadiuk
Bartlett, Illinois
3 p.m. Tuesday, April 28

Illinois lockdown extended to end of May

We finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. As April 30 approached, Illinois residents got ready for the stay-at-home order to expire and to see restrictions to start easing and businesses to open up again.

This is not the case anymore.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Illinois’ stay-at-home order will be extended through May 30. According to NBC Chicago, Illinois has not hit its peak and could be expected to in mid May, new models suggested.

“I know how badly we all want our normal lives back. But this is the part where we have to dig in and understand that the sacrifices we’ve made as a state to avoid a worst-case scenario are working — and we need to keep going a little while longer to finish the job,” said the Illinois governor.

On May 1, a new mandate requiring people to wear face masks in public areas went into effect where social distancing is difficult. Pritzker’s goal is to eliminate a second surge of cases and make sure hospitals are not overcapitacy while slowly reopening businesses.

I am extremely grateful I was able to get a job at Target, an essential business that has stayed open during the pandemic, and be able to keep working during the stay-at-home order. Now that classes have ended on May 6, I wouldn’t know what to do without a job.

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