Lollapalooza’s expected economic impact vs. NASCAR’s, the lives forever changed by COVID and more in your Chicago news roundup

Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about an eight-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

— Matt Moore (@MattKenMoore)

Weather 🌧️

This afternoon will be cloudy with a chance of showers and a high near 53 degrees. Expect showers and possibly a thunderstorm tonight with a low near 39. Tomorrow will also see showers along with a high near 44.

Top story

Lollapalooza will generate 3 times the economic activity of NASCAR race in less time

Lollapalooza generated a third of a billion dollars in economic activity in Chicago last year, three times higher than the NASCAR Fourth of July weekend street race is expected to rake in, according to a new study.

But the street race, although less lucrative for Chicago businesses, will occupy parts of Grant Park for nearly twice as much time during the busy summer season. Critics call it a bad deal.

“The impact to the city in terms of cost and congestion will be more than Lolla, and the returns are significantly less,” said 2nd Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins said of the NASCAR race, scheduled for July 1-2.

NASCAR may take up space in Grant Park between 20 and 40 days, depending on weather, Hopkins said. NASCAR will also need to modify curbs and remove manhole covers, which could add more time, Hopkins said. A NASCAR spokesman said a final timeline of road and park closures is still being worked out with city departments. NASCAR has said roads and most areas of the park will likely be closed between June 28 and July 3 or 4.

Lolla, by contrast, will use Grant Park for 24 days total, between July 21 and Aug. 13. The four-day festival is set for Aug. 3-6. Lollapalooza, which recently signed a 10-year deal with the city, appears to be more advantageous for the city in terms of economic activity, tax revenue and fees.

Our David Struett compares and contrasts the two events that will define downtown’s summer.

More news you need

• During Day 5 of the ComEd bribery trial, Thomas O’Neill, the company’s former general counsel, explained to jurors the pressure he felt to sign and renew a lucrative contract for a politically connected law firm. O’Neill testified that it largely came from lobbyist Michael McClain, who often seemed to be doing the bidding of then-Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan. Jon Seidel and Tina Sfondeles break down what’s happened in the trial so far.
• With the mayoral election looming and a nationwide search for the city’s next top cop underway, a report released today charts a path forward for a police department pushing to comply with sweeping court-ordered reforms. The report outlines issues facing law enforcement agencies nationwide and makes recommendations for progress. Our Tom Schuba has more on what this means for Chicago police.
• Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas met last night for their third televised mayoral debate on WGN. During their first televised debate, Johnson was the undisputed aggressor. In Round Two, Vallas took the gloves off. Round Three was pretty much a draw, our Fran Spielman explains in her recap of last night.
• Former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn today endorsed Vallas over Johnson in the April 4 mayoral runoff. The endorsement comes after Vallas agreed to pursue mayoral term limits, property tax relief and a new ComEd franchise agreement that includes refunds to compensate consumers for the utility’s bribery scheme.
• After trying to sort through a mix of 17 candidates last month, voters in two South Side wards now face a much more focused decision about who will represent them in the City Council. State Rep. Lamont Robinson and Prentice Butler, the outgoing incumbent’s chief of staff, are vying for the open seat in the 4th Ward. And just to the south in the 5th Ward, community organizer Desmon Yancy is facing off against lawyer Martina “Tina” Hone. Our Mary Norkol breaks down these crucial races.
• Deborah Witzburg, the city’s inspector general, said yesterday that Chicago is required to have a chief administrative officer — and it hasn’t for decades. The result has been “poor coordination” and “finger-pointing” among city departments, Witzburg said.
• Elissa Tenny, the first woman president of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in its 157-year history, has announced she will retire from her post next year. The school will use a firm to conduct a national search for a new president.
• Loved ones and former colleagues are mourning the loss of Edward G. Gardner, a philanthropist and co-founder of Soft Sheen Products Inc. Mr. Gardner died Monday at age 98. “He was my father, my hero, my teacher,” said Gary Gardner, one of Mr. Gardner’s four children.
• Employees of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Lincoln Park are calling on colleagues to support their campaign to unionize with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The drive to join AFSCME’s Council 31 follows the local’s successful organizing of workers at other local organizations including the Field Museum.

COVID-19: Three years later

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

These are some of the lives forever changed by COVID-19

Maybe you remember the first time you saw someone in a grocery store wearing a face mask and latex gloves and even a plastic face shield and thought: That’s a little extreme.

But it wasn’t all that uncommon after Gov. J.B. Pritzker declared on March 20, 2020: “To avoid the loss of potentially tens of thousands of lives, we must enact an immediate stay-at-home order for all in Illinois.”

By then, we knew — well, most of us — that the coronavirus was serious stuff.

There were daily tallies of the sick and of the dead. To stay safe, we were told to wash our hands thoroughly and often. Many of us wiped down our groceries. Some drank more or sought counseling — via Zoom.

When a favorite restaurant finally reopened, we never imagined food could taste so good. We saw children go back to school and delighted in the sound of their shrieking voices — even as worries lingered about the long-term effects of remote schooling.

Three years into the COVID-19 pandemic, things appear to have have slowly returned to a kind of normal for many.

And most of us would say the pandemic has changed us in some way. Maybe we lost a job — or chose to quit one. Maybe a loved one succumbed to the virus. Then, there are the ways we do some things in a way we never had before. A telehealth doctor’s “visit.” A meeting via video. Or just feeling a tinge of worry at the sound of someone nearby coughing.

Our Stefano Esposito and Mariah Rush spoke with several Illinoisans especially affected by the pandemic.

A mother who lost her partner less than a month before their son was born. A beloved tamales seller whose still working to pay off medical bills following a serious bout of COVID. A grandmother, an immunocompromised musician and a teen — all each dealing with the debilitating effects of long COVID.

Our reporters share these stories from our neighbors.

A bright one

Reflecting on ‘Match Day’ in Chicago: Jittery moments as UIC medical students find out where they will spend the next 6 years

After four years of grueling 10- to 12-hour days, much of it spent online because of the pandemic, it all came down to the little white envelope in front of Benjamin Aronson last Friday.

“It’s a surreal thing. The next possible six years of my life are in this little envelope here, and I’m lost for words,” said Aronson, 29, as he and 165 other fourth-year University of Illinois College of Medicine students gathered to see where they would spend their residencies.

No wonder, then, that sweat pooled on Aronson’s brow before he opened his envelope and found out that he’d been accepted to UChicago Medicine.

“We’re over the moon,” said Aronson. By “we,” he meant his girlfriend, Ana Gonzalez, 27, who found out her residency will be at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Medical students across the United States learned last Friday where they’d be heading for residencies through the National Resident Matching Program, a nonprofit organization that seeks to match students’ preferences with those of residency program directors.

Aronson had applied to 80 hospitals, Gonzalez about 90; both were delighted to be staying in Chicago. Gonzalez’s parents had flown in from Mexico City to be at UIC Isadore and Sadie Dorin Forum on Friday. It was an especially emotional moment for Gonzalez, who was born in Mexico. Her grandfather Manuel Cardoso, who died in 2016, had come from Mexico to Chicago for his radiology residency. He then returned to Mexico to practice.

“He would be so proud,” Gonzalez said. “He really gave his life to radiology.”

Our Stefano Esposito has more on this next generation of health care workers.

From the press box

• Without Liam Hendriks to open the season, White Sox manager Pedro Grifol says there will be no single replacement for now. “I’m not going to have a closer,” he said.
• The Big Ten — with zero titles since 2000 — keeps calling itself the best men’s hoops league. Why? Steve Greenberg on a reputation backed more by empty rhetoric than reality.
• Amid a relatively boring spring training for the Cubs and White Sox, “the normalcy of both camps is allowing baseball fans to return to a familiar routine,” Laurence W. Holmes writes.

Your daily question☕

Did you pick up a new hobby during those initial, shelter-in-place pandemic months? Do you still keep up with it?

Send us an email at newsletters@suntimes.com and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday, we asked you: How has your life changed since the start of the pandemic?

Here’s what some of you said…

“I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time entertaining myself. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I find myself getting back out there and engaging with others more - seeing old friends and making new ones. I missed people.” — Susan Danzig

“Zero trust in the health care industry and zero trust in government. Home is the only place I want to be.” — Derek Antal

“I do curb pickup for groceries and avoid in-store shopping. Sad!” — Linda Johnson Thornton

“Working from home and not dealing with actual office drama and politics.” — Marsha Dunlap

Thanks for reading the Chicago Sun-Times Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.