What a difference a year makes.
Last year, with the pandemic raging, a COVID-19 vaccine still months away and the lakefront officially closed, most people were staying home for the holiday.
Now, one can walk into many vaccination sites without an appointment, the number of new coronavirus cases in Illinois continues to decline and Chicago’s lakefront beaches are open again.
Temperatures hovered near 70 most of Monday afternoon, and crowds flocked to Montrose Beach in Uptown to take advantage — with some bringing their dogs along.
