217 Today: How life changed when Illinois’ pandemic lockdown began five years ago — here’s what you told us

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A classroom sites empty at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academy of Social Justice during remote learning in 2020.
  • Photo: WBEZ

Friday, March 21, 2025

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Today’s headlines:

  • Plans for a quantum computing park in Chicago are attracting interest from the private sector.
  • Illinois’ senior U.S. Senator says he wants to stave off Medicaid cuts through bipartisanship.
  • Local arborists are encouraging Illinois residents to keep an eye out for a spreading invasive insect this spring.
  • An Illinois bill that would require schools like Freeburg High in the Metro East to change its mascot passed out of a House committee yesterday. 

In today’s deep dive, we’ll learn how life changed when Illinois’ pandemic lockdown began five years ago.

217 Today is produced by Stephanie Mosqueda. Reporting today contributed by Emily Hays, Alex Degman, Jess Savage, Will Bauer and Isabela Nieto.

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Stephanie Mosqueda

Stephanie Mosqueda is a senior majoring in journalism at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with minors in Spanish and public relations. She is the 217 Today producer and a reporter for the Illinois Student Newsroom.