Author: staff

Fourth and fifth grade students make nameplates during their keyboarding and basic tech class at Thomas Middle School on June 16, 2021. Arlington Heights School District 25’s Summer U summer school program kicked-off at Thomas Middle School, and all students are required under IDPH guidelines to wear masks indoors. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

The Chicago Special Olympics, co-sponsored by the Chicago Park District and the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, was the first special olympics ever held on July 20, 1968, at Soldier Field in Chicago. Executive Vice-President of the Kennedy Foundation, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, bottom left, feels the muscle of Robert Larman, 13, of the Kennedy Institute in Washington, D.C. at the athletic event. (William Yates / Chicago Tribune)

Health care workers Karyn Lyons, seated left, and Linda Hempfling, seated right, draw up doses of the COVID-19 vaccine while Gov J.B. Pritzker, center, speaks with Mark Pfister, right, the Lake County Health Department’s executive director, and other politicians at the drive-thru vaccination location set up inside of the Lake County Fairgrounds on Jan. 27, 2021, in Grayslake. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

New air conditioning and heating systems were installed as part of the renovation, which prioritized an open-concept floor plan that takes advantage of the natural light from a skylight and myriad windows, said Christopher Schmidt, executive director of USO Illinois. And the few walled-up rooms the center still has are “very intentional,” Schmidt said: a kid room, reflection room, gaming room and a USO Pathfinder office, a program that helps military personnel transition back to civilian life after they finish serving.

Last year, Allstate, based in Northbrook, turned Juneteenth into an annual paid holiday for employees. So did Target, which closed its Minneapolis headquarters for the day and said hourly employees who work in stores and distribution centers that day would be paid time and a half. JPMorgan Chase closed its branches early on June 19 while paying employees for a full day.