It has been a year we will never forget.
2020 sure has been a year for the history books. Here we’ve gathered 30 of the most powerful photos from this year that sum up a turbulent year that was filled with struggle, uncertainty, and chaos, but also in some cases progress. [Featured image from Twitter / @RollingStone]
January 1, 2020
Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, Juliana Stratton, joins hundreds of others to make purchases at Chicago North Side’s Sunnyside Dispensary on Wednesday, January 1, 2020, after recreational marijuana was fully legalized under the Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act.
February 17, 2020
Chicago-native Jennifer Hudson sings an emotional rendition of “For All We Know (We May Meet Again)” to pay tribute to the late, basketball great Kobe Bryant at Chicago’s United Center after Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, along with 7 others were killed in a helicopter crash.
March 13, 2020
As COVID-19 cases are confirmed in Illinois, and countries around the world go into lockdown, panic sets in prompting Chicago shoppers to hit the stores hard stocking up on essentials like toilet paper and leaving shelves bare.
March 21, 2020
The Bean sits lonely in Millennium Park’s AT&T Plaza after Governor J.B. Pritzker’s statewide stay-at-home order forces all Chicago residents to stay home unless traveling for essential needs.
March 23, 2020
The stay-at-home order leaves Chicago’s usually crowded streets and landmarks eerily deserted, even Chicago’s busiest streets like Michigan Avenue are completely empty during rush hour.
March 24, 2020
A passenger kitted out in full protective gear awaits their flight at an empty gate at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
March 29, 2020
With Shedd Aquarium and most of Chicago closed due to the global pandemic, staff members at the aquarium began taking animals on “field trips” to help brighten a dark time. The video of Wellington the rockhopper penguin meeting the aquarium’s beluga whales soon went viral.
April 4, 2020
A wild coyote runs down Michigan Avenue, usually one of the busiest streets in the United States, on a Saturday afternoon during lockdown.
April 6, 2020
With the pandemic wreaking havoc across the country Mayor Lori Lightfoot, supported by all 7 of Chicago’s major-league professional sports teams, announces the “We Are Not Playing” campaign in an empty Soldier Field.
April 8, 2020
The Merchandise Mart building on the corner of W. Wacker Drive & W. Franklin Street lights up with a “Stay Home Save Lives” message during the coronavirus pandemic.
May 1, 2020
The lion statues outside The Art Institute of Chicago are adorned with surgical masks imprinted with the Chicago city flag to support mask-wearing during the coronavirus pandemic.
May 3, 2020
Yellow tape cordons off a playground at Swift School in Chicago in response to executive order number 8.
May 5, 2020
A technician at a laboratory in Chicago carries our drive-up Covid-19 testing in full protective gear.
May 16, 2020
Chicago’s Mayor, Lori Lightfoot, participates with a drive-thru fresh poultry give away in South Side Chicago near Marquette Park during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
May 30, 2020
Chicago police officers walk past a broken window storefront in Downtown Chicago after protests and riots caused destruction and damage across the city.
May 31, 2020
A man in a Joker-inspired mask sits next to a burning police car during the Chicago protests in response to the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.
June 1, 2020
A peaceful protester hugs a police officer in Uptown Chicago during the protests against the death of George Floyd.
June 4, 2020
A Female Chicago police officer takes a knee in solidarity with the peaceful protests in Downtown Chicago.
June 19, 2020
A large crowd gathers in Daley Plaza in the Loop of Downtown Chicago on Juneteenth.
July 18, 2020
Around 250 Chicago volunteers gather together and used over 10 gallons of paint to create the first “Black Lives Matter” street mural in the City of Chicago on Jeffery Boulevard in South Shore.
July 24, 2020
Mayor Lori Lightfoot orders the City of Chicago to take down statues of Christopher Colombus overnight in Grant Park and Arrigo Park.
August 7, 2020
Two Chicagoans abide by mandatory mask laws after Governor JB Pritzker’s announcement that fines of up to $2,500 will be issued to those who fail to wear masks in public.
September 6, 2020
The National Workers Alliance funds a new mural in Fulton Market District with portraits of four real-life workers in Chicago honoring essential workers everywhere.
September 21, 2020
Chicago’s stunning fall equinox, aka Chicagohenge, peaks causing the rays of the setting sun to explode and splash through Chicago’s artificial valleys.
October 1, 2020
Bea Lumpkin, a 102-year-old former Chicago public school teacher who had voted in every election since 1940, casts her vote by mail in a personal makeshift hazmat suit made by her grandson calling it the “most important election of my life”.
November 1, 2020
Chicago’s United Center prepares for its first-ever time as a voting super site as NBA teams across the United States pushed make use of their empty facilities for Election Day.
November 3, 2020
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker deploys Illinois National Guard troops to Chicago to prepare for any potential election-related civil unrest in Chicago on Election Day.
November 3, 2020
Positive voters cast ballots curbside as Chicago and the rest of the United States attempts to carry out Election Day amidst a global pandemic.
November 4, 2020
The Wabash Avenue bridge closes to traffic and pedestrians as Chicago police officers and city vehicles are posted outside Trump Tower downtown in preparation for potential election-related civil unrest.
December 15, 2020
Dr. Marina Del Rios is the first of five frontline medical workers to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Loretto hospital in Chicago’s hard-hit Austin neighborhood.