Harrison Ford, Robin Williams, Harold Ramis… and soft-serve ice cream?

That’s right—Dairy Queen is an Illinois native, born on North Chicago Street in Joliet. The fast food and ice cream chain turned 80 on Monday.

According to a 1991 article from the Associated Press, founder Sherwood “Sherb” Noble broke into the business after taking a dairy course at Iowa State College and managing an ice cream store in his hometown of Clemons, Iowa.

The Home Run Inn—a pizzeria chain headquartered in Woodridge—began building up their inventory of frozen pizzas at the very beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, but they still found themselves unprepared when shoppers began stocking up on shelf-stable goods ahead of the Stay at Home Order.

Although the company has been slinging dough since 1947, Nick Perrino, who heads up the frozen pizza division for Home Run Inn, says they have never seen demand like this.

“It was absolutely crazy,” said Perrino of the pre-pandemic shopping rush. “The pandemic had people stocking up on frozen pizza, making sure they had product, just like with toilet paper.”

The outbreak of COVID-19 has given new urgency to some of our best practices when it comes to keeping clean. That’s why it may be more frustrating to find cleaning products such as toilet paper, soap, bleach, or hand sanitizer.

One company has changed their whole manufacturing scope to address the high demand for cleanliness.

Skylar Nutrition, a Rushville company known for livestock wellness, has dedicated their focus to the production of hand sanitizer as a result of coronavirus.

There’s a lot to be downcast about during these harsh times, but ingenious and resourceful Illinoisans continue to make us proud. Darius Mason, a seventh grader from Chicago’s South Side, is one young man spending time to help others even as he’s faced loss.

During these trying times, Phillips 66 is donating $3 million nationally in response to the economic impact COVID-19 has had across the nation, including 100,000 to organizations near its Wood River Refinery in Illinois’ Metro-East region.