With each passing day of the coronavirus crisis, our lives and understanding of the medical threat of COVID-19 have evolved — from puzzlement to concern, from caution to action and now, stunningly, to lockdown. On Friday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a “shelter-in-place” order for all of Illinois starting Saturday at 5 p.m.

This is an extreme decision, and the right one to combat this global pandemic. It won’t be easy. Nothing has been easy as the virus has spread, inexorably, into Illinois. But we can do this because we must…