Hard product at ORD T5 is among the worst ever. TSA checkpoint, fully agree it is one of the worst you will ever find. Not just within the US, but anywhere in the world.
Lounge is a joke. It's not the worst lounge I've been to, but given that ORD is a big city, it should be much better.
However, CX ground staff at ORD are one of the best teams I've ever dealt with. I don't fly there very often, maybe once or twice a year but the senior ground staff there know me by name and are always happy to see me again. Note that I am not DM and don't travel First Class so there's nothing about me that warrants this treatment, but they give it anyway. If CX ground staff were like this everywhere, travel would be so much more pleasurable.