Another Chicago alderman, Susan Sadlowski Garza, is leaving City Council – Chicago Tribune

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The first time Eric McElroy knocked on Zach Jenkins’ door, Jenkins was not in the mood to chat.

At age 25, he had recently been diagnosed with leukemia. While he was still absorbing this, he was on the 15th floor of a Northwestern Memorial Hospital building, preparing to undergo chemotherapy.

McElroy, then 38, was walking the halls with his wife, Jami. Seeing them, Jenkins’ girlfriend, Caileen Calvert, asked him to check in and ask Jenkins to get out of his room. Perhaps they could walk together.

He did knock on the door, and they did walk together, despite Jenkins’ hesitation. Eventually, those door knocks became buoys throughout each of their cancer journeys. Read more on how walking together helped them heal.

—Alison Bowen

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Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza — the first member of the Chicago Teachers Union ever elected to City Council — is retiring after two terms.

Garza, the daughter of famous labor leader Eddie “Oil Can” Sadlowski, was hailed as a progressive champion throughout much of her time in politics, though she faced criticism in recent years from some activists over her handling of a scrap shredder’s proposed move into her Southeast Side ward.

Even before Barack Obama left the White House, plans to build his presidential center in Jackson Park were met with resistance as nearby residents feared the center’s very existence would drive up costs in an area the former president says he wants to uplift.

While the economic benefits of the Obama Presidential Center remain in question, what has become clear is that the Barack Obama Foundation’s top staffers are commanding high-end salaries that are not only out of sync with the more modest pay earned by those living in the surrounding neighborhoods but also exceed salaries for counterparts at other presidential foundations.

A Tribune review of annual tax filings shows the median pay for the 10 highest-paid employees from 2017 through 2020 at the Obama Foundation is just shy of $344,000.

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Most Chicago-area firms are adapting to COVID-19 in similar ways to each other. Instead of giving employees hard deadlines to leave comfy home offices, most are enticing people back with new amenities and perks, including the option to stay home for a portion of the week.

It’s a big change from how the return to the office was first envisioned, according to market experts. Many companies planned to make a sharp break with the past after the Labor Day holiday, designating it as the date when workers finally returned. Similar hopes were pinned to the first two Labor Days of the pandemic.

The Chicago Bears wide receivers corps crept closer to full strength Monday, six days before the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers at Soldier Field.

The return of Byron Pringle and Velus Jones Jr. from injuries and the arrival of Ihmir Smith-Marsette off waivers from the Minnesota Vikings will bolster a group — now six deep — that was severely depleted through most of training camp.

Now it’s a matter of the Bears getting Justin Fields’ targets up to speed as quickly as possible to see if they can be active on game day, writes Colleen Kane.

Tears, not yet. But more than a few people visiting Tavern on Rush over the last few days have had a mournful look, writes Rick Kogan.

The reason was the recent announcement this venerable and quite good tavern/restaurant, which has fed and delighted people at the corner of Rush and Bellevue streets for nearly 25 years, will be vanishing.