Nara Schoenberg – Page 21

Jessica and Jason Jaffrey sit with their children at home, Jan. 11, 2021, in Oak Park. The children from left are: Maya Cherikos, 15, Delaney Cherikos, 12, Connor Jaffrey, 10, and Matthew Jaffrey, 14. The couple eloped via Zoom on New Year's Eve after the pandemic canceled their wedding plans.

In a pandemic wedding trend, couples are turning to Zoom elopements, with just two people in love and an online officiant: ‘For us, it was perfect.’

January 20, 2021 at 5:04 p.m.

The cake was from Costco, the food was Italian takeout, the venue was the couple's Oak Park family room. Jessica and Jason Jaffrey got married on New Year's Eve with...

Lea Grover stands outside of her home Jan. 12, 2021, in Cary. Grover writes a blog called Becoming SuperMommy. She has written extensively about life with her husband, Mike Grover, and his battle with brain cancer.

Mike Grover, whose 13-year battle with brain cancer was chronicled in his wife’s popular blog, has died at 38: ‘He put so much love back into the world.’

January 13, 2021 at 7:53 p.m.

After he was diagnosed with brain cancer at age 24, Mike Grover charged ahead with work and with life. He married his fiancee, Lea, before 200 people in a rooftop...

Remy Fong, 5, works on his laptop during his remote learning as his mom, Emily, looks on at their home in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood.

With CPS students returning to schools starting Monday, parents weigh kids’ safety against educational needs: ‘It’s a horrible situation to be in’

January 9, 2021 at 12:15 p.m.

Ellen Lewis is thinking about the man who lives down the street from her in Chicago's Austin neighborhood. He's been home for months after contracting COVID-19, she said, and even...

Norman Bensinger and Helen English celebrate with champagne at the Drake Hotel on New Year's Eve on the last day of 1940.

What do Princess Diana, Walt Disney and Al Capone have in common? The historic Drake Hotel, which is celebrating a century in Chicago with ‘100’ spelled out in in lights and 100 days of $100 rooms

December 31, 2020 at 7:57 p.m.

When Princess Diana came to Chicago she stayed here, in a luxury suite equipped — at her request — with an exercise bike. Al Capone's top lieutenant, Frank "The Enforcer"...

Fred Grissett, left, confers with Dr. Tom Huggett at the Franciscan Outreach shelter on Dec. 29, 2020. Grissett told his doctor that his prescription couldn't be filled at a nearby Walgreens because Aetna cut Walgreens from its Medicaid plan Dec. 1.

Aetna drops Walgreens from its Medicaid plan, making it harder for low-income Chicagoans to get their prescriptions during the pandemic

January 1, 2021 at 9:05 p.m.

A patient had a severe mental illness, but with monthly injections of medication, he stopped hearing voices and was able to live in subsidized housing, according to Dr. Thomas Huggett,...

A lit candy cane and holiday lights are part of the display at the Lopez family home in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood.

Beloved Logan Square Christmas House shines on, a year after the death of its creator, Frank Lopez

December 23, 2020 at 12:23 p.m.

For 35 years, Chicago businessman Frank Lopez made Christmas brighter, first for his neighbors, then the whole city. His stately Logan Square Victorian, known to locals as the Christmas House,...

Dan Raskin, a fourth-generation co-owner of Manny's Deli, says: "I have been personally doing everything possible to get more business. I'm not a give up kind of person. I'm going to get scrappy and do what I can."

Just in time for Christmas, a Manny’s Deli superfan is treating 4,000 hungry strangers to corned beef sandwiches

December 18, 2020 at 12:10 p.m.

When Tom Sondag was growing up in the 1960s, back to school meant a trip to Chernin's Shoes in the South Loop, where his parents bought the brown Oxfords he...

A woman places some money into a Salvation Army donation bucket outside of a Jewel-Osco in Norridge on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020. Like most things, local volunteering looks different this year due to the pandemic. Increased sanitation, social distancing and smaller groups of volunteers are among a few of the changes.

Holiday volunteering looks very different this year due to COVID-19. Here are ways you can still help — in person or virtually.

December 17, 2020 at 10:30 a.m.

The holiday season is typically high tide for giving back through volunteering. But as the COVID-19 pandemic persists and cases surge, organizations are seeing volunteer numbers dwindle even as demand...

John Sullivan sings Christmas songs as he records a Santa video message.

Want to Zoom with Santa? Here’s your guide, complete with hometown favorites, a Black Santa, a Hollywood Santa and a Santa who teams up with Mrs. Claus

December 16, 2020 at 10:02 a.m.

At the Jolly Old Elf's satellite offices in Chicago, Los Angeles and Marlton, New Jersey, there's a lot of love for an option that was low on Santa's list last...

Chicagoans can answer actual letters to Santa, via a U.S. Postal Service program, complete with a North Pole address for the Jolly Old Elf

December 13, 2020 at 8:35 a.m.

Brendan Murphy's second child was 6 months old when the Chicago real estate agent heard a radio DJ talking about how volunteers could fulfill wishes in real-life letters to Santa...

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