Good morning, Chicago. A Russian-born entrepreneur and private equity investor whose career was launched at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business is paying it forward with a $100 million donation to the executive MBA program that made it possible. Konstantin Sokolov, 49, who is celebrat ing the 20th anniversary of his graduation this month, is hoping the gift will open doors and change lives for the next generation of business leaders, as it did for him, a young Russian immigrant at the dawn of the new millennium. “Chicago Booth played a very important role in my life,” Sokolov told the Tribune. “The business school served as a foundation of my career success and then my success as an entrepreneur.” The gift, announced today, is among the largest ever made to Chicago Booth. It will benefit the executive MBA program, which allows professionals to continue working while earning their graduate degree. Booth offers the 21-month program in Hong Kong, London and in Chicago at the Gleacher Center in Streeterville, where Sokolov attended classes. In recognition of the gift, the executive MBA program at Chicago Booth will be renamed after Sokolov. Read the full story from the Tribune’s Robert Channick. Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including: what bankruptcies at suburban senior homes mean for residents, members of the Chicago Teachers Union making an historic vote and who the Chicago Sky selected in the WNBA draft. Today’s eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles Games | Today in History Members of the U.S. Army 212 Infantry 2nd Brigade stand next to an M1126 Stryker vehicle parked at the US-Mexico border, as part of Joint Task Force Southern Border, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Douglas, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. 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JB Pritzker signaled he was open to testifying before a Republican-led congressional committee on the state’s so-called sanctuary policies for protecting immigrants, but hadn’t yet decided whether to accept the panel’s invitation. Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, speaks during the Committee on Special Events meeting at City Hall on Feb. 4, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune) Mayor Brandon Johnson’s green housing loan fund hits union snag Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to create a revolving loan fund to spur affordable housing development has hit a new hitch as it slowly moves forward. Last Wednesday, aldermen in the City Council’s finance and housing committees held off on a vote regarding the so-called green social housing ordinance — a top focus for the mayor — amid calls for more specific language and time to hammer out details. But a fresh holdup emerged yesterday when they met again to discuss updates Johnson’s administration made in response to their concerns: the opposition of a key government workers union. Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates arrives April 14, 2025, before announcing that CTU members voted to ratify a new contract with Chicago Public Schools. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune) CTU members approve contract with historic support, avoiding strike as union prepares to fight federal threats Members of the Chicago Teachers Union voted to ratify a new contract with Chicago Public Schools, marking the first time in 15 years that the union settled its contract without a strike or a strike vote. It has been far from easy to get the tentative agreement across the finish line, despite the union’s ally, Mayor Brandon Johnson, helping the negotiation process along. Anna Chlystek, center, plays balloon volleyball with other residents at Encore Village on April 8, 2025, in Schaumburg. Encore Village, formerly known as Friendship Village before a Chapter 11 filing in 2023, is among a number of senior living facilities that have experienced financial trouble. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune) Bankruptcies at suburban senior homes collectively cost residents millions of dollars in entrance fees A recent bankruptcy filing by a network of senior living facilities in Illinois and Indiana highlights the financial risk posed to residents who pay large entry fees to continuing care retirement communities, but get limited government protections, senior advocates say. State Sen. Emil Jones III leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse after another day of his federal bribery trial on April 14, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune) Jury in state Sen. Emil Jones III bribery trial hears earful about his corrupt former colleague Martin Sandoval State Sen. Emil Jones III may be the one who’s on trial for bribery, but the jury deciding his fate heard plenty yesterday about one of Jones’ former colleagues: deceased state Sen. Martin Sandoval. The seal of the State of Illinois at the DuPage County Courthouse in Wheaton on Dec. 27, 2022. (Mark Black/for the Chicago Tribune) Downers Grove South teacher pleads not guilty to sexual assault, abuse of student A Downers Grove South High School teacher appeared briefly in DuPage County Circuit Court, where she pleaded not guilty to sexually abusing a student. Ajsa Sivka, left, poses for a photo with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected 10th overall by the Chicago Sky during the first round of the WNBA basketball draft, Monday, April 14, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith) Chicago Sky’s top draft pick might not play in the WNBA this season — but front office is focused on the future General manager Jeff Pagliocca couldn’t be higher on Ajša Sivka. He didn’t expect her to be available toward the end of the first round of the draft — after all, it’s not exactly common to find a 6-foot-4 forward with the fluid perimeter shot and on-ball creativity of a guard. Pagliocca believes Sivka will be an “outlier” talent. But he also can’t guarantee that Sivka will play in the WNBA this season. Chicago Sky pick Ajša Sivka and Hailey Van Lith in the 1st round of the WNBA draft Illinois’ Kasparas Jakucionis points after making a three-point shot during the second half against Kentucky at Fiserv Forum on March 23, 2025, in Milwaukee. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune) Illinois loses Kasparas Jakučionis and Will Riley as both freshmen declare for the NBA draft Two of Illinois’ best players declared for the NBA draft. Their departures mean only two of five starters will return from the team that lost to Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last month. Scottie Scheffler puts the green jacket on Masters winner Rory McIlroy on Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) Column: 3 takeaways from the sports weekend, including why the Masters was like Game 7 of the 2016 World Series The NBA regular season is finally over. The Masters provided an epic ending for the ages. And the Chicago White Sox are off to another slow start on the field and at the box office. Paul Sullivan has three takeaways from a wild weekend of watching sports. Martin Sorge cuts a slice of his egg-free lemon cake with chocolate frosting. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune) Recipe: Egg-free yellow birthday cake with chocolate buttercream As a professional recipe developer focused on baking, Martin Sorge is more aware of the cost of eggs than most folks. Try making a custard tart that calls for eight egg yolks, then testing it three more times. That’s two dozen eggs for one recipe. Ouch. When thinking of transforming a bake into something eggless, he first thought of an egg-heavy bake like a custard tart. But then he realized that those treats celebrate eggs. What about a bake that needs eggs for structure but not really for flavor? Enter the birthday cake. Ted Aliotta in an undated photo. (Maggie Aliotta) Ted Aliotta, musician and ‘unreconstructed hippie’ who played role in seminal Chicago song, dies at 78 Ted Aliotta was a Chicago-area musician for 60 years, performing in bands including the Maybes, the Fabtones and the Cave Dwellers and playing a role in the creation of the early 1970s song “Lake Shore Drive,” which gained regional popularity as an ode to Chicago’s landmark highway. After a 45-minute performance, comedian Andy Kaufman slumps in his chair offstage, drained but still “wired” from his performance at the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago on Feb. 18, 1978. Kaufman opened for Bowser and Sha Na Na. (Ron Bailey/Chicago Tribune) Column: ‘Thank You Very Much’ tries to understand comic Andy Kaufman What to make of a man who admits that Howdy Doody was the first friend he ever had and who devoted some of his final years in professional wrestling, wrestling women for amusement? The man was Andy Kaufman and those questions are but two of many that linger decades after his death, writes Rick Kogan. ...read more read less