Daywatch: A return to office is coming but there’s a catch | COVID vaccination rates for nursing home workers lag | Chicago restaurant becomes one of the best in the world

Good morning, Chicago.

As we look towards the new year, we wonder what 2022 will offer. For many workers, a return to the office is planned. Read what several Chicago companies shared about planned office reopenings and who will still be allowed to work from home.

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2022 could be the year companies return to their offices. But don’t expect remote work to go away entirely.

The New Year will mark a new beginning for workers like architect Jake Emery.

After having worked from home 90% of the time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, he will return to the Chicago-based office of Valerio Dewalt Train Associates on a regular basis in January. So, too, will Chicago-area employees at other companies, including the staff at Meta Chicago, formerly Facebook Chicago.

While many employers began requiring workers to return to the office at least part of the time in recent months, some companies had been holding off. But beginning in early 2022, more employers are expected to mandate it while still allowing some level of remote work. Employers and human resources executives cite a negative impact on corporate culture as reasons why they want to scale back remote work.

Despite mandates, COVID vaccination rates for nursing home workers lag behind residents, remain low at some facilities

Despite mandates, COVID-19 vaccination rates among workers at many nursing homes in Illinois remain at low levels, health officials say, prompting concerns that the rise in cases statewide could again endanger the elderly.

In Illinois, 89% of residents at long-term care facilities and 83% of workers were vaccinated as of Dec. 19 — but some facilities remained far below those marks, according to federal data. While 62% of residents who got vaccinated also had received booster shots, just 25% of vaccinated workers had gotten a booster.

Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts after Nick Foles and the Chicago Bears rallied to defeat the Seattle Seahawks 25-24.

After the Chicago Bears rallied with 11 points in the fourth quarter and took the lead on a two-point conversion with 1:01 remaining to defeat the Seattle Seahawks 25-24 Sunday afternoon at Lumen Field — ending a three-game losing streak, here are Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts.

1. Allow your mind to wander and you’ll catch yourself thinking about leads the Bears took late in the fourth quarter in Weeks 9 and 11.

The offense was able to forge ahead with less than two minutes to play at Pittsburgh and then at home against Baltimore, only to have the defense blow it. That’s how topsy turvy this season has been for the Bears. When the offense, which has been anemic almost every week, has delivered in the clutch, the defense suddenly springs leaks — lots of them — to blow games.

Review: Kasama was supposed to be a neighborhood cafe. It’s become one of the best restaurants in the world.

Genie Kwon and Tim Flores just wanted a neighborhood place, where people could come in for their morning coffee and a pastry. They thought dinner would drive the business, but decidedly not a finer-dining tasting menu.

“The last year and a half had different plans for us,” Kwon said.

Their plans changed, because the world changed and they started their new 13-course tasting menu dinner in November.

Their reluctantly heroic tasting menu surpasses so many others, not just in the city, but some of the best around the world Tribune critic Louisa Chu tasted and helped cook. The regular and vegetarian tasting menus were both so fantastic, she had to restrain herself from fist pumping the air with affirmation.

Column: 2021 rekindled our love for watching sports the way we did in the ‘before’ times. But COVID-19 concerns remained, from variants to vaccines.

Paul Sullivan writes that trying to come to grips with the state of the sports world in the final days of 2021 isn’t easy. We’re ending the year the way we began it, stressing over our favorite athletes and teams while another COVID-19 surge forces colleges and professional sports leagues to put their fingers on the pause button again.

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