Two Deaths in the Family: Eugene Sawyer, John Stroger

The news in Chicago is quietly sad. Before this Mayor Daley, and after the last Mayor Daley, we saw a few mayors. Among them was Eugene Sawyer. And in the middle of it all was Cook County Board president John Stroger.

Both men are dead, and Chicago is a little smaller.

I will not presume their families read this blog, but my condolences to them. Monday's newspaper will be grim.

Former Mayor Eugene Sawyer Dead At 73

Sawyer died at Hinsdale Hospital at 11 p.m. Saturday; he had suffered a series of recent strokes, the most recent in November, and he was hospitalized Friday with heart problems, his brother, John Sawyer said. Sawyer was 73.

John Stroger dies at 78 Chicago Tribune

John Stroger, who rose through the ranks of local Democratic politics from assistant precinct captain to powerful ward boss to become the first African-American elected Cook County Board president, died Friday after a long illness.

Mr. Stroger was best known for his efforts to expand county-provided health services to the poor, exemplified by the hospital that bears his name. But his tenure also was marked by criticism that he was an old-style politician who put a priority on using government to help his friends and family members.