1 Starting April 1, 20,000 state employees will get contracted step raises that ex-governor Bruce Rauner suspended in 2015. TBD: what will happen with back pay.

2 HBO’s adaptation of Richard Wright’s 1940 classic Native Son, filmed partially on the North Side, premieres April 6. Chicago-born artist Rashid Johnson makes his directorial debut, and DePaul University alumni Ashton Sanders and Kiki Layne star. Tune in to see how much still rings true in this modernized take.

3 Having cost the Cubs $625,000 per inning pitched in 2018, Yu Darvish is under a lot of pressure not to suck this season. Home opener is April 8.

4 Boeing votes April 29 on adding former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley to its board. Not psyched, probably: its factory workers. As governor of South Carolina, Haley stomped on unionization efforts.