Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area from Nov. 9-15, according to the Tribune’s archives.
Are we missing an important event? Email me.
Nov. 9, 1968:A 5.3-magnitude earthquake struck southern Illinois and was felt in more than 20 states. It’s the strongest on record in the state.
Nov. 10, 2016: Karen Finley, ex-CEO of Redflex Traffic Systems, Chicago’s red-light camera vendor, was sentenced to 2½ years in a decadelong bribery scheme. Finley faced up to five years in prison but was given a break for cooperating against John Bills, a longtime City Hall insider who steered multimillion-dollar contracts to Redflex in return for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash bribes and lavish gifts.
Nov. 11, 1981: Dan Goodwin — nicknamed “Spider Dan” for earlier scaling the Sears Tower — spent six hours in 40-degree weather climbing up the side of the 100-story John Hancock Center.
“Amid taunts, jeers, and boos from spectators, firefighters tried unsuccessfully for two hours to stop Goodwin, breaking windows and trying to turn him back with a torrent of water from high-pressure hoses,” the Tribune reported.
‘Spider Dan’ wowed Chicagoans with his scaling of skyscrapers
The decision to let Goodwin proceed, for his own safety, was made after a conference among Fire Commissioner William Blair, Mayor Jane Byrne and police Superintendent Richard Brzeczek, all of whom had come to the scene and tried to talk Goodwin out of his climb.
At about 1 p.m., Goodwin raised his fist in victory as he clambered over the top of the building — into the waiting arms of police.
Nov. 12, 1967: Naperville executive Earle T. Cook placed a bomb — intended to kill his wife — on an American Airlines flight from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to San Diego. The bomb malfunctioned during the flight, but caused no injuries. Cook was later charged and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Nov. 13, 1938: Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini became the first U.S. citizen beatified by the Roman Catholic Church as part of a Mass presided over by Pope Pius XI and celebrated by Chicago’s first cardinal, George Mundelein, who also officiated at Cabrini’s funeral.
Vintage Chicago Tribune: Mother Cabrini’s Chicago milestones on her path to sainthood
The radio broadcast of the ceremony marked the first one delivered by an American prelate from St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. The occasion marked special veneration for Cabrini on her path to sainthood in 1946.
Nov. 14, 1943: Chicago Bears quarterback Sid Luckman “smashed a truckload of National Football League records,” the Tribune reported, while leading the Bears to a 56-7 rout of the New York Giants. Luckman threw for seven touchdowns; completed 21 of 32 passes; and piled up a new individual high of 453 yards.
Since Luckman, seven NFL quarterbacks have thrown seven touchdowns in a game.
From Wrigley Field to Soldier Field: Where the Chicago Bears have played home games since 1921
Nov. 15, 1995: A group of Indiana investors proposed a new $205 million open-air stadium with 135 luxury skyboxes for the Chicago Bears at a site just west of the Gary Regional Airport. The “Planet Park” development would also include a team hall of fame, parking for 25,000 cars a nine-hole golf course, hotels and a 500,000-square foot retail shopping area. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley said the plan was rife with unanswered questions: “They have 25 if’s — at least.”
The ambitious plan collapsed in early 1996 when members of the Lake County (Indiana) Council announced their intention to “close the book on a dream” and oppose the local income tax crucial to funding the $312 million stadium plan.
Want more vintage Chicago?
Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago’s past.
Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com
