Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Jan. 29, according to the Tribune’s archives.
Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.
Front page flashback: Jan. 30, 2009
2009: The Illinois Senate voted 59-0 to remove Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who walked out of the silent chamber after delivering an impassioned plea for mercy, saying he “never, ever intended to violate the law.”
Within hours they applauded his former running mate and lieutenant governor, Pat Quinn, who was sworn in as the state’s 41st governor.
The Dishonor Roll: Meet the public officials who helped build Illinois’ culture of corruption
Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison in 2011 — the second-longest term ever delivered in federal court in Chicago for a public corruption case.
President Donald Trump, convicted of felonies himself, commuted Blagojevich’s 14-year sentence to about eight years served on Feb. 18, 2020.
Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
- High temperature: 63 degrees (2013)
- Low temperature: Minus 16 degrees (1966)
- Precipitation: 1.33 inches (2013)
- Snowfall: 5.3 inches (1909)
1856: William Rand co-founded what would become Rand McNally’s first print shop with the Chicago Tribune on Chicago’s Lake Street. Twelve years later, the company bought the Tribune’s share and began printing railroad tickets and timetables.
1963: Seventeen men — including Bears owner George Halas and Bears players Red Grange and Bronko Nagurski — were part of the charter class named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
1981: Jerry Reinsdorf was approved to buy the Chicago White Sox from Bill Veeck.
It only took American League owners 25 minutes to unanimously approve the sale to a syndicate headed by the Skokie real estate developer and New York television executive Eddie Einhorn.
2013: Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old honors student at King College Prep High School, was fatally shot in the back at Harsh Park in the 4500 block of South Oakenwald Avenue. The majorette performed at President Barack Obama’s inauguration parade the previous week. First lady Michelle Obama attended her funeral and Hadiya’s parents were invited to Obama’s State of the Union address in 2013.
Micheail Ward was convicted of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery following a lengthy jury trial in 2018. But an appeals court overturned his conviction.
2019: “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett reported he was a victim of an allegedly racist and homophobic attack. He was later charged with making it up and convicted in December 2021 on five out of six felony counts of disorderly conduct for lying to police. He was sentenced to 150 days in Cook County Jail.
In a stunning move, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned the convictions in November 2024, finding that a special prosecutor’s decision to retry him for allegedly staging a hate crime against himself violated his rights after the Cook County state’s attorney’s office previously dropped all charges.
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