Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Nov. 24, according to the Tribune’s archives.
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Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
- High temperature: 69 degrees (1966)
- Low temperature: Minus 2 degrees (1950)
- Precipitation: 0.82 inches (2004)
- Snowfall: 4.3 inches (2004)
1936: An eight-car Chicago Rapid Transit Co. Evanston Express elevated train stopped in the Granville Avenue station was rear-ended by a Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee express train, killing 10 people and injuring 36. The accident spotlighted the common railroad practice of mixing cars of differing weight and strength in one train.
Vintage baiduhai: Disasters!!!!! Crashes, fires, riots and more from Illinois history.
Railroads had been converting to steel passenger cars since the beginning of the century but progress had been slow on the financially ailing mass transit systems. The steel North Shore cars telescoped over and demolished the rear wooden coach of the elevated train. The Interstate Commerce Commission also recommended after its investigation that a signal system be installed on the Chicago elevated lines, but that did not happen for 30 years.
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1959: A Trans World Airlines freighter crashed in a residential area southwest of Midway while attempting an emergency landing, killing 14 people.
1963: The Chicago Bears, en route to the NFL title, tied the Steelers 17-17 in Pittsburgh, where Mike Ditka broke more than a half-dozen tackles on the 63-yard gain that set up Roger Leclerc’s game-tying field goal.
1995: After nine months of planning and $100,000 to stage, Lincoln Park Zoo’s first ZooLight Festival opned. Visitors — who paid $6 for adults and $4 for children — saw illuminated replicas of animals who make the zoo their home, animated dinosaur light displays, ice sculptures and children’s activities. “Friends” co-star and Northwestern University alumnus David Schwimmer read children a story near the sea lion pool as part of the Caroling to the Animals program.
2015: Hours after Jason Van Dyke was ordered held without bond on a first-degree murder charge, the city released shocking police dashcam video that captured the white police officer opening fire on Black teenager Laquan McDonald on Oct. 20, 2014.
A Cook County jury found Van Dyke guilty on Oct. 5, 2018, on one count of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery — one for each bullet that hit McDonald’s body. He was sentenced to 81 months in prison, but released in February 2022 after serving a little more than three years behind bars.
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