Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Jan. 4, according to the Tribune’s archives.
Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.
Front page flashback: Jan. 5, 2017
Six reputed leaders of the Hobos street gang were convicted of racketeering conspiracy charges on Jan. 4, 2017. A federal jury found the gang carried out a total of eight murders over the course of a decade. (Chicago Tribune)
Reputed leader Gregory “Bowlegs” Chester of the Hobos, a Chicago super gang, and alleged lieutenants Paris Poe, Arnold Council, Gabriel Bush, Derrick Vaughn and William Ford were convicted on racketeering conspiracy charges.
Before the Chicago Bears played in the NFL’s fourth All-Star game on Jan. 4, 1942, head coach George Halas told his team: “It looks like this is your real test. This is the worst gridiron you’ve had to play on and it’s up to you to show your greatness, in spite of the conditions.” Despite the muddy playing field, the Bears scored five touchdowns on their way to a 35-24 victory. (Chicago Tribune)
1942: The Chicago Bears — who won the 1941 championship — defeated a team of NFL All-Stars 35-24 on a “dreary, chilly afternoon” at the Polo Grounds in New York City. It was the Bears’ 19th victory in 20 games. The game raised more than $51,000 (or more than $1 million in today’s dollars) for the Naval Relief Society.
Journalist Mike Flannery of WFLD-Ch. 32 at Chicago’s Fox studio newsroom on June 19, 2023. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
1966: Field Enterprises, then publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Daily News, launched WFLD-Ch. 32.
“We plan to be a station of selectivity,” said station director Sterling C. “Red” Quinlan. “We’ll be big in sports. We intend to show Chicagoans how the city works, how it is actually governed, what goes on behind the scenes. We mean to keep an eye on the town and jump into civic issues. We are not locked into anything and we’ll give all sorts of things a try.”
Chicago Bears Coach Neill Armstrong, the 11th man to direct the team in the club’s 58-year history, huddles with the players during his first practice on April 28, 1978. (Walter Kale/Chicago Tribune)
1982: Chicago Bears coach Neill Armstrong was fired after a 6-10 record during the 1981 season.
2002: Washington Wizards forward Michael Jordan became the fourth player in NBA history to score 30,000 career points when he hit a free throw in the second quarter of an 89-83 win against his old team — the Chicago Bulls. Jordan joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and Wilt Chamberlain.
Ryne Sandberg, clutching his Hall of Fame plaque, waves to the Cooperstown, New York, crowd on July 31, 2005. (Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune)
2005: Chicago Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sandberg was inducted on July 31, 2005, and delivered a stirring speech that criticized the products of the steroid era.
“When did it become OK for someone to hit home runs and forget how to play the rest of the game?” he asked.
Sandberg spoke about playing the game “right because that’s what you’re supposed to do” and said if his election into the Hall validates anything it’s that “learning how to bunt, hit-and-run and turning two is more important than knowing where to find the little red light (on) the dugout camera.”
“We believe our hope for development of a winning team would be increased if we could turn the squad over to a professional coach,” Bears co-owner George Halas said. “Neither Ed (Sternaman) nor I had time to coach the Bears. Last season, the worst since we entered professional football with the old Staleys, the coaching responsibility was divided between us and Ralph Scott. As a result our offense was ragged and by midseason the team had lost its morale.”
Jones had a 24-10-7 (.706) record during the 1930-32 seasons.
Soldiers carry Sewell Avery, chairman of the board of Montgomery Ward & Co., out of the building on April 27, 1944, after he was removed from his own office by the army on instructions of Atty. Gen. Biddle. Avery had defied the department of commerce when it tried to take over the huge plant. (Fred Giese/Chicago Tribune)
1944: Eight months after Sewell Avery, chairman of Montgomery Ward & Co., refused to renew a union contract on orders of the War Labor Board — and the feds moved in, literally, and moved Avery out — President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered another seizure of the company.
The company fought the government takeover, saying its goods were not related to the war effort, but it lost its battle in the courts.
Avery didn’t get his company back till 1945. Then, fearing a postwar depression, he refused to expand along with his competitors, and Wards hopelessly lost ground.
One survivor of a North Central Airlines plane that crashed into a hangar and exploded at O’Hare International Airport on Dec. 27, 1968, told the Tribune how he escaped from the aircraft. “I popped open the emergency window, said ‘Let’s get out of here,’ and jumped,’” said U.S. Air Force Sgt. Carl Tessmer. (Chicago Tribune)
1968: Buffeted by wingtip turbulence from a jet that had just taken off, a North Central Airlines Convair 580 lost control while taking off and hit a hangar at O’Hare. Twenty-eight died and 27 others were injured, including several people on the ground.
Boxing legend Jack Johnson in an undated photo. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)
1908:Jack Johnson — who lived in Chicago and owned a short-lived cafe in the Bronzeville neighborhood — became the first Black heavyweight boxing champion. Johnson defeated Tommy Burns in the 14th round by decision in Sydney, Australia, “when the police took a hand in the affair and stopped the uneven battle,” the Tribune reported.
Five years later, an all-white jury in Chicago convicted Johnson of traveling with his white girlfriend, Lucille Cameron, in violation of the Mann Act, which made it illegal to transport women across state lines for “immoral” purposes.
Boxing legend Jack Johnson and his wife Lucille in an undated photo. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)
The case would later be held up as a deplorable example of institutional racism in early 20th-century America. He was sentenced to a year and a day in prison in June 1913, but fled to Canada with Cameron, whom he married while free on bond. He remained a fugitive for seven years, traveling from Europe to Mexico, where he fought bulls and ran a bar called the Main Event.
Johnson returned to the United States in 1920 and turned himself in. He served about a year in federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, and was released in July 1921 — arriving back in Chicago a few days later to 35,000 people cheering him on. Johnson died on June 10, 1946, in an auto crash in North Carolina, after storming out of a diner where he’d been asked to sit in a rear section reserved for Blacks. He is buried in Graceland Cemetery.
President Donald Trump granted a rare posthumous pardon to Johnson on May 24, 2018, clearing Johnson’s name more than 100 years after what many see as his racist conviction. The case had been brought to Trump’s attention by “Rocky” star Sylvester Stallone.
“The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams debuted at the Civic Theatre in Chicago on Dec. 26, 1944, and received a rave review by the Tribune’s Claudia Cassidy. (Chicago Tribune)
1944: Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie” — “which tells a worried mother’s problems in marrying off her crippled daughter,” the Tribune earlier reported — held its world premiere at the Civic Theatre in Chicago. The four-character play starred Eddie Dowling, Laurette Taylor, Julie Haydon and Robert Stevenson. The cost of the production was expected to be $40,000 (or roughly $728,000 in today’s dollars).
On Dec. 27, 1944, the feature pages of the Tribune offered a review of the new play. The headline read: “Fragile Drama Holds Theater in Tight Spell.” The reviewer was Claudia Cassidy.
Chicago Tribune theater critic Claudia Cassidy in the 1940s. (Chicago Tribune historical archive)
“Paradoxically, it is a dream in the dusk and a tough little play that knows people and how they tick,” Cassidy wrote in her review. “Etched in the shadows of a man’s memory, it comes alive in theater terms of words, motion, lighting, and music. If it is your play, as it is mine, it reaches out tentacles, first tentative, then gripping, and you are caught in its spell.”
1969:A gunman hijacked Chicago-bound United Airlines Flight 929 — a Boeing 727 with 32 people on board — and forced it to fly to Havana from New York City. Pilot Axel D. Paulsen was ordered, “Take this ship to Cuba — and no funny business.”
A spokesperson for the airline said Paulsen told dispatch: “The guy’s got a gun but he’s pretty cool.”
The plane touched down in Havana at 10:03 p.m. then flew to Miami at 1:23 a.m. Chicago time. It was the 33rd American plane hijacked that year.
Former Ald. Daniel Solis arrives at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, Nov. 25, 2024, to take the stand in the Michael Madigan corruption trial. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
2018: Retiring Chicago Ald. Daniel Solis signed a secret agreement with federal prosecutors admitting to taking bribes from real estate developers in exchange for his help on zoning issues. The terms of the unprecedented, deferred prosecution agreement that Solis signed with the U.S. attorney’s office that day weren’t made public until April 2022. He became a government mole by wearing an undercover wire to help federal investigators build cases against 14th Ward Ald. Edward Burke and ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Solis entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. attorney’s office, which agreed to drop bribery charges against him in 2025 if he continues to cooperate.
1875: The Cathedral of the Holy Name, at the corner of Superior and State streets, was dedicated with Bishop Thomas Foley presiding. The $200,000 building (more than $6 million in today’s dollars) was designed by Patrick Keely of Brooklyn.
The Tribune had one criticism of the church’s interior design: “The decorator deserves whatever censure is bestowed. He appears to have aimed at two objects — light and softness — and to have missed both in the artistic sense.”
The William Green Homes public housing project at Division Street and Ogden Avenue was dedicated on Nov. 21, 1961. (Chicago Tribune)
1961: The 1,099 apartments of the William Green Homes — a $17 million project named for the former American Federation of Labor president — were dedicated just north and west of the Cabrini extension towers.
Nicknamed the “Whites” for their white concrete exterior, the William Green housing complex consisted of eight buildings that were each 15 or 16 stories tall. The development, as a whole, became known as Cabrini-Green.
Ald. Wallace Davis Jr. was indicted on Nov. 21, 1986, as part of Operation Incubator, an undercover investigation into alleged City Hall corruption. (Chicago Tribune)
1986:Seven were indicted — including Chicago Aldermen Wallace Davis Jr., 27th, and Clifford P. Kelley, 20th, — by the FBI as part of its 2½-year undercover investigation into alleged City Hall corruption known as Operation Incubator.
Davis Jr. was convicted in 1987 of accepting a $5,000 bribe from an FBI informant, forcing his niece to pay $11,000 in kickbacks from her salary as his ward secretary and extorting $3,000 from the owners of a restaurant in his ward. He was sentenced to 8½ years in prison by a federal judge who accused Davis of committing perjury at his trial and castigated him for his lack of remorse after a jury convicted him.
Kelley pleaded guilty in June 1987 to charges he accepted $6,500 from Waste Management Inc., the world’s biggest trash hauler, and $30,000 from a New York bill-collection agency vying for lucrative city work. A flamboyant 16-year Chicago City Council veteran, Kelley was sentenced to one year in prison and served nine months in a minimum-security prison in Duluth, Minnesota.
Sea lions arrived at Lincoln Park Zoo by train in July 1889. Nineteen of the 21 animals shipped to Chicago from Santa Barbara, California, survived. (Chicago Tribune)
1903:“Big Ben” escaped to Lake Michigan. The 600-pound male sea lion, who arrived at Lincoln Park Zoo from California a year earlier, scaled the 3-foot iron fence around his enclosure and headed 200 yards into the lake. Worried a hunter might shoot the animal, keeper Cyrus DeVry offered a $25 reward for Big Ben’s safe return. The animal was spotted at many different locations, including 2 miles off south Chicago, where he tried to board the dredge tug Mentor. The final sighting was April 25, 1904, when the sea lion’s body was discovered 15 miles south of St. Joseph, Michigan.
Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger, from left, Mick Taylor and Keith Richards on Nov. 16, 1969, at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago. Editors note: this historic print shows age damage. (Dave Nystrom/Chicago Tribune)
1969: The Rolling Stones played the International Amphitheatre as part of the band’s first United States tour in three years (a day before the band played two shows at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign). Three weeks later, the tour would end in tragedy at the Altamont Speedway in California, with an audience member being stabbed and beaten to death by Hells Angels members who had been hired by the Stones to provide security.
But in Chicago, the Stones were in prime form, with their hero, Chuck Berry, as one of the opening acts. The band lineup for this tour included guitarist Mick Taylor for the first time, as a replacement for Brian Jones, who died a few months earlier.
Harry Caray puts on a Chicago Cubs hat at a news conference on Nov. 16, 1981, after he signed a two-year contract to broadcast Cubs games. (Walter Kale/Chicago Tribune)
1981: Broadcaster Harry Caray brought his antics to the North Side after 11 years as the voice of the Chicago White Sox. Caray signed a two-year contract with WGN radio and television to announce Chicago Cubs games.
“After several weeks of talking and negotiating, we made him an offer about two weeks ago,” said Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. “The money was acceptable to him, but he said he wanted to think about it. That was the first time we had any indication he was anything but anxious to come back.”
Caray remained with the Cubs until his death on Feb. 18, 1998.
Ald. William Henry, 24th, with his car near Independence Square Fountain in Chicago on Aug. 18, 1988. (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune)
1990: Chicago Ald. William Henry — known at City Hall as “Wild Bill” — was indicted on charges he extorted cash and luxury cars from a car rental firm, took bribes from a West Side janitorial company and put “ghost workers” on the city payroll in exchange for kickbacks.
The West Side politician pleaded not guilty and told reporters that his indictment was a ”smear campaign.” Henry died in 1992, halting the case against him.
Travelers walk through a grandly decorated terminal at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Dec. 3, 2024, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Also in 1990: “Home Alone” premiered. The Tribune gave the modern Christmas classic, which was shot in 62 days in the city and suburbs, three stars.
The film was written and produced by John Hughes (“Sixteen Candles,” “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” “The Breakfast Club” and more), who was by then deep into his oeuvre of using Chicago-area sites to illuminate his scripts. This one arrived after “Uncle Buck” (which was also shot here) and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (which wasn’t) but before “Dutch” and “Curly Sue.”
Sid Luckman, right, shakes the hand of Chicago Bears owner George Halas after signing a two-year contract with the team in July 1939. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)
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.
The Chicago Bears won a thriller against the Washington Redskins on Nov. 14, 1971, at Soldier Field in Chicago. Dick Butkus caught a pass from Bobby Douglass for an extra point that put the Bears up 16-15. (Chicago Tribune)
1971: “When Dick Butkus beats you by catching a pass for one point in a 16-15 game, it hurts,” wrote Tribune reporter Don Pierson. The Washington Redskins were stunned.
Future Hall of Famer Butkus, an eligible receiver as a blocking back on the play, caught a 40-yard heave by Chicago Bears quarterback Bobby Douglass. It marked Butkus’ first NFL point.
Caretaker Jose Billegas picks up some of the tributes left by well-wishers on the doorstep of the former residence of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin after his death, Nov. 21, 1996. The items were taken inside and dried and saved for the cardinal’s family. (Carl Wagner/Chicago Tribune)
1996: Chicago Cardinal Joseph Bernardin died at 1:33 a.m. after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer; he was 68.
Choreographer Ann Reinking, left, and Bebe Neuwirth during a dress rehearsal for “Chicago’s” 10th anniversary show in New York, Nov. 14, 2006. (Seth Wenig/AP)
Also in 1996: A revival of the 1975 musical “Chicago” — which was based on a play written by former Tribune reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins — opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York. Among the show’s numerous Tony Awards, Ann Reinking won one for her choreography.
The “more cynical, darker show,” as Tribune critic Merrill Goozner described it, was given a “black box setting” with actors and dancers wearing basic — but barely there — black costumes. Slinky dances accompanied fast-paced music from the orchestra, which was seated on a raked bandstand in the background. “All That Jazz,” “Razzle Dazzle” and the “Cell Block Tango” were pumped out with vigor, Tribune critic Richard Christiansen wrote.
With more than 11,400 performances, “Chicago” is the second-longest running show on Broadway behind “The Phantom of the Opera,” according to Playbill.
Surprised and exuberant, Jane Byrne and supporters, along with her campaign manager Don Rose, wearing glasses on left, exult in her upset victory against Mayor Michael Bilandic on Feb. 27, 1979, in the Democratic mayoral primary in Chicago. (Anne Cusack/Chicago Tribune)
2014:Jane Byrne, Chicago’s first female mayor, died.
1863: “In an instant … there was a snapping of iron, a cracking and crashing of timbers, a shriek of horror from the bystanders … ” The iron bridge at Rush Street, which was the first of its kind in Chicago when constructed in 1856, collapsed. At the time, 100 head of cattle and a horse and buggy carrying a man and his young sister fell into the Chicago River.
Still life of the Chicago Daily Tribune “Dewey Defeats Truman” newspaper belonging to former Tribune Editor Gerry Kern. (Bill Hogan/Chicago Tribune)
1948: The Tribune was on deadline. In the absence of election results, the newspaper assumed that New York Gov. Thomas E. Dewey (Republican) would sink incumbent Harry S. Truman (Democrat). He didn’t. And the blunder — “Dewey Defeats Truman” — appeared atop a single edition of the Tribune.
1983: The Rev. Jesse Jackson announced his candidacy for president in Washington.
He placed third in Democratic primary voting behind Sen. Gary Hart and former Vice President Walter Mondale, who took the nomination. Jackson earned more than 3 million votes during the primaries.
Luis Gutierrez, 26th Ward, left, and Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, 22nd Ward, during a taping of the “Newsmakers” show at CBS Studios on Jan. 29, 1988, at 630 N. McClurg Court in Chicago. (Walter Kale/Chicago Tribune)
1992:Ald. Luis Gutierrez of the 26th Ward became the first Latino member of Congress for Illinois. He served almost 26 years in office before endorsing Jesus “Chuy” Garcia — who won handily — in the 2018 election. Born in Chicago and of Puerto Rican descent, Gutierrez was a vocal critic of President Donald Trump administration’s response to the heavy damage inflicted there by Hurricane Maria in 2017. The congressman visited the island to deliver food and supplies from Chicagoans. Gutierrez was among a half-dozen Democrats who introduced articles of impeachment against Trump in November 2017.
Charles Dvorak pole vaults at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis. (Missouri Historical Society)
1904: Chicago Athletic Association’s Charles Dvorak traveled to France for the 1900 Summer Olympics — but failed to win a gold medal. The pole vault competition, as he understood it, was supposed to take place on a Sunday.
Since this would have violated the Sabbath, he was told the event would be rescheduled. According to the University of Michigan, however, the event took place after Dvorak and other American athletes left the competition area. Dvorak was awarded a silver medal in a consolation competition that was held to accommodate the U.S. team.
He returned to Olympic competition in St. Louis four years later, posting an Olympic record 11 feet, 6 inches to take home the gold. Dvorak, according to the Olympic Games, was the first vaulter to use a lighter bamboo pole instead of the heavier ash or hickory pole.
After he took off with more than $1 million, Milwaukee Avenue Bank president Paul Stensland was discovered by the Tribune in Tangier, Morocco, in September 1906. Stensland was brought back to Chicago where he pleaded guilty to taking the money and served time in the penitentiary at Joliet. (Chicago Tribune)
1906: Fugitive Chicago bank president Paul Stensland — who fled the city with more than $1 million — was tracked down in Tangier, Morocco, by the Tribune, which persuaded him to surrender and tell his story. The Tribune’s managing editor, James Keeley, was later presented with the $5,000 reward for the arrest and delivery of Stensland to police. Keeley gave the reward to the Milwaukee Avenue State Bank, from which Stensland took the funds.
Stensland pleaded guilty and was sent to Joliet penitentiary.
Chicago Cubs player Billy Williams doffs his cap to the Wrigley Field fans after receiving a trophy marking his 896th consecutive game, a National League record, on June 29, 1969. (John Austad/Chicago Tribune)
1970: Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Billy Williams ended a streak of playing in 1,117 consecutive games. The left fielder sat out while the Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-2.
Members of the Chicago Teachers Union vote on whether to strike at Dunbar Vocational High School on Sept. 2, 1975. (Roy Hal/Chicago Tribune)
1975: Chicago Teachers Union members voted by a nearly 9-to-1 margin to strike on Sept. 3, 1975, which was supposed to be the first day of the school year. Union President Robert M. Healey said the issues were a complete contract for the 1975-76 school year, smaller class sizes, a cost-of-living pay raise and an improved fringe benefits package.
How it was resolved: The Board of Education agreed on Sept. 17, 1975, to a new contract giving CTU a 7.1% salary increase, smaller class sizes, improved insurance benefits and restoration of 1,525 teaching positions that had been cut.
The agreement for the 1975-76 school year, in which Mayor Richard J. Daley played a behind-the-scenes role as a mediator, cost $79.6 million. Of that, $68.8 million went to employees represented by the CTU and $10.8 million to others.
A flag-waving Mayor Harold Washington joins Chicago Transit Authority Chairman Michael Cardilli and Gov. James Thompson, right, at ceremonies inaugurating the final leg of the CTA’s rapid transit line extension to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Sept. 3, 1984. (John Dziekan/Chicago Tribune)
1984: Chicago Transit Authority trains were extended to O’Hare International Airport. At 90 cents for a one-way trip, the “L” was “a much better deal than a taxi or special shuttle bus,” the Tribune reported.
CHICAGO (WLS) — For some families, it was their first time coming to the former E2 nightclub, now a vacant building, with renewed calls to turn this location into a memorial for the 21 people who died 21 years ago on Saturday.
Despite not being old enough to remember, Aniya Myers will never forget the pain of losing her father, Antonio Myers, weeks after being born.
“I don’t know why he was taken away from me,” Aniya said. “My whole life, I’ve never been here, and it’s just really hard. I don’t remember his voice. I don’t remember any core memories that I’m supposed to have.”
Anjenita Myers, Antonio’s sister, also spoke at Saturday’s vigil.
“My other brother he told us that he couldn’t revive his brother. How devastating is that? His brother stood right next to him and gave him CPR, and he could not revive him. So, those are the thoughts that go through my mind as I stepped on this property today,” Anjenita said.
Prayer outside the vacant building on Saturday marked the 21st anniversary of the deadly stampede at the E2 nightclub, where 21 people died.
More than 1,000 people were gathered in the second-floor club, designed to hold 240. When pepper spray was used to break up a fight, club-goers ran.
Hundreds of people rushed to the only exit, creating a stampede that jammed the stairwell. Twenty-one people died after they became trapped and were crushed in the stairwell.
Months before the catastrophe, a court order was issued closing the club for building violations.
E2’s owners, Calvin Hollin, Jr. and and Dwain Kyles, were convicted of criminal contempt for violating that order but were cleared of involuntary manslaughter charges.
They blamed police for a botched response, which the city denied.
Some victims’ children are now adults.
“Having my mom not around, it’s like a lot of loss pieces without her,” said Laneisha Crawford, the daughter of stampede victim Demetricta Carwell.
“And, I just wish she was here to see that I want to make her proud,” said Shapara Hicks, the daughter of LaTorya McGraw, another victim.
While a moment of silence ended Saturday’s gathering, demands to turn the vacant building into a memorial for the victims were heard loud and clear.
“It should be something here. Like I said, 21 people died that night and none of them deserved it,” Aniya said.
“Every single year we’re standing in front of a doorway, in front of a building that for 21 years has not been occupied, and it’s obvious that it’s not going to be occupied because if it is, we’re going to be here protesting this building,” said Dawn Valenti, a friend of stampede victim Michael Wilson.
Women have long played a major role in impacting and shaping the city of Chicago. As Women’s History Month kicks off in March, it’s a great time to recognize the important achievements and contributions made by these trailblazers. All month long, you can find events — ranging from theatre to music to the arts and beyond — honoring women across fields.
Here’s a roundup of ways to celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day in Chicago this year.
Women’s History Month culinary events
Photo by Matthieu Joannon
Let’s Talk Womxn “More Than March” Black & Bling Bash: Start Women’s History Month with a woman-powered celebration from Let’s Talk Womxn Chicago at Moe’s Cantina on Friday, March 1. Enjoy tasting stations and cocktails by 30+ leading Let’s Talk Womxn Chicago restaurants, plus a DJ, black and bling drag show, dancing, women soapboxes, and more.
Women Winemakers Tasting Event at Le Sud: Deep dive into the world of wines with Le Sud, a woman-owned restaurant in Roscoe Village. Attend a special Women Winemakers tasting event on Thursday, March 7, where you can explore selections from women vintners accompanied by hors d’oeuvres, and even bring a bottle home.
International Women’s Night Out at Volo: Get empowered at the fourth annual Women’s History Month celebration at Volo restaurant in Roscoe Village on Wednesday, March 6. Guests will work on gratitude journal prompts while enjoying an appetizer and drink with journaling materials to use during the event and to take home.
Charcuterie Workshop and Non-Alcoholic Open Wine Bar: In West Town, 2048 Non-Alcoholic Wine Shop will be hosting a class on Saturday, March 16 on the art of crafting a top-tier charcuterie board. Headed by All A’Board owner, Alicia Starks, you’ll be provided with premium ingredients for your masterpiece along with a complimentary open bar featuring a selection of the shop’s finest non-alcoholic wines.
Women’s History Month exhibits, shows, and more
Red Clay Dance Company, photo credit MReid Photography
Music, dance, comedy, and more La Femme Dance Festival: This three-day dance festival honors women in dance and brings award-winning choreographers and breathtaking performances to the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, including two world premieres.
ECHO Women’s History Month Concert: The Chicago Sinfonietta will be celebrating Women’s History Month with ECHO, an inspiring program featuring a lineup of works from women in music like Florence Price and Clarice Assad. This stunning performance will be held at Auditorium Theatre on Saturday, March 16.
Girl Heaven at The Second City: This all-women sketch revue is back in The Second City’s Blackout Cabaret. Girl Heaven is the greatest place on Earth that you’ll never want to leave. With completely new sketches and jokes, the show will run from Saturday, Feb. 17 through Saturday, March 30.
International Women’s Day Dance: The Chicago Foundation for Women will be hosting an International Women’s Day dance with appetizers and an open bar on Saturday, March 9. All funds from the event will go toward organizations and programs benefiting lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning women and girls in the Chicago region.
Chicago History Museum; Clayton Hauck for Choose Chicago
Museum exhibits and events Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan at the Art Institute of Chicago: Explore the influential and ambitious compositions by 36 women contemporary ceramic artists from Japan from 1970 to the present day. This innovative exhibit is featured at the Art Institute of Chicago and currently running through Monday, June 3.
Women’s History Month Commemorative Day at Chicago History Museum: To honor this year’s theme of “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion,” the Chicago History Museum will offer a schedule of interactive activities that highlight women of all backgrounds on Saturday, March 30. Access is included with general admission.
Freedom Square: The Black Girlhood Altar: The Chicago Cultural Center hosts this powerful exhibition intended as a sacred site for missing and murdered Black girls and women. The display, which runs through March 10, is curated by A Long Walk Home, a national art organization that empowers young people to end violence against girls and women.
Women-centric markets International Women’s Day Market: In Lincoln Square/Ravenswood, this third annual pop-up market will include a curated selection of 50+ local, women-owned vendors selling unique jewelry, beauty products, home goods, and more. The free event is from Saturday, March 9 through Sunday, March 10 at Artifact Events.
Chicago Collective Women’s Edition Show: This biannual show features an open-booth format spotlighting exhibitors who represent hundreds of the finest brands in women’s classic and contemporary apparel, lifestyle, accessories, and footwear. The event is located at THE MART in River North from Sunday, March 3 through Tuesday, March 5.
Chicago landmarks honoring women
Jane Addams Hull-House Museum: Jane Addams was America’s first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. The social reformer and feminist ran Hull House on the west side of Chicago, which provided housing, childcare, education, and more for the neighborhood’s many immigrant families. Today, the former Hull House complex is a dynamic museum dedicated to social justice issues of past and present.
The Light of Truth Ida B. Wells National Monument: This Chicago landmark honors the legacy of Ida B. Wells, the journalist and social reformer who advocated for civil rights, women’s suffrage, and economic justice. She’s remembered for her anti-lynching campaign and as a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Her former residence is also commemorated nearby.
Gwendolyn Brooks Park and former residence: Gwendolyn Brooks was one of Chicago’s most acclaimed and beloved poets, whose many accolades include a Pulitzer Prize. Her childhood home still stands on the south side of the city, and nearby Brooks Park honors the writer with a bronze statue.
Chicago Women’s Park and Garden: This small, charming green space honors the historical contributions women have made to the city of Chicago. One defining feature of the park is a symbolically powerful statue dedicated to Jane Addams and designed by Louise Bourgeois, known as “one of the most important and influential artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.”
LGBTQ+ landmarks: Chicago has been shaped by a long line of LGBTQ+ leaders, including many influential women. Explore their rich legacy through the city’s array of landmarks, which honor icons like Lorraine Hansberry, Pearl Hart, and Valerie Taylor. Plus, the Chicago Legacy Walk includes many pioneering women in LGBTQ+ history.
Women-owned businesses in Chicago
Photo by Susanne Fairfax
One of the best ways to celebrate Women’s History Month is by supporting local women-owned businesses. Chicago is home to a diverse community of women-owned restaurants, boutiques, bookstores, and beyond. And hear more about their stories in our small business spotlights.
