Today in Chicago History: The case of the ‘ragged stranger'
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on June 21, according to the Tribune's archives.
Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.
Column: 11 observations to kick off a Chicago sports summer, including updating the 'Maddux' to the 'PCA'Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
1920: United States Army veteran Carl Wanderer claimed his wife Ruth Wanderer was fatally shot by an unknown man during a robbery attempt in the vestibule of their apartment complex before he fatally shot the assailant.
Wanderer later admitted to killing both and staging the scene in what was to be known as 'The Case of the Ragged Stranger.'
1921: Bessie Coleman became the first Black woman to earn a pilot's license. The International Aeronautical Federation in France presented it to her almost two years before fellow aviator Amelia Earhart.
Coleman returned to the United States aboard the steamer ship Mancuria amid fanfare on Sept. 25, 1921. She proclaimed herself the 'only Negro aviatrix in the world,' the Tribune reported, and intended 'to give exhibition flights and thus inspire the colored citizens with a desire to fly.'
1926: Chicago became the first city in the U.S. to host the International Eucharistic Congress. Nearly 1 million Catholics from around the world joined the almost 1 million local Catholics during the four-day gathering, which started in Mundelein then moved to Soldier Field. Approximately 300,000 people — 150,000 inside Soldier Field and 150,000 outside the stadium — attend Mass there.
1958: The last remaining Chicago streetcar made its final run. The last paying trolley customer was Al Carter. Carter was also the last customer at the 1933-34 Century of Progress, which was the second World's Fair hosted by the city.
1964: The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was the keynote speaker at the Illinois Rally for Civil Rights held at Soldier Field, where he told the crowd of more than 57,000, 'We must continue to engage in demonstrations, boycotts, and rent strikes and to use all the resources at our disposal. We must go to the ballot box and vote in large numbers. But nonviolence is the most total weapon available to the Negro in his struggle for human dignity.'
Vintage Chicago Tribune: The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. leads 'the first significant freedom movement in the North'The predominantly Black crowd that gathered to hear him speak was smaller than expected, however, due to rain.
1971: The Chicago Teachers Union voted by a 2-1 ratio to accept a plan to integrate faculties in the city's public schools. The plan called for the faculty of any one school to be limited to no more than 75% Black or 75% white teachers. The vote of 11,681 to 5,566 represented a larger membership turnout than for the teachers' contract vote at the beginning of the year.
1996: Doors to the Museum of Contemporary Art's new building on East Chicago Avenue opened for the first time to the public at 7 p.m. and remained so until 7 p.m. the following day. The unique 24-hour concept was considered its own performance piece for the approximately 25,000 people who visited during that time period.
Missing, however, was the museum's founder Joseph Randall Shapiro, who died just days earlier at the age of 91.
2011: Ferocious winds spawned tornadoes that hit Downers Grove and Mount Prospect, but warning sirens in the communities remained silent. In both cases, tornadoes about 200 yards wide traveled roughly 2 miles, toppling trees, tossing lawn furniture and knocking down power lines.
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The Tribune's Quotes of the Week quiz for June 21
Summer temperatures are officially here, Chicago. A heat wave is moving across the region this weekend, with potentially record-breaking temperatures and dangerously high humidity. Luckily, the city's pools reopened just in time. For the first time since the pandemic, Chicago's outdoor public pools will be open seven days a week this summer. What else happened this week? Let's jump in. President Donald Trump left the the Group of Seven summit in Canada early as the war between Israel and Iran intensified. The president said he will decide the level of U.S. involvement in the conflict within two weeks. The Federal Reserve also kept its key rate unchanged this week, waiting to see how new tariffs will impact the economy. On Sunday, the man suspected of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses was taken into custody following a two-day manhunt. Several prominent Illinois politicians were among the names listed in the alleged shooter's notebooks. Tensions over immigration continued to flare this week. Following news that President Trump was directing federal immigration officials to ramp up deportations in Democratic-run cities and possibly targeting Chicago with a military response similar to Los Angeles, Mayor Brandon Johnson warned that such a move would be challenged in the courts, saying the president should respect the Constitution. And several Illinois Democratic congressmen were denied entry at an ICE facility in suburban Broadview, despite demands to check on the conditions of the detainees held there. In state financing news, Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Illinois budget Monday, while Cook County projected a $211 million shortfall for 2026. Funding for Chicago-area transit also remains unresolved in Springfield — as does the question of who will lead the Chicago Transit Authority. The Tribune discovered this week that the mayor didn't conduct a national search for a replacement for Dorval Carter, who left the CTA earlier this year, despite claiming otherwise. As the school year comes to a close, Pedro Martinez's tenure as Chicago Public Schools CEO is over. In his final week as schools chief, Martinez delivered remarks at the City Club about his time leading the district. Summer break often means more large gatherings of young people downtown. In an effort to curb these sometimes violent and chaotic 'teen takeovers,' Chicago City Council narrowly passed an ordinance that would give the police superintendent the power to declare a 'snap curfew' anytime, anywhere. On Wednesday, Mayor Johnson said he would veto the measure and on Friday, followed through on that promise, issuing the first mayoral veto in nearly two decades. Preparations for this year's NASCAR street race have begun, but will the race be held in Chicago again next year? The Tribune reported this week that a tourism commission in Southern California is currently in negotiations to move the race to San Diego. In other news from the world of sports and entertainment, the Chicago Fire offered a detailed look this week at their stadium plans, Cubs legend Sammy Sosa returned to Wrigley Field and the James Beard Awards were announced. Plus, a popular gay bar in Chicago's Northalsted neighborhood could soon have another location at O'Hare International Airport. If the proposal is approved, Sidetrack would be the first LGBTQ+ bar in a U.S. airport. That's all for this week! Here's the Tribune's Quotes of the Week quiz from June 15 to 21. Missed last week? You can find it here or check out our past editions of Quotes of the Week. Until next time, stay cool, stay hydrated and be safe out there, Chicago!
Chicago Tribune
3 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Today in Chicago History: The case of the ‘ragged stranger'
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on June 21, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Column: 11 observations to kick off a Chicago sports summer, including updating the 'Maddux' to the 'PCA'Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) 1920: United States Army veteran Carl Wanderer claimed his wife Ruth Wanderer was fatally shot by an unknown man during a robbery attempt in the vestibule of their apartment complex before he fatally shot the assailant. Wanderer later admitted to killing both and staging the scene in what was to be known as 'The Case of the Ragged Stranger.' 1921: Bessie Coleman became the first Black woman to earn a pilot's license. The International Aeronautical Federation in France presented it to her almost two years before fellow aviator Amelia Earhart. Coleman returned to the United States aboard the steamer ship Mancuria amid fanfare on Sept. 25, 1921. She proclaimed herself the 'only Negro aviatrix in the world,' the Tribune reported, and intended 'to give exhibition flights and thus inspire the colored citizens with a desire to fly.' 1926: Chicago became the first city in the U.S. to host the International Eucharistic Congress. Nearly 1 million Catholics from around the world joined the almost 1 million local Catholics during the four-day gathering, which started in Mundelein then moved to Soldier Field. Approximately 300,000 people — 150,000 inside Soldier Field and 150,000 outside the stadium — attend Mass there. 1958: The last remaining Chicago streetcar made its final run. The last paying trolley customer was Al Carter. Carter was also the last customer at the 1933-34 Century of Progress, which was the second World's Fair hosted by the city. 1964: The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was the keynote speaker at the Illinois Rally for Civil Rights held at Soldier Field, where he told the crowd of more than 57,000, 'We must continue to engage in demonstrations, boycotts, and rent strikes and to use all the resources at our disposal. We must go to the ballot box and vote in large numbers. But nonviolence is the most total weapon available to the Negro in his struggle for human dignity.' Vintage Chicago Tribune: The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. leads 'the first significant freedom movement in the North'The predominantly Black crowd that gathered to hear him speak was smaller than expected, however, due to rain. 1971: The Chicago Teachers Union voted by a 2-1 ratio to accept a plan to integrate faculties in the city's public schools. The plan called for the faculty of any one school to be limited to no more than 75% Black or 75% white teachers. The vote of 11,681 to 5,566 represented a larger membership turnout than for the teachers' contract vote at the beginning of the year. 1996: Doors to the Museum of Contemporary Art's new building on East Chicago Avenue opened for the first time to the public at 7 p.m. and remained so until 7 p.m. the following day. The unique 24-hour concept was considered its own performance piece for the approximately 25,000 people who visited during that time period. Missing, however, was the museum's founder Joseph Randall Shapiro, who died just days earlier at the age of 91. 2011: Ferocious winds spawned tornadoes that hit Downers Grove and Mount Prospect, but warning sirens in the communities remained silent. In both cases, tornadoes about 200 yards wide traveled roughly 2 miles, toppling trees, tossing lawn furniture and knocking down power lines. 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.
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Key moments from the sixth week of Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking trial
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Prosecutors say the events were proof of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges because Combs coerced his employees, associates and even his girlfriends to recruit and arrange flights for sex workers while his workers obtained drugs, stocked hotel rooms with baby oil, lubricant, condoms, candles and liquor and delivered cash. In her opening statement, defense lawyer Teny Geragos had called the videos 'powerful evidence that the sexual conduct in this case was consensual and not based on coercion.' Prosecutors played about 2 minutes of the recordings before the defense team aired about 18 minutes of the videos. The public and the press were unable to observe whether the prosecutors or defense lawyers had the better arguments after the judge ruled that neither the recordings nor the sound could be seen or heard by anyone except lawyers, the judge and the jury. Several jurors seemed to cast their eyes and sometimes turn their bodies away from the screens directly in front of them while the recordings played. The jurors listened through earphones supplied by the court, as did Combs and lawyers. Judge Arun Subramanian started the week by dismissing a juror whose conflicting answers about whether he lived in New Jersey or New York convinced the judge he was a threat to the integrity of the trial. Subramanian said the juror's answers during jury selection and in the week before he was excused 'raised serious concerns as to the juror's candor and whether he shaded answers to get on and stay on the jury.' 'The inconsistencies — where the juror has lived and with whom — go to straightforward issues as to which there should not have been any doubts, and the answers also go to something vital: the basic qualifications of a juror to serve,' the judge said. Residents of New Jersey would not be permitted to sit on a New York federal jury. A day before Subramanian ruled, defense lawyers argued fiercely against dismissal, saying that replacing the Black juror with a white alternate juror so late in the trial would change the diverse demographics of the jury and require a mistrial. The jurors are anonymous for the Combs trial. It wasn't the only issue regarding jurors for the week. The judge, angered by a media report about the questioning of another juror the week before that occurred in a sealed proceeding, warned lawyers that they could face civil and criminal sanctions if such a leak happened again. That juror was not dismissed. And Wednesday's court session had to be canceled after a juror reported "vertigo symptoms" on the way to the courthouse. Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo seemed to close the door on any chance Combs would testify when he said Friday that the defense presentation would be finished Tuesday or Wednesday the following week, even if prosecutors don't rest until late Monday. It is not uncommon for defendants to choose not to testify at criminal trials. Besides being exposed to cross-examination by prosecutors, the testimony can be used by the government against the defendant should there be a need for a retrial. Also, if there is a conviction, the judge can conclude that the jury believed the defendant lied on the stand. Brendan Paul, fresh off the college basketball courts where he once played in a cameo role for Syracuse University, joined Combs' companies as a personal assistant in late 2022 and was warned by a friend who had worked for Combs about what was ahead. 'He told me to get in and get out,' Paul recalled for the jury, citing the endless days and always-on-edge existence. 'If you have a girlfriend, break up with her. And you're never going to see your family.' The friend also instructed him to 'build a rolodex of clientele and get out,' he said. Paul said he worked 80 to 100 hours a week for a music power broker who received 'thousands and thousands' of text messages and emails a day. He was paid $75,000 salary initially, but it was raised in January 2024 to $100,000. He said Combs told him he 'doesn't take no for an answer' and wanted his staff to 'move like Seal Team Six.' Several times, Paul said, he picked up drugs for Combs and knew to keep his boss out of the drug trade because 'it was very important to keep his profile low. He's a celebrity.' The job came to an abrupt end in March 2024 when Paul was arrested at a Miami airport on drug charges after a small amount of cocaine that he said he picked up in Combs' room that morning was mistakenly put in his travel bag as he prepared to join Combs on a trip to the Bahamas. The charges were later dropped in a pretrial diversion program.
