Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 1, according to the Tribune’s archives.
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Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
- High temperature: 100 degrees (1988)
- Low temperature: 51 degrees (1990)
- Precipitation: 2.55 inches (1961)
- Snowfall: Trace (2003)
Tribune editorial cartoonist John T. McCutcheon depicted Chicagoans’ confusion and frustration in getting around after more than 20,000 street car and elevated train workers voted to walk off the job on Aug. 1, 1922. (Chicago Tribune)
1922: More than 20,000 employees walked off the job starting at 4 a.m. and joined another 400,000 railroad workers as part of the Great Railroad Strike, which suspended service on all Chicago street car lines and elevated trains.
Vintage Chicago Tribune: In 1922, 400,000 railroad workers walked off the job
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Originally Published: August 1, 2025 at 6:45 AM CDT