Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Jan. 6, according to the Tribune’s archives.
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Front page flashback: Jan. 7, 2021
More than 1,500 people were arrested after supporters of President Donald Trump marched on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and interrupted the peaceful transfer of power after Trump’s loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election. (Chicago Tribune)
People loyal to Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building, halting Congress’ counting of the electoral votes to confirm President-elect Jo Biden’s victory.
Nationwide, more than 1,500 people were arrested in all 50 states and the District of Columbia on charges stemming from the Capitol breach, an investigation that has been described by prosecutors as the largest criminal probe in the country’s history.
After his inauguration in January 2025, however, Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of everyone involved.
Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
- High temperature: 60 degrees (2008)
- Low temperature: Minus 16 degrees (2014)
- Precipitation: 1.44 inches (1918)
- Snowfall: 14.4 inches (1918)
Chicago residents were encouraged to dig out their streets in order to help milk and fuel trucks get to their destinations in early January 1918. Almost 15 inches of snow — the ninth-largest snowstorm in the city’s history — fell Jan. 6-7, 1918. (Chicago Tribune)
1918: A two-day blizzard (which began on this day) dropped 14.9 inches of snow on Chicago. It’s the ninth largest snowstorm in the city’s history.
Almost 14 inches fell on the first day of the storm, which the Tribune described as “one-third the snowfall of the year 1917 and almost half that of 1915.” The newly fallen snow topped more than 4 inches already blanketing the ground.
Chicago’s 10 largest snowfalls since 1886 — and how the Tribune covered them
Hundreds of vehicles stalled in drifts up to 6 feet deep, downed telephone and telegraph wires blocked communication with cities including Indianapolis and more than 300 men were enlisted to clear snow in the Loop, becoming exhausted by winds that registered 44 mph there, according to the Weather Bureau (known as the National Weather Service today).
Deliveries of food, milk and coal were impossible due to the conditions, and the city couldn’t clear the roads despite “the employment of 2,200 laborers, 631 teams and seven snow plows.” So, the call was put out for men and students dismissed from school to help with the effort.
Evelyn Nicol at Abbott Laboratories in North Chicago in an undated photo. (Karen Nicol)
1976: Evelyn Carmon Nicol received a U.S. patent for urokinase production. The Kentucky native was a highly respected immunologist for local companies Abbott and Baxter and one of the few Black women to be awarded a patent in the sciences.
Vintage Chicago Tribune: Inventions and innovations by Black Chicagoans
The first time her name appeared in the Tribune, however, was after she died from complications of the coronavirus in 2020. Yet, thanks to her own meticulously kept records, Nicol’s life story and incredible accomplishments can continue to be told for generations.
Chicago Bears kicker Cody Parkey (1) misses the potential game-winning kick on Jan. 6, 2019, in an NFC Wild Card playoff game at Soldier Field. The Bears lost to the Eagles, 16-15. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
2019: The Chicago Bears pulled ahead 15-10 against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC wild card game on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Mitch Trubisky to Allen Robinson with 9:04 left in the fourth quarter. The Bears’ vaunted defense almost closed things out, stopping the Eagles on three consecutive plays from the 2-yard line in the game’s final 2 minutes.
But on fourth-and-goal with 1:01 left, Nick Foles hit Golden Tate on a sprint-out to the right, and the Eagles surged ahead. Tarik Cohen returned the ensuing kickoff 35 yards, and Trubisky pinpointed his second pass on the final drive for a 25-yard completion to Robinson, putting the Bears quickly into field-goal range.
Chicago Bears kicker Cody Parkey nailed a 43-yard kick with 10 seconds left — only he would have to try once more because the Eagles canceled it with a timeout. His second attempt clanked off the uprights — hitting the left upright before bouncing off the crossbar. Parkey’s “double doink” cost the Bears the game and a chance to advance in the playoffs.
49 people from Illinois have been charged for taking part in the US Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021
2021: At least 49 people from Illinois were accused and convicted as part of the ongoing investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, which prosecutors have described as one of the largest criminal investigations in American history.
Feds begin dismissing Jan. 6 cases against Illinoisans after President Trump issues blanket pardon
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