Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on March 11, according to the Tribune’s archives.
Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.
Front page flashback: March 13, 1996
Gary Gauger, who was found guilty in 1993 of killing his parents at the family’s McHenry County farm, was released from prison after a court overturned his conviction on March 11, 1996. (Chicago Tribune)
1996: An Illinois Appellate Court threw out the conviction of Gary Gauger in the 1993 slaying of his parents, McHenry County farmers Morris and Ruth Gauger. The court’s decision cited a lack of probable cause for Gauger’s arrest and subsequent conviction. Gauger was pardoned by Gov. George Ryan in 2002.
Gauger told the Tribune during an interview at Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet that he believed the robbery was a motive for the slayings because his father, a motorcycle enthusiast, was known to keep large sums of money in his home to purchase used motorcycle parts. Gauger said after his parents were killed, $12,000 in cash was found hidden in the farmhouse.
Two members of the Outlaws motorcycle gang — Randall E. Miller and James W. Schneider — were charged in the deaths of Gauger’s parents in June 1997. They were among 17 members of the Detroit-based group involved in a Midwest crime spree that included bombings, robberies, drug trafficking and six slayings.
Schneider pleaded guilty in March 1999 to racketeering charges that tied him to the slaying of the Gaugers and received 45 years in prison. Miller was convicted in June 2000, and was sentenced to two life sentences in prison with no possibility of parole.
Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
- High temperature: 74 degrees (1990)
- Low temperature: 3 degrees (1979)
- Precipitation: 0.92 inches (1957)
- Snowfall: 4.4 inches (1941)
1908: Billiards “wizard” Jake Schaefer defeated a young Willie Hoppe 500-423 and won $500 (more than $15,000 in today’s dollars) at Orchestra Hall.
British singer Shirley Bassey, wearing a fur coat and a pearl necklace, is with American actor Sidney Poitier as they attend a preview screening of Poitier’s latest film, “A Raisin in the Sun,” held at the Columbia Theatre in London, England, on May 30, 1961. (Hulton Archive/Getty)
1959: The Lorraine Hansberry drama “A Raisin in the Sun” starring Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil and Ruby Dee opened at New York’s Ethel Barrymore Theater — one month after it played the Blackstone in Chicago.
The story follows a Black family living in a crowded Chicago apartment, who try to move into a house they bought in the fictional Clybourne Park, an all-white neighborhood.
Tribune critic Claudia Cassidy called it, “a remarkable play, acted to the Blackstone hilt of its warm heart, its proud backbone, and its quicksilver funnybone by a gifted cast.”
All three actors starred in the 1961 film, which was mostly filmed in Chicago.
Edward Burke, running for alderman in the 14th Ward in 1969. Editors note: this historic print shows some hand painting of the background. (Chicago Tribune archive)
1969: Edward Burke beat six other candidates to succeed his father as 14th Ward alderman.
He was sworn in three days later by Mayor Richard J. Daley at age 25, and became the second youngest alderman in city history. The only person to sit on City Council at a younger age was Col. Robert R. McCormick, future publisher of the Tribune, who was elected to the position in 1904.
Burke was the 14th Ward alderman for more than half a century. He not only claimed the record as the longest-serving City Council member in the history of Chicago, but he also became one of the most powerful until he was convicted on 13 of 14 counts in a landmark federal corruption trial in December 2023.
The South Shore Drill Team practices a routine on court before the NBA Rising Stars game during NBA All-Star weekend at the United Center in Chicago on Feb. 14, 2020. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
2020: The NBA became the first major sports league to suspend its season because of the coronavirus.
NBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago was the last bastion of the pre-pandemic world.
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