Front page flashback:<\/strong> Feb. 28, 1989<\/p>\n 1989:<\/strong> Richard M. Daley<\/a> won the primary election for mayor and against then-Ald. Tim Evans in the general election. After that, Daley never got less than 60% of the vote or faced a strenuous challenge.<\/p>\n He stepped down<\/a> after 22 years in office.<\/p>\n Flashback: As Richard M. Daley turns 80, a look at his political rise and embrace of \u2018lakefront liberals\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Weather records <\/strong>(from the National Weather Service, Chicago<\/a>)<\/p>\n 1963:<\/strong> Benjamin F. Lewis<\/a>, the 24th Ward\u2019s first Black alderman who liked being known as the \u201cBig Cat\u201d and the \u201cDuke of Dixieland,\u201d won a second term on Feb. 26, 1963. But just two days later, police found him handcuffed to a chair at ward headquarters, with three bullet holes in his head.<\/p>\n One by one, lie detector tests<\/a> were administered to potential suspects: the janitor who found Lewis\u2019 body; the janitor\u2019s helper; customers with a beef about his business practices; rebel precinct captains; political rivals; fired patronage workers; disappointed job seekers; mobsters; the gangster\u2019s wife he\u2019d supposedly made a pass at; his girlfriends; his ex-wife; and his wife.<\/p>\n The case took a bizarre twist in 1985 with a tip to police that an ex-convict boasted that he killed Lewis. But the suspect, who had been arrested 26 times, died mysteriously<\/a> before police could question him.<\/p>\n Lewis\u2019 murder is still unsolved.<\/p>\n 2005: <\/strong>U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow found her husband and mother shot dead<\/a> in the basement of her home, less than a year after white supremacist Matthew Hale was convicted of trying to have her murdered for holding him in contempt of court.<\/p>\n Michael F. Lefkow, 64, an attorney, and Donna Grace Humphrey, 90, were lying in blood with gunshot wounds to the head when the judge arrived at a darkened house at 6 p.m., a source close to the investigation said.<\/p>\n Police said they were conducting \u201cdeath investigations,\u201d and cautioned about drawing any connections to Hale, who was awaiting sentencing for trying to solicit the judge\u2019s murder. Sources said Michael Lefkow and Humphrey were found together, each was shot once in the head. No weapon was recovered, but police found two .22 caliber casings.<\/p>\n From the archives: The journey of Judge Joan Lefkow<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Security at the Lefkow home \u2014 including a camera mounted outside the home and guards posted on the block in unmarked cars \u2014 had been beefed up after the allegations against Hale<\/a> emerged in January 2003. But neighbors said the extra measures tailed off about the time Hale was convicted<\/a> in April 2004.<\/p>\n On March 7, 2005, investigators told Tribune reporters that DNA was pulled from a cigarette butt<\/a> found in the kitchen sink of the Lefkow home. Out-of-work electrician Bart Ross, who had a long history of ranting against judges and lawyers, shot himself two days later during a traffic stop outside Milwaukee. The DNA from the cigarette butt matched<\/a> samples taken from Ross\u2019 body.<\/p>\n Judge Lefkow, now a widow with four daughters, was determined to return to the bench<\/a>. She is now a U.S. District judge<\/a> for the Northern District of Illinois.<\/p>\n 2017: <\/strong>Swedish Bakery<\/a>, an Andersonville mainstay since the 1920s, closed its doors after 88 years in business.<\/p>\n 2022:<\/strong> Mask mandates ended<\/a> in most of Chicago and Illinois. Days later, masks became optional<\/a> in Chicago Public Schools.<\/p>\n Want more vintage Chicago?<\/p>\n Subscribe to the free\u00a0Vintage Chicago Tribune<\/a>\u00a0newsletter, join our\u00a0Chicagoland history Facebook group,<\/a> stay current with Today in Chicago History<\/a> and follow us on Instagram<\/a>\u00a0for more from Chicago\u2019s past.<\/p>\n Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@chicagotribune.com<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0mmather@chicagotribune.com<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t![\"Richard](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CTC-L-CHICAGO-MAYOR-PRIMARY-ELECTION-DALEY-1989-01.jpg\")
Richard M. Daley, son of legendary Chicago “Boss” Richard J. Daley, won the Democratic nomination for mayor in the primary election on Feb. 28, 1989. He carried 56% of the vote compared with then-Ald. Timothy Evans’ 43%. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
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![\"Benjamin](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CTC-L-ALDERMAN-BEN-LEWIS-1958-CT0090028089.jpg\")
Benjamin Lewis, new alderman for the 24th Ward as he took his place on the City Council on April 17, 1958, at City Hall in Chicago. Editors note: this historic print shows some hand painting and age damage. (Luigi Mendicino\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"U.S.](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CTC-L-JUDGE-LEFKOW-HUSBAND-MOTHER-KILLED-2005-01.jpg\")
U.S. District Judge Joan H. Lefkow discovered the bodies of her husband and mother in the basement of their home on Feb. 28, 2005, when she returned from work. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ctc-189772809.jpg\")
Chicago police officers block access to the 5200 block of North Lakewood Avenue while police investigate the home of a federal judge on March 1, 2005, after the judge\u2019s husband and mother were found dead in the basement. (David Klobucar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
![\"Debbie](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CTC-L-SWEDISH-BAKERY-LAST-DAY-CT0048575535.jpg\")
Debbie Wilson, center left, and Carol Grosso Gustafson, right, are some of the first customers of the day at the Swedish Bakery, a staple in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood, on Feb. 28, 2017. The bakery was completely full as they served customers on their final day of business. (Nancy Stone\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"Pre-schooler](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CTC-L-CPS-MASK-MANDATE-ENDS-CT0122585920.jpg\")
A pre-schooler without a mask, right, is walked into school along with another pre-schooler who is wearing a mask, by school personal at Blair Early Childhood Center in Chicago on March 14, 2022. (Antonio Perez\/ Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n