Front page flashback:<\/strong> March 21, 1969<\/p>\n 1969:<\/strong> A group that later became known as the Chicago 7 was charged<\/a> with conspiracy, inciting to riot and other crimes during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.<\/p>\n The original eight defendants were Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, Lee Weiner and Bobby Seale. Weiner was the only Chicagoan. Seale was tried separately during the proceedings.<\/p>\n Separately, eight police officers were charged with violating the civil rights of demonstrators by use of excessive force.<\/p>\n The Chicago 7: A timeline of the protests, the clashes, the trial and the fallout<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n A jury decided in 1970, five of the Chicago 7<\/a> defendants \u2014 Hoffman, Rubin, Hayden, Davis and Dellinger \u2014 had incited riots, but had not conspired to do so<\/a>.<\/p>\n Defendants Weiner and Froines were acquitted of all charges. Judge Julius Hoffman, however, sentenced all seven defendants and two defense lawyers to contempt-of-court jail sentences. Those convictions were later reversed.<\/p>\n Weather records <\/strong>(from the National Weather Service, Chicago<\/a>)<\/p>\n 1880:<\/strong> South Works<\/a> began life. Orrin W. Potter, president of the North Chicago Rolling Mill Co., broke ground on 73 acres of land in South Chicago for a steelmaking plant intended to build railroad tracks. The site on Lake Michigan and the Calumet River assured access for deep-draught ore boats. Chicago\u2019s rail hub guaranteed transport for finished product. Deep seams of coal in Illinois and Indiana promised cheap energy. Immigrant labor abounded.<\/p>\n The manufacturing plant remained open until April 10, 1992<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Works turned out the structural steel that\u00a0built Chicago and beyond<\/a>,\u201d the Tribune reported just before the plant\u2019s closure. \u201cSouth Works steel holds up McCormick Place, Sears Tower, the Amoco Building, the John Hancock Center, the Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower. It built the Cape Kennedy assembly structure and the Birmingham, Ala., Municipal Airport parking structure.\u201d<\/p>\n Steelworkers Park<\/a>\u00a0occupies about 17 acres of the long-vacant site, but the rest is now planned for a national computer hub<\/a>. The Chicago Plan Commission\u00a0approved<\/a>\u00a0its creation in November 2024.<\/p>\n 1923:<\/strong> The first solo exhibition of Pablo Picasso\u2019s drawings in the United States opened at the Art Institute of Chicago, hosted by the Arts Club of Chicago<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tribune critic Eleanor Jewett, however, wasn\u2019t impressed<\/a>: \u201cOnly one or two, those the comparatively speaking finished pictures, will place Picasso for him as a man deserving of the name the art world has given him as \u2018great.’\u201d<\/p>\n In 1913, a culture war erupted over an exhibition of modern works at the Art Institute of Chicago<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n According to a catalog<\/a> for the exhibition, 53 drawings and five pieces of sculpture were displayed until April 22, 1923, but Picasso himself didn\u2019t attend it, the 1913 exhibition<\/a> of his painting \u201cThe Woman and the Pot of Mustard,\u201d or the 1967 unveiling<\/a> of his namesake steel sculpture in Civic Center Plaza (now Daley Plaza).<\/p>\n 2020: <\/strong>Gov. JB Pritzker issued a stay-at-home order<\/a> for Illinois due to the coronavirus.<\/p>\n Pritzker announced the order as Illinois reached 585 confirmed cases across 25 counties, including 163 new cases. The death toll had risen to five.<\/p>\n 2024:<\/strong> Chicago voters rejected the Bring Chicago Home<\/a> tax hike referendum, a major political blow to Mayor Brandon Johnson. The measure, which sought to raise the city\u2019s real estate transfer tax on property purchases above $1 million to generate up to $100 million annually for homeless services, had survived several setbacks since advocacy groups first coalesced behind the idea years ago.<\/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![\"Indictments](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/CTC-L-CHICAGO-EIGHT-INDICTED-1969-01.jpg\")
Indictments were returned on March 20, 1969, against 17 people \u2014 including eight police officers, eight demonstrators and a broadcasting company employee \u2014 as part of a grand jury investigation into the 1968 Democratic National Convention. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
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![\"U.S.](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/CTC-L-US-STEEL-SOUTH-WORKS-PLANT-CLOSING-1992-01.jpg\")
U.S. Steel’s South Works plant closed on April 10, 1992. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/CTC-L-PABLO-PICASSO-EXHIBITION-1923-ART-INSTITUTE-01.jpg\")
The catalog for an exhibition of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso’s drawings hosted by the Arts Club of Chicago opened at the Arts Institute of Chicago on March 20, 1923. (Art Institute of Chicago)<\/p>\n\n
![\"Illinois](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/CTC-L-PRITZKER-STAY-AT-HOME-2020-CT0109137820.jpg\")
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot conduct a daily news briefing on COVID-19 from the Thompson Center in downtown Chicago on March 20, 2020. Pritzker issued a \u201cstay-at-home\u201d order for the entire state starting Saturday at 5 p.m. through April 7. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"Vitaliy](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ctc-L-bring-chicago-home-party-23.jpg\")
Vitaliy Baka hugs Ald. Maria Hadden, 49th, during an election night watch party for the Bring Chicago Home referendum on March 19, 2024, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n