Arts & Entertainment flashback:<\/strong> April 9, 2013<\/p>\n 2013:<\/strong> Hundreds of film executives, politicians, media personalities and friends gave a standing ovation as Chaz Ebert<\/a>, wife of beloved Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert, approached the pulpit during his funeral at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago.<\/p>\n \u201cHe would have loved this. He would have loved the majesty of it,\u201d she told them. The audience laughed when Mayor Rahm Emanuel told them, \u201cWe trusted Roger because he was one of us. Roger spent much of his time sitting through bad movies so we didn\u2019t have to.\u201d<\/p>\n Weather records <\/strong>(from the National Weather Service, Chicago<\/a>)<\/p>\n 1868:<\/strong> A\u00a0predawn fire<\/a> aboard the Goodrich Lines\u2019 side-wheeler Seabird caused the passenger ship to burn and sink off Waukegan into Lake Michigan and 72 to 100 people were killed.<\/p>\n Vintage Chicago Tribune: Lake Michigan shipwrecks close to the city<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The fire was started by a porter who tried to throw a bucket of hot coals overboard into a stiff wind. The coals blew back onto a lower deck and ignited freshly varnished tubs. This fire (and others like it) led to the maritime industry\u2019s conversion to iron ships.<\/p>\n 1981:<\/strong> The Chicago White Sox announced a contest that would let fans pick a uniform design<\/a> for the 1982 season \u2014 and, yes, shorts<\/a> were an option!<\/p>\n Vintage Chicago Tribune: The White Sox\u2019s wild ride into the team\u2019s 125th season<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In 1982, the team debuted<\/a> their new jersey \u2014 navy blue with Sox emblazoned in the center with red piping \u2014 and red and blue striped pants.<\/p>\n 1997:<\/strong> Pope John Paul II named Archbishop Francis George<\/a>, of Portland, Oregon, to head the Archdiocese of Chicago, succeeding Cardinal Joseph Bernardin<\/a>.<\/p>\n George became the first Chicago native to head the archdiocese, which includes Cook and Lake counties.<\/p>\n Also in 1997:<\/strong> The Chicago Cubs hosted their coldest home opener<\/a> at Wrigley Field \u2014 29 degrees<\/a> at first pitch.<\/p>\n Snow caused the team to postpone its home opener a day in 2003<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a02018<\/a>.<\/p>\n 2003:<\/strong> Edward McCaskey<\/a>, the husband of Chicago Bears owner Virginia Halas and the father of 11 children, who went on to become Chicago Bears chairman, died in Des Plaines. McCaskey was 83.<\/p>\n 2016:<\/strong> A court filing by federal prosecutors revealed allegations that former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert<\/a> sexually abused five students decades earlier when he was a high school teacher and wrestling coach.<\/p>\n Dennis Hastert timeline: Key events in the rise and fall of the former U.S. House speaker<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In a packed Chicago courtroom, Hastert acknowledged he sexually abused several boys he coached on the Yorkville High School wrestling team in the 1960s and 1970s. U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin repeatedly slammed Hastert as a \u201cserial child molester\u201d and sentenced<\/a> Hastert to 15 months in prison, sex offender treatment, two years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.<\/p>\n 2024:<\/strong>\u00a0Southern Illinois\u00a0plunged into darkness<\/a>\u00a0and onlookers offered a standing ovation for the last total solar eclipse the contiguous United States would see for the next two decades.<\/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![\"Movie](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CTC-L-ROGER-EBERT-CRITIC-FUNERAL-2013-01.jpg\")
Movie critic Roger Ebert was remembered during his funeral on April 8, 2013, at Holy Name Cathedral. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
![\"Wooden](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ctc-l-lake-6829228.jpg\")
Wooden remains of the Seabird now covered in mussels. (Eric Vaandering)<\/p>\n\n
![\"Mayor](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ctc-189399423.jpg\")
Mayor Jane Byrne holds a sheet of paper dolls with new White Sox uniform contenders at City Hall on Aug. 27, 1981. The mayor cast the first ballot in the team uniform contest. (Davis Nystrom\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
![\"Archbishop](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CTC-L-CARDINAL-GEORGE-1997-CT0020015009.jpg\")
Archbishop Francis George shakes hands with one of the people who attended the Mass for his installation at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago on May 7, 1997. (Jos\u00e9 Mor\u00e9\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"Missy](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ctc-l-home-opener-01.jpg\")
Missy Wiecek stays bundled up while keeping score during the Cubs home opener against the Miami Marlins on April 8, 1997, at Wrigley Field, where the temperature never reached above 30 degrees. (Charles Cherney\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"Edward](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ctc-190003901.jpg\")
Edward McCaskey sits in front of a picture of his famous father-in-law, George Halas, in his Des Plaines home on Aug. 22, 1994. (Bob Langer\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CTC-L-DENNIS-HASTERT-CT0102198487.jpg\")
Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert arrives for sentencing at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on April 27, 2016. (Zbigniew Bzdak\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
![\"Tamara](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CTC-L-SOLAR-ECLIPSE-CT0136356422.jpg\")
Tamara Crain, of downstate Carterville, and her daughter, Ko-Ko Crain, 17, view the solar eclipse right before totality at Crab Orchard Lake within Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge in Carbondale on April 8, 2024. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n