Front page flashback:<\/strong> May 12, 1924<\/p>\n 1924:<\/strong> Cardinal George W. Mundelein<\/a>, recently elevated at the Vatican by Pope Pius XI as prince of the Roman Catholic Church, returned to Chicago<\/a> on Mother\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n Weather records <\/strong>(from the National Weather Service, Chicago<\/a>)<\/p>\n Flashback: Chicago\u2019s place at the forefront of labor history<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n 1894:<\/strong> About 2,000 Pullman Co. factory workers<\/a> on the city\u2019s Southeast Side began a protracted and bloody strike<\/a>.<\/p>\n When the 1893 depression caused business to plummet, George Pullman sharply reduced wages to cut costs. Yet he held firm on rents, which paymasters subtracted from employees\u2019 shrinking paychecks.<\/p>\n Desperate, Pullman workers appealed to the American Railway Union, which was holding its national convention in Chicago. The union voted to support the Pullman strike, instructing its members not to handle any trains containing Pullman cars.<\/p>\n By July, sympathy strikes were underway in 23 states. Episodes of violence led President Grover Cleveland to order federal troops to intervene, however, and the strike collapsed.<\/p>\n 1920:<\/strong> \u201cBig Jim\u201d Colosimo<\/a>, father of the Chicago Outfit, was shot and killed<\/a> by a person who had been hiding in a cloakroom inside Colosimo\u2019s Cafe on South Wabash Avenue. His murder was never solved.<\/p>\n Flashback: Mercy Hospital\u2019s major milestones<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n 1933:<\/strong> A special lead-protected wing was opened on the grounds of Mercy Hospital that housed an 800,000-volt X-ray machine<\/a> \u2014 the most powerful in the world at the time \u2014 for treatment of cancer patients. It was the first facility in the Midwest to have the equipment.<\/p>\n 1987:<\/strong> The speed limit on the Illinois Tollway and rural interstates was increased to 65 mph<\/a> from 55 mph.<\/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![\"Upon](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CTC-L-CARDINAL-MUNDELEIN-RETURNS-1924-01.jpg\")
Upon his return to Chicago on May 11, 1924, Cardinal George Mundelein called young men in the Catholic church “the hope of the future” during Mass at Holy Name Cathedral. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CTC-L-CARDINAL-MUNDELEIN-CT0020589978.jpg\")
Chicago Mayor William Dever welcomed Cardinal George Mundelein upon his arrival home to Chicago at Garfield Boulevard and the Baltimore and Ohio train tracks on May 11, 1924. Mundelein was returning from Rome where he was appointed Cardinal by Pope Pius XI. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)<\/p>\n\n
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![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ctc-colosimo-1jpg-CT0109998157.jpg\")
Chicago mob boss Jim Colosimo and opera singer Dale Winter during their honeymoon after they eloped in 1920. (International Photo)<\/p>\n\n
![\"Due](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CTC-L-SPEED-LIMIT-CHANGE-1987-01.jpg\")
Due to an increased speed limit, about 1,000 signs had to be changed in April 1987. (Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n