Today in Chicago History: Chicago Defender — ‘the world's greatest weekly' — founded by Robert Sengstacke Abbott
Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.
Cinco de Mayo celebrates Mexican culture, not independence
Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
High temperature: 94 degrees (1949)
Low temperature: 32 degrees (1992)
Precipitation: 1.66 inches (1892)
Snowfall: None
1905: The Chicago Defender newspaper is founded. Robert Sengstacke Abbott started the newspaper he called 'The World's Greatest Weekly,' encouraging Black Americans born and raised in the South — like himself — to move north during the Great Migration of the 20th century. More than two-thirds of the newspaper's readership base was located outside of Chicago by the start of World War I, according to the Defender.
Evolving from a weekly into a daily newspaper, the Defender became a national voice for African Americans, documenting racial inequality and championing the Civil Rights movement. Abbott thanked the children who sold his newspaper on street corners by throwing a parade in their honor. It's known today as the Bud Billiken Parade.
The Defender ceased print publication in 2019, but still exists in a digital format at chicagodefender.com.
1930: The Merchandise Mart opened. At 24 stories and 4.2 million square feet, the building was then the largest in the world, surpassed by the Pentagon a decade later. The space was developed by Marshall Field & Co. to house wholesale products for department store buyers.
The massive building, which had its own 60654 ZIP code, was rebranded as the Mart as part of a $40 million renovation in 2016.
1970: After the fatal shootings that took place during a protest over U.S. military involvement in Vietnam and Cambodia at Kent State University in Ohio, classes were canceled for the rest of the week at Northwestern University.
2005: Podiatrist Ronald Mikos was found guilty in the death of Joyce Brannon, a nurse and church caretaker who was going to testify against him in a Medicare fraud investigation.
Authorities alleged in a 25-count indictment that Mikos defrauded Medicare of more than $1.25 million by falsely claiming to have performed thousands of surgeries and that he obstructed justice by recruiting patients to lie to investigators about the fraud. In Brannon's case, authorities said, Mikos fraudulently billed Medicare for 85 surgeries on her feet that had not been carried out.
How many presidential pardons or sentence commutations have been granted to people from Illinois?
After deliberating for parts of three days during the punishment phase of the trial, some jurors told the Tribune the decision to impose the death penalty had been a difficult one. Mikos, who claims he is innocent, is incarcerated in the federal prison in Terre Haute. President Joe Biden commuted the federal death sentence for the former Chicago podiatrist to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Dec. 23, 2024.
2017: Ebony announced plans to move editorial operations to Los Angeles, cutting one-third of its staff.
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Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com
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5 hours ago
In Sinaloa's capital, news of a boxing scion's arrest and allegations of cartel ties cause unease
CULIACAN, Mexico -- Inside a sports arena in Sinaloa state's capital, the crowd was sparse early on the card as young amateur boxers in puffy headgear threw punches and danced about the ring. Outside stood a bronze statue of Julio César Chávez in boxing trunks, one glove raised. The event Friday was organized by one of Chávez's brothers and 'The Legend' himself was advertised as a specially invited guest. But Chávez didn't appear. It had been a difficult week for the family. Chávez's eldest son, Julio César Chávez Jr., was arrested by U.S. immigration agents outside his home in Los Angeles on Wednesday, accused of overstaying his visa and lying on a green card application. But more significant here in Culiacan was that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security also noted that there was an active warrant for his arrest in Mexico for alleged arms and drug trafficking and suggested ties to the Sinaloa Cartel. The agency said he would be processed for expedited removal. The name Julio César Chávez in Culiacan is like saying Diego Maradona in Argentina. People stop and conversations begin. Chávez is the city's idol and source of pride, known simply as 'The Legend.' He went from a working class neighborhood along train tracks to the highest echelons of boxing fame and became a national hero. But when the questions turn to Chávez's eldest son and the Sinaloa Cartel, conversation ends and eyes avert. There was a time when many in Culiacan would speak of the cartel that carries their state's name, perhaps with euphemisms, but openly all the same, because its control was complete and for that they largely lived in peace. But since a bloody feud erupted between factions of the cartel last year, following the abduction of Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada to the United States by one of the sons of former leader Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, it's safer to avoid any mention at all. In the stands Friday night, the arrest of The Legend's son, was on the minds of many, but discussed only in hushed voices. Óscar Arrieta, a sports reporter in Culiacan, covers boxing and said Chávez Jr.'s arrest had had a big impact in Culiacan, largely because the 'harsh' way U.S. authorities linked him to organized crime. U.S. authorities did not detail the alleged ties between Chávez Jr. and the cartel other than to mention that he married a U.S. citizen who is the mother of a granddaughter of Guzmán. He mused at why if there had been a Mexican arrest warrant since 2023, hadn't there been any effort to capture him. He was a very public figure, active on social media and for the past six months or more, training for a highly promoted fight in California. On Friday, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said that he had mostly been in the U.S. since the arrest warrant was issued. 'I think it was also a way for the United States to expose the Mexican government in a way, but without a doubt much more impactful, because normally sports doesn't mix with anything else, much less with organized crime,' Arrieta said. Culiacan's boxing gyms had mostly been quiet since Thursday's announcement of Chávez Jr.'s arrest, in preparation for Friday's event. There had already been weigh-in for Friday's fights and most fighters weren't around. At one that was mostly covered outdoor spaces, teenagers tightly wrapped their wrists, bounced and shuffled, shadow boxing in a circle. Jorge Romero is a former professional boxer who trained under another Chávez brother. Now he's a trainer at Sinaloa Autonomous University. Romero said he knows Chávez Jr., regards him 'an excellent person, a great human being' who had really focused on his training ahead of his bout in California just a week ago. He expressed full support for him. Questions of ties between Chávez Jr. and organized crime, Romero said, were 'too delicate' to touch. But in general, he said boxing and the cartel walked separate paths in Culiacan. 'We don't have anything to do with organized crime,' he said. 'On the contrary, it's a clean sport, very healthy from my point of view.'
Los Angeles Times
13 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Runners protesting ICE cover 15 miles through immigrant communities
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USA Today
15 hours ago
- USA Today
Reports: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was directed to beat cartel members 'like a punching bag'
Mexico's Attorney General's Office (FGR) claims former world champion boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was a "henchman" of the Sinaloa Cartel. Chavez Jr., 39, was taken into custody Thursday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Studio City, Calif., for what the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said was an active warrant out of Mexico. According to a report from Mexican newspaper Reforma (via Mi Morelia), Chavez Jr. allegedly punished members of the Sinaloa Cartel by beating them up under the direction of a leader, Nestor Ernesto Perez Salas, aka "El Nini." An indictment states FGR intercepted phone calls between December 2021 and June 2022, which detailed how "El Nini" ordered subordinates who made mistakes to be tied up and hanged so Chavez Jr. could beat them "like a punching bag." Wiretaps of alleged drug traffickers and immigration records shared by U.S. agencies were presented as evidence. Chavez Jr. is to be deported to Mexico, although no date has been set. The U.S. government claims he has ties to the Sinaloa Cartel in addition to improper documents to remain in the country legally. Chavez Jr. lost a unanimous decision to YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul on June 28 in a 10-round bout in Anaheim, Calif.
