Good morning, Chicago.
Today is the 40th anniversary of the day in 1982 that seven people fell fatally ill from taking cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules. Each one was a painful loss. There is also an unofficial 8th victim in this tragic story who is no less deeply grieved by those who loved him. You’ll meet him in the third installment of Unsealed: The Tylenol Murders.
In October 1982, Chicago police got a tip about a guy who was overheard blabbing in bars about owning cyanide. His name was Roger Arnold, and the Chicago detectives who interrogated him still think he’s probably the Tylenol killer. But this much is certain: In a horrific case of mistaken identity, he used a gun to murder an innocent man named John Stanisha.
Read part 3 of the Tylenol murders. Catch up on parts 1 and 2 of the investigation here.
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Victims of the Highland Park shooting have filed multiple lawsuits naming the alleged shooter, Robert Crimo III, Smith & Wesson, two firearms dealers and Crimo’s father as the parties who bear responsibility for an eruption of gun violence that killed seven and wounded dozens of others during the northern suburb’s Independence Day parade.
The lawsuits are the latest in the ongoing debate in U.S. courts over who bears responsibility for deaths and injuries caused by firearms in this country.
Chicago Public Schools appears to have lost its title as the nation’s third-largest school district, with enrollment falling for the 11th consecutive year, according to new data.
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CPS is reporting enrollment of 322,106 students, down 2.5% from 330,411 students the last school year. A decade ago, there were about 403,000 CPS students. The district noted 20,000 fewer students — about 10% — in district-run elementary schools compared with two years ago, while enrollment in district-run and charter high schools has remained steady.
Two years ago, Citlalli Trujillo was researching the Chicago River as part of a fellowship at University of Illinois at Chicago. Nestled between several industrial centers, wild grasses and seating areas line the gravel path following the curve of the river. The air smells of exhaust from trucks passing on Ashland Avenue.
Often, a few people can be found fishing on the bank, or the occasional jogger might pass by. But many in the surrounding neighborhoods of Pilsen, McKinley Park and Bridgeport said they’ve never heard of the park. Now Trujillo is part of a project to help residents see this strip of green space as a true park rather than just an industrial zone.
“Operation Shutdown began for the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 21, one day after a crushing loss to the Cleveland Guardians virtually ended their postseason dreams,” writes Paul Sullivan. “Luis Robert and Tim Anderson soon were declared out for the rest of the season, joining Michael Kopech on the list of Sox players who probably could play through their injuries if the games had any meaning.
“Manager Tony La Russa already had been shut down on Aug. 30 with a heart-related issue that doctors felt was serious enough to prevent him from managing the final month. … There may be more shutdowns as the losses pile up in the final week of the season, so stay tuned.”
Our reporters have been writing about smoked meat almost since the very beginning. The Chicago Tribune was founded on June 10, 1847, and barbecue shows up regularly by the mid-1850s. This is especially impressive considering our existing records between 1847 and 1852 are incomplete.
The only caveat is that early on, most of the barbecue was being eaten in other parts of Illinois.