Today in Chicago History: 7 found dead inside Brown’s Chicken in Palatine

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Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Jan. 8, according to the Tribune’s archives.

Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.

Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)

  • High temperature: 63 degrees (1965)
  • Low temperature: Minus 11 degrees (1942)
  • Precipitation: 1.18 inches (1935)
  • Snowfall: 3.6 inches (1974)

1968: Gwendolyn Brooks was named the poet laureate of Illinois, succeeding Carl Sandburg who died July 22, 1967. She held the position until her death in 2000.

1993: Seven people — five employees and the couple that owned the restaurant — were killed inside Brown’s Chicken & Pasta at 168 W. Northwest Highway in Palatine.

Juan Luna and Jim Degorski escaped justice for nearly a decade until investigators caught a break. Degorski had told an ex-girlfriend of his role in the killings, and a friend who overheard her talking about it in 2002 went to police.

Another piece of evidence was crucial to the case. Investigators had saved a discarded meal from the scene, and as DNA analysis improved, they were able to match DNA left on a chicken bone with Juan Luna’s saliva. The two were arrested in May 2002. Luna was convicted of murder in 2007, and Degorski followed two years later. Jurors spared them the death penalty, but both are serving life sentences with no possibility of parole.

Among those killed in a Brown’s Chicken & Pasta restaurant in Palatine on Jan. 8, 1993, were Richard and Lynn Ehlenfeldt, a couple who bought the business just months earlier; Guadalupe Maldonado, an immigrant cook; and Michael C. Castro and Rico L. Solis, Palatine High School students. Palatine residents Thomas Mennes and Marcus Nellsen were also victims. (Chicago Tribune)

2014: White Sox slugger Frank Thomas and Atlanta Braves/Chicago Cubs pitcher Greg Maddux were elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America to the Hall of Fame.

2018: The Chicago Bears hired Matt Nagy as the franchise’s 16th head coach.

With a loss to the Vikings in the last game of the 2021 season, Nagy ended his fourth season with the team with a 34-31 record. Nagy and Bears general manager Ryan Pace were fired the next day.

From George Halas to Thomas Brown: What was said about every Chicago Bears coach when they were hired

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