Today in Chicago History: Arlington Park put up for sale

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Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Feb. 23, 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: 66 degrees (2000)
  • Low temperature: Minus 18 degrees (1873)
  • Precipitation: 1.45 inches (1985)
  • Snowfall: 5.5 inches (1967)
Cable cars and horse-drawn streetcars travel along Chicago’s bustling State and Madison streets in the 1890s. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

1882: The era of Chicago cable cars began on State Street.

1905: Rotary Club of Chicago was founded by attorney Paul Harris so professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form friendships. Rotary — now based in Evanston — provides humanitarian services around the world.

A car wedged between a speeding Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee passenger train and a freight train in Kenosha caused both trains to derail on Feb. 23, 1930. Twelve people were killed. (Chicago Tribune)
A car wedged between a speeding Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee passenger train and a freight train in Kenosha caused both trains to derail on Feb. 23, 1930. Twelve people were killed. (Chicago Tribune)

1930: Highway crossing disaster. An automobile sped around another car stopped for crossing signals on Wisconsin Highway 14 near Kenosha and into the path of a Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad electric passenger train heading south for Chicago at 70 mph. The impact, which threw the auto 200 feet, caused the rail cars to sway and hit a northbound freight train. Twelve were killed — 11 on the passenger train and the car’s driver.

The accident renewed the debate over crossing safety and led to some experimentation in placing impassible barriers at crossings instead of gates.

1950: An aardvark brought to the Brookfield Zoo from South Africa became only the second creature of its kind held in captivity in the United States.

Zoo officials told the Tribune the “earth pig” eats only “minced liver and eggs, mashed bananas, green bone paste, mashed sweet potatoes and pablum.”

The gladiators, Harold Washington, Richard Daley and Jane Byrne, in the mayoral debate on Monday, Jan. 31, 1983, are "at ease" for a moment after the last question was answered. It was their fourth and final debate. (Anne Cusack/Chicago Tribune)
The gladiators, Harold Washington, from left, Richard Daley and Jane Byrne, in the mayoral debate on Jan. 31, 1983, are “at ease” for a moment after the last question was answered. It was their fourth and final debate. (Anne Cusack/Chicago Tribune)

1983: U.S. Rep. Harold Washington won the Democratic primary race for mayor, defeating Jane Byrne and Richard M. Daley.

Arlington Park, the flagship racetrack in Illinois, in Arlington Heights, on Sept. 29, 2021. (Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune)
Arlington Park, the flagship racetrack in Illinois, in Arlington Heights, on Sept. 29, 2021. (Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune)

2021: Churchill Downs Inc., owners of the Arlington Park, announced plans to sell the 326-acre Arlington Heights horse racetrack for redevelopment.

Chicago Bears and Soldier Field: What to know about the possible stadium move — or transformation

Arlington closed its gates Sept. 25, 2021. The Bears finalized a deal to buy the site in February 2023.

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