Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on April 2, 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: 82 degrees (1963)
- Low temperature: 18 degrees (1899)
- Precipitation: 1.64 inches (1983)
- Snowfall: 9.4 inches (1975)
1995: After a 4 ½-hour meeting with Major League Baseball owners at the O’Hare Hilton in Chicago, acting commissioner Bud Selig said a nearly eight-month baseball strike was over. A 144-game season was scheduled to begin April 26.

2009: A federal grand jury indicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on 16 counts, including racketeering, fraud and extortion. Also indicted were his brother, Robert (his charges were later dropped); a close friend and fundraiser, Chris Kelly; his chief of staff, John Harris; and a former chief of staff, Alonzo Monk.

Also in 2009: The Chicago Bears traded quarterback Kyle Orton, plus a first-round pick and a third-round pick in the 2009 NFL draft and a first-round pick in the 2010 draft to the Denver Broncos for quarterback Jay Cutler.

2011: “Svengoolie” went national. The show was broadcast across the country on Weigel Broadcasting’s Me-TV network for the first time.

2019: Lori Lightfoot became the first Black woman and first openly gay person elected mayor of Chicago.
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