Hammond home invasion co-defendant may get plea deal dropped after failure to testify: records
A co-defendant in a Hammond home invasion case may get his plea deal dropped after he failed to show in court from jail Thursday.
Garrett Whittenburg, 41, formerly of Chicago, also refused to testify at co-defendant Valentine Torrez’s trial earlier this month. That was required by his agreement, documents show. He also declined to give a deposition in March.
He was originally charged with nearly a dozen felonies, including rape and criminal confinement.
Deputy Prosecutor Arturo Balcazar asked Judge Natalie Bokota to withdraw his plea. She took it under advisement.
The hearing is rescheduled for May 30.
Bokota granted a motion by defense lawyer Aaron Koonce Thursday for another mental competency evaluation.
Court records allege Torrez and Whittenburg planned the home invasion together to rob the woman, Torrez’s relative, and sexually assault her.
Torrez was convicted in a split verdict April 4 of rape, child molesting, and criminal confinement. His sentencing is next month.
The woman told police Torrez showed up Nov. 13, 2021, looking for “something to drink,” charges state. Five minutes later, another man walked into her house. One had a gun and was wearing a white sweatshirt, mask and gloves, according to court documents.
“You don’t have to do this,” Torrez said. “Take whatever you want.”
Torrez later identified the man as Whittenburg, court documents said. He told police he was ordered to tie up the 12-year-old girl, who had been asleep on a sofa. When he refused, the second man covered the girl’s head and took her to her bedroom, according to charges.
The woman told police her face was covered with a ski mask and head in a towel before she was sexually assaulted “repeatedly.” She felt two sets of hands while being assaulted, she said. One of the men patted the woman on her shoulder, saying she wouldn’t get hurt, according to the affidavit.
A second man molested the girl in her bedroom while she was blindfolded, the child told police, court documents said.
The woman said Whittenburg and the other man took her iPhone and debit card before leaving, charges state. The woman and child were later examined at a hospital.
Torrez claimed he was just at the house. He was later changed after DNA tied him to the woman and her daughter’s assaults.
The DNA hit matched “Valentino Torres,” which investigators said matched Valentine Torrez in police databases, according to charges.
South Holland hosts Cook County sheriff’s free car light replacement for grateful residents
Broken headlights and turn signal lights are common causes for drivers to be pulled over by police. Dozens of residents were able to avoid the possibility of such a ticket Thursday, and improve the safety of their cars, when the Cook County sheriff’s office provided free light replacement at the South Holland Police Department.
“We will purchase the tail light for your car based on the make and model,” said Marlon Parks, Cook County undersheriff. “And then we will give you a date where we will be in your community and we will fix it for free.”
Auto body shops will often charge more than $100 to replace car lights; one resident told Parks he was quoted $600 for a light change. But with the county purchasing lights wholesale at $15 to $30 a bulb and using its own staff mechanics, residents can save big without it being a large expense for the county budget, officials said.
Since August 2021, the county has rotated throughout different police stations in the county. Residents are allowed to sign up ahead of time by informing the sheriff’s office of their car’s make and model and which lights are out. Then they drive to their local police station, pop their hoods and wait between five and 20 minutes while county mechanics do the work.
County officials did not know how much Thursday’s free light installation, known as the Light Saver Event, would cost. Even though more than 20 of these events have been held, including three so far in 2024, things such as the price of the lights, the number of sign ups and even the weather affect the cost.
But the overall minimal cost of changing the lights on 30 to 80 cars is a good investment for several reasons, explained county officials.
“In the end, you’re saving so much. You’re gaining public trust,” said Tisa Morris, executive director of community engagement for the sheriff’s office. “People see a different side of what the police are traditionally viewed as. So that has value in and of itself.”
Thursday, the first time this initiative has come to South Holland, saw 62 signups. But officials say they also take walk-ups if a resident’s car model matches the extra lights they have around.
A line of four cars idled outside the South Holland police station at 10 a.m. Luis Covarrubias, a vehicle serviceman for the sheriff’s office, stuck his hand down a small hole in the hood of a Hyundai, feeling for the driver’s side headlight. He reached for a flashlight to get a better view.
Covarrubias twisted out of its socket a 2-inch glass cone and inspected the blown fuse. Into the trash.
He went to the table that had a spread of bulbs, came back with the replacement and installed the new light speedily, learning from his struggles during the removal process.
“Every car varies in skill. Some are more difficult than others — just the location of the lights and connectors,” said Covarrubias. European cars, specifically German-made, are the most challenging.
This is the first time Glenwood resident Pamela Walker, 62, has been to a Light Saver Event. She was blown away by the service.
“It’s really cool,” said Walker, who needed new signal, tail and license plate lights.
She hasn’t been pulled over for her light issues, but now she probably won’t have to be concerned for years about being stopped for her lights. Cars.com says lights dim over time but may work for five to six years.
Plus, Walker doesn’t like going to the mechanic.
“As women, we get taken advantage of when you go to dealership places to get it done,” she said. “They say you need this, that and another and you really don’t.”
hsanders@chicagotribune.com
Growing idea: Libraries repurpose card catalogs for garden seed exchanges
With the spring planting season underway, area libraries invite patrons to check out something besides the latest new bestseller or DVD – seeds.
Housed in repurposed card catalogs, seed libraries feature herb, vegetable, fruit and flower seeds donated by participants and seed companies as well as some stock purchased by the libraries.
At the Homewood Public Library, the seed library was inspired by adult services librarian Jill Postma’s son, a master gardener who has worked for the Field Museum, Morton Arboretum and the Save Bell Bowl Prairie project in Rockford, among other plant-inspired jobs and volunteer positions.
“He was always talking about native species,” Postma said, “and recommended a new state flower (the Kankakee Mallow). So he said native species should be planted. I saw other libraries were doing it like Flossmoor and Midlothian.”
Although Postma is not a gardener herself, it runs in her family. “My mom was a rose tester from Jackson Perkins, so it skipped a generation. It’s a well-known company that specializes in roses,” she said.
Homewood’s seed library began in 2019, just before the pandemic stalled everything, explained Nathan Hare, head of adult services. “For a while we put a cart out in our entry area that was covered, so books were given away, and we put seeds out there so people could take them.”
Postma and another librarian in adult services, Margaret Novak, manage the seed library. “I do the dirty work,” Postma said. “The two of us keep an eye on it and the signage.”
The catalog, housed on the library’s main floor, offers several varieties of seeds. “It kind of depends on what’s made available,” Postma said. “Lately a volunteer donated a whole bunch of seeds for peas, and someone else donated marigolds.”
Both she and Hare have noticed more participation with patrons this year. “That’s what’s taken off this year – donations,” Hare said.
“That’s the whole idea of the seed library. You want to have people take seeds but also give back,” Postma explained, adding that she likes that they are promoting more of the native plants, “so keeping our plantings safe from the ones that take over.”
Hare noted that it’s been a trend with the library’s grounds, too, which contain more native plants.
They hope to expand the offerings with a propagation station, which was Novak’s idea. “If the seed library is ‘Take a seed, leave a seed,’ the propagation station is ‘Take a cutting, leave a cutting.’ More along the lines of an exchange or swap,” Hare said, adding that they are working on some shelving for it. “We’re hoping to get it this year.”
Participants don’t have to have a library card for Homewood or any other library. “We don’t check,” Postma joked.
Sustainability is also important at the Park Forest Public Library, which also started its seed library in 2019. “The seed donations are a collective effort between the library staff, the Sustainability Office and the Park Forest Environment Commission,” said Carrie Malfeo, sustainability coordinator for the village of Park Forest.
“The library maintains and advertises the seed library. The Sustainability Office advertises and requests seed donations. The Environment Commission hosts a local food systems expo to connect farmers and eaters to support local food systems,” she said. “A raffle is held at that event, and all the proceeds go to purchase seeds for the library.”
Malfeo said people can get involved by picking up a free packet of seeds, growing local produce, herbs or flowers and telling a friend. An important part of the cycle is harvesting some seeds at the end of the season to donate back to the seed library.
The seeds fulfill a true need in the community, she said, adding that fruits and veggies are the most popular seeds “as Park Forest is a food desert.”
Seeds at the Blue Island Public Library, which have been available since a few years before the pandemic, are maintained by Leah Rozendaal, who works in the circulation department and describes herself as “gardening adjacent.”
“I have people in my life who garden, so I know a decent amount about it but I don’t currently have a garden,” she explained. “I have had gardens in the past. We’ve tried tomatoes and different things like that around the house.”
Rozendaal inventories the existing seeds and new donations, which get put in a special box. “I’ll go through there and repackage if necessary. If someone gives a bulk donation, I’ll repackage it,” she said. “For example, I have a couple of ziplock bags of radish seeds, which would be far too many for one person. So we’ll put them in seed envelopes. … If we do an inventory, I’ll solicit donations. We have companies that give us donations.”
She organizes the drawers in the catalog, which was repurposed for the seed library. “The envelopes fit in really well. It’s a throwback to the days of the card catalog,” she said.
Rozendaal recently put radish seeds at the top of the drawers because they can be planted early. She also replenishes low stock, such as when flower seeds are sparse. “It’s exciting in spring because you can put things in the ground, especially with the mild spring we’re having,” she said.
“Flowers are very popular, especially native flowers,” she added. “We have some native grasses, anything from radish, corn, pumpkins. A lot of times you’ll buy a package of pumpkin seeds and you’ll only need half of them. People will bring them in.”
The library sometimes starts seeds inside, such as cucumbers and tomatoes, and gives them out in the spring. “Maybe I’ll do tomatoes. It’s good to give them a head start,” Rozendaal said.
She practices what she preaches, such as with the library’s butterfly garden. “We put it in in cooperation with Brookfield Zoo so we do harvest seeds out there. I cut off the deadheads and I sort those things and put them in packaging, too,” she explained. “ That’s the idea of the seed library is people plant them and when they harvest they can bring them back in and donate that. So we’ll do that work from our own butterfly garden.”
The library has done a spring kickoff day in the last couple of years in conjunction with community gardens that the Park District manages. “Someday it would be fun to have a garden plot where we plant pumpkins for people to use in the fall,” Ronzendaal mused, adding that the University of Illinois Extension Service does a children’s gardening program at the library in the spring and summer.
The seed library is free to use. “It’s supported by Friends of the Library, so there’s a way to sign up to be in Friends if you wanted to provide a little extra support,” Rozendaal said. “We ask that people take as many seeds that they’ll use this season and harvest and bring them back.”
Sometimes the seed garden yields unexpected blessings. “The local Montessori school brought in some seed packages that they collected and they drew the art for the packages. I found it so delightful — the school getting together and making the packages. It’s a really fun way of connecting with the community,” she said. “I’m a sucker for kid drawings.
Other seed libraries can be found in the Flossmoor, Palos Park and Evergreen Park public libraries. They welcome participants from throughout the area.
Melinda Moore is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
Glenview native makes debut in Steppenwolf Theatre play starting April 25
Everything that can go wrong does in “The Thanksgiving Play” as four theater professionals attempt to put on a noncontroversial Thanksgiving pageant at an elementary school. Glenview native Paloma Nozicka is making her Steppenwolf Theatre debut as one of those theater pros in the Chicago premiere of Larissa FastHorse’s biting comedy, April 25-June 2.
Nozicka plays Alicia. “She’s described in the play as being very beautiful and not very bright, which I would agree with — the not very bright part of it,” the actor said. “She’s an actress from L.A. who is brought in to do this Thanksgiving Play. We’re calling her a creature of survival. She does the thing that makes sure she ends up on top.”
Nozicka joked that because she now lives in L.A., like her character she was brought in from there to do a play. There’s a difference, of course, in terms of their intellect which can be a challenge for a performer, the actor indicated.
“It can be difficult to portray someone who isn’t necessarily the smartest person onstage without being a caricature,” Nozicka said.
The actor noted that even though the play is a satire, the characters are relatable. “The hope is that the audience see themselves in the characters,” Nozicka said. “Even though the characters are kind of doing everything wrong, they’re really trying.”
This is Nozicka’s first play in five years and performing in it at Steppenwolf Theatre has special meaning for her.
“This is what every actor who trains in Chicago dreams of,” Nozicka declared. “It’s like a bucket list thing for everyone.”
The multitalented Nozicka is also a playwright.
“I started writing my first play in 2019 and it had its premiere in Chicago in 2022,” Nozicka reported. The work, “Enough to Let the Light in,” was performed by Teatro Vista in the downstairs space at Steppenwolf Theatre. The play was nominated for a 2023 Jeff Award for Best New Work.
Nozicka is currently working on her second play with the 2023/24 Geffen Playhouse Writers’ Room in Los Angeles. “They select six people for a yearlong program to develop a play,” Nozicka explained. “At the end of the program, you get a full staged reading.”
Nozicka didn’t perform in theater while attending Glenbrook South High School but she was in an improv team.
At the University of Wisconsin—Madison, Nozicka double-majored in journalism and theater. “The theater side of things ended up being so much more rewarding for me and so much more fun,” she said.
While living in Chicago, she performed with such theater companies as Goodman, Victory Gardens, Griffin, and Jackalope.
She has appeared on the television shows “Chicago PD,” “Chicago Med,” “Empire,” “The Irrational,” and “Proven Innocent.”
After moving to Los Angeles, Nozicka’s theater career was sidelined by first the pandemic and then two strikes but her writing talent has helped her financially.
“I also am a screenwriter, so I’ve been doing a lot of that,” she said. “And I’ve been writing and directing a lot of short films.” She is still hoping for additional stage roles, though.
“I do love performing and I love theater so I’m hoping to do it more,” Nozicka concluded.
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Proposed referendum would strip DuPage County Forest Preserve Board of its autonomous authority
An Oak Brook Village Board member said a draft referendum has been written asking voters to return control of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County to the DuPage County Board.
“The forest preserve (district) does not need to be a separate level of government,” Trustee Mike Manzo said. “What the referendum is asking is to go back to the way it was so we can deal with the (county board) commissioners, who are much more responsive than commissioners (for) the forest preserve (district) right now.”
The proposed referendum has not yet been submitted to the county board. Forest Preserve District Board President Daniel Hebreard said he was unaware it.
In 2002, the DuPage forest preserve district was granted self-autonomy in an attempt to free it from the conflicting interests that came with being answerable to county board. The decision was approved by the county board in 1994 and the state of Illinois in 1996.
If the referendum is added to an election ballot and approved by voters, the 1994 decision would be rescinded and control restored to the county board.
The move stems from several conflicts the forest preserve district has had in recent years with other governmental groups.
Among them, the 2020 board decision to remove the Graue Mill Dam near the Graue Mill and Museum, a forest preserve attraction in Downers Grove Township on the National Register of Historic Places, and return it to its 1934 operating conditions.
District officials said the dam removal would improve water quality and biodiversity along the Salt Creek stream, but the move was opposed by Graue Mill Museum staff and board members and the Fullersburg Historic Foundation because they feared it would stop the water flow needed to turn the large outdoor mill wheel.
The dam removal is part of the forest preserve district’s greater Salt Creek Restoration plan, which began in 2020 and is led by DuPage River Salt Creek Workgroup, a nonprofit formed in 2007 to monitor water quality and wildlife around the waterway.
Part of the Salt Creek Restoration involves the removal of invasive plant life, including non-native trees, which district officials say are to be replaced with native oak and hickory trees.
“I personally believe too many large trees were taken out,” district board member Linda Painter, District 3, said in an interview. Which trees and how many to remove were decisions made by the district’s Department of Natural Resources, she said.
More recently, district staff decided to stop taking in baby raccoons for rehabilitation.
“We’ve had a lot of residents in front of us upset with the forest preserve (district for) their plans to start euthanizing baby raccoons that are brought into the Willowbrook (Wildlife) Center,” said DuPage County Board member Brian Krajewski, who represents District 3. “They’ve been treating these animals for the last how many years and now they’re going to not be doing that anymore.”
The center could rehab up to 50 raccoons at a time, but the concerns over their spread of disease, the extensive time needed for them to fully mature and their penchant for eating endangered Blanding’s turtle eggs led staff to make the decision, Painter said.
Some community members have told county officials they’ve felt left out of the decision-making process, Krajewski said.
“I think there’s just a lot of strain throughout DuPage County (over) issues that the forest preserve (district) doesn’t seem to be listening to their constituents (about),” Krajewski said.
In February 2023, a washed-away bridge in the Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in Downers Grove Township was replaced but the forest preserve district did the work without obtaining permits, causing issues with nearby Argonne National Laboratory.
“They knew darn well they had to get a permit and then they just ignored the rules and just went and put a bridge in,” Krajewski said.
A referendum approved by voters could return the forest preserve district to DuPage County Board control, but the change could also be achieved by legislation approved by the General Assembly and signed by the governor.
“One of the reasons for this referendum is because the residents of DuPage County do not appreciate the strong-arm, Chicago-style political tactics from the new forest preserve board,” Manzo said.
George Wiebe is a reporter for Pioneer Press.
Aurora City Council to vote on plans for residential development
The Aurora City Council is set to vote on preliminary plans for the 34-acre Lincoln Crossing South, the next phase of the large Pulte Homes residential development on the southeast side of the city.
Aldermen put the plans, as well as an amendment to the plan description, on the consent agenda for Tuesday’s regular City Council meeting, meaning it is likely to be approved.
The property is part of the overall 545-acre Pulte Homes development that includes Lincoln Crossing and the Del Webb development. It also includes some future commercial development that will be done by someone other than Pulte.
It is roughly bounded by Wolf’s Crossing, Route 30 and 111th Street.
The development was divided into six parcels. The first parcel was Lincoln Crossing, with 162 single-family homes, currently under development. Eric Prechtel, a Naperville-based attorney for Pulte, said 89 of those homes have closed.
The second parcel is the Del Webb development, some 545 single-family age-restricted homes, which Prechtel said has been met “with resounding success.”
Some 109 houses have already closed there.
Parcel 3 is the future commercial development. Parcels 4 and 5 were left as “flex parcels,” which the developer could build as traditional single-family homes, such as in Lincoln Crossing, or age-restricted homes, such as in Del Webb.
“The intent was to promote development consistency while taking into account the market,” Prechtel said.
Pulte has chosen more traditional single-family homes for Parcel 4, the 34-acre Lincoln Crossing South site.
The proposal is to build 97 traditional single-family residential homes. The development would have a mixture of 55-foot-wide lots with a minimum lot size of 7,150 square feet and 65-foot-wide lots with a minimum lot size of 8,060 square feet.
Prechtel pointed out that the lot sizes are the same as in Lincoln Crossing, but the density is different because all the stormwater detention was already done in the first two parcels. The lower density is why the developer needs an amendment to the plan description.
The developer currently is working with the Illinois Department of Transportation for a full access for the new development onto Route 30. Matt Brolley, of Pulte, said officials expect to get that put in by the end of the year.
But a second access to 111th Street may or may not happen, depending on what happens with the final part of the development, he said. If it does go in, it would be maybe in four years, Brolley said.
slord@tribpub.com
Walgreens pharmacists’ union to demonstrate outside 46 Chicago-area stores
A union representing Walgreens pharmacists plans to demonstrate outside of more than 46 local Walgreens stores over the next month to protest pay and working conditions.
The National Pharmacists Association-LIUNA, which says it represents 900 Chicago-area Walgreens pharmacists, plans to demonstrate outside two or three stores a day from now until May 10.
The union says the pharmacists have been working without a contract for nine months and have received a 2% wage increase over the last seven years. Meanwhile, they say, the pharmacists have endured inconsistent scheduling and have been expected to provide more services to patients since the pandemic, such as vaccinations, without additional staff support.
“We were told by Walgreens we were essential workers during the COVID crisis, and then after all that work and bringing the company through the crisis, they’re thanking us, unfortunately, by working us harder than ever before, cutting our staffing, cutting our benefits and not providing fair wage increases,” said Paul Price, a union representative for the National Pharmacists Association.
Walgreens spokesperson Marty Maloney said in a statement Thursday that Walgreens appreciates its pharmacists and has worked over the last two years to improve their experience.
“We are fully committed to ensuring their contributions are acknowledged and rewarded, including with competitive pay and benefits, and are continuing to bargain in good faith with our Chicago area pharmacists in an effort to reach a new contract,” Maloney said in a statement.
The union held the first demonstrations outside Walgreens stores in Aurora and Naperville on Thursday. Off-duty pharmacists, union and community members stood in front of the stores in white lab coats, holding signs that read “From essential … to exploited.” Pharmacists are not walking off the job to participate in the demonstrations.
The union plans to demonstrate at Walgreens headquarters in Deerfield on May 10.
The demonstrations come after some pharmacists and others walked off the job last year at Walgreens and CVS Health locations in various parts of the country.
The protests this month also come amid cost-cutting measures at Walgreens.
Walgreens confirmed earlier this week that it is laying off corporate workers who are mostly Chicago-based, but a spokesman would not say how many workers are losing their jobs. It’s the fourth round of corporate worker layoffs at Walgreens over the past year, starting last May when Walgreens said it was eliminating 504 jobs, representing about 10% of its corporate workforce at the time.
The retail pharmacy giant is also reducing its front-end store employees’ hours by 4% to 7% “following a review of our labor model and forecasting process,” spokesman Fraser Engerman said in a statement Wednesday.
CEO Tim Wentworth has said Walgreens is aiming to cut $1 billion in costs this year.
Walgreens had been working in recent years to become a health care destination but has faced challenges.
Walgreens invested heavily in Chicago-based VillageMD, which has primary care clinics next to Walgreens stores. But Wentworth said during an earnings call in March that Walgreens had recorded a $5.8 billion impairment charge during the last quarter related to VillageMD, and that VillageMD would be closing 160 clinics.
Merrillville schools presenting ‘Cinderella’
A Merrillville Performing Arts cast is performing “Cinderella” at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 3 p.m. on Sunday at Reinhart Auditorium at Merrillville High School, 276 E. 68th Place, Entrance M.
Tickets, from $8 to $12, are available at the or by calling 219-650-5307, ext. 7012.
The production is co-sponsored by the Merrillville Education Foundation.
Director Melinda Reinhart said the young cast and crew have been working for two months on Rodgers and Hammerstein’s fairy tale production. There will be cast members in costume for photos in the lobby after each show.
Cinderella’s Rustic Kitchen features beef stroganoff, pulled pork over cornbread, roasted tomato-bell pepper pasta, and sausage and kraut.
Desserts include honey ice cream, chocolate, strawberry cheesecake waffle cones and fudge logs.
Vintage Chicago Tribune: Paul Durica’s March 1924 finds
We’re checking in on our friend Paul Durica , director of exhibitions for the Chicago History Museum, as he continues to wade daily through pages of the Chicago Tribune from 100 years ago. We’re sharing a few of his finds from last month here, but many more can be found on his website, pocketguidetohell.com .
But that’s not all that’s on Durica’s plate. This weekend he’s going a little bit country. (Did you know Chicago played a major role in the country music genre?) To mark the 100th anniversary of the debut of “National Barn Dance” on WLS , he is hosting “Hey, Hey, the Gang’s All Here: A Chicago Barn Dance” Saturday at the Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia Ave. Shows start at 5:30 p.m. (all ages) and 8:30 p.m. (21 and over). Tickets cost $20 in advance, or $25 the day of the show. More details are available at hideoutchicago.com .
Column: There once was a time when our city was the country music capital
March 2, 1924: Can thoughts be transmitted over radio?
Three university professors gathered at Chicago’s Edgewater Beach Hotel to appear on radio station WJAZ’s 10 p.m. broadcast. They wanted to test out a novel idea — could their thoughts be transmitted over airwaves to listeners at home? The trio prepared a 12-part test as part of their investigation.
“For a number of years, psychologists have been conducting experiments with telepathy,” station superintendent E.F. McDonald Jr., told listeners. “But tonight by means of radio three psychologists will make a test with thousands of persons at one time.”
A preliminary study of the data found that despite more than 2,000 participants, no one answered all 12 items correctly. This led Columbia University’s Gardner Murphy, who analyzed the results, to conclude that further experimentation would be necessary.
March 7, 1924: ‘You might as well bury my carcass’
Police had been searching Chicago’s underworld for answers ever since the bodies of suspected low-level bootlegger John Duffy and his new bride Leah Exley — called Maybelle by the cabaret crowd, according to the Tribune — were discovered dead, he in a snowbank on the southwestern edge of the city and she in their apartment in late February 1924. Both had been shot to death.
Evidence of the murders and other crimes initially pointed to “a small group of Chicago millionaire bootleggers, robbers and gangsters,” the Tribune reported. The suspected ringleaders — “Barney Bertsche, Dean O’Banion and Dan McCarthy.”
After wading through the mess of mobster finger-pointing, police came to the conclusion that Duffy killed his bride in their apartment and then he was disposed of — possibly after making a mess that required the big boss to step in.
William Engelke, a witness and underworld hanger-on, stated in court that O’Banion led Duffy into a waiting car just before murdering him. Engelke knew this revelation could mean the end of his own life was near.
“Now that I have named O’Banion publicly you might as well bury my carcass at Roosevelt Road and Newberry Avenue,” he told the court.
March 15, 1924: Gandhi ‘weary’ but ‘honest, even as his enemies admit’
Just weeks after being released from prison to seek medical treatment, Indian civil rights leader Mahatma Gandhi sat down with Tribune correspondent Thomas Ryan to discuss his next steps — setting up spinning wheels, establishing nongovernment schools for the country’s caste of untouchables and temperance.
Gandhi said that India suffered a great disadvantage, as the natives had been “emasculated” as soldiers since the British came to the country.
“What I want is the end of the Indian’s mortal fear of the white skin, which was more prevalent when I was a boy than now,” Gandhi said. “Your state is not so clean (he told the reporter); what about your Negroes?”
Then Gandhi spoke about the exclusion of Booker T. Washington from a political gathering in Washington, D.C. “But he said that America’s record in the Philippines was splendid, so far as he knew,” the Tribune reported.
March 15, 1924: Aldermen break out in fisticuffs
For three minutes Ald. U.S. Schwartz, 4th, and Ald. John H. Lyle, 17th, engaged in a fistfight as a half-dozen of their peers attempted to push them apart.
“Ald. Max Adamowski (38th Ward), well known as an amateur wrestler in former days, gathered Lyle into his arms with a headlock,” the Tribune reported. “Lyle tripped Adamowski and both sprawled over a chair which collapsed on a bench.”
The group had labored for several weeks in preparing an appropriations bill. The Tribune believed the melee helped relieve some of the tension.
No hard feelings were evident — Schwartz and Lyle locked arms and went to dinner together that night.
March 25, 1924: ‘I will never leave Notre Dame’
After interest from the University of Iowa threatened to take him out of South Bend, Chicago-raised Knute Rockne signed a contract extension that would keep him at the University of Notre Dame for the next 10 years.
“I will never leave Notre Dame as long as they wish to retain me,” Rockne told reporters.
He died on March 31, 1931, in a plane crash near Emporia, Kansas.
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