Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Dec. 9, 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: 62 degrees (1879)
- Low temperature: Minus 14 degrees (1876)
- Precipitation: 1.47 inches (2008)
- Snowfall: 5.1 inches (1931)
1778: Illinois became a county of Virginia.
1889: The Auditorium Theatre was opened and dedicated by President Benjamin Harrison.
1934: Students of early NFL history know that the New York Giants upset the Chicago Bears 30-13 at the Polo Grounds for the 1934 title because the Giants donned sneakers to help their footing on the icy field. But how many know that Abe Cohen was a hero in the so-called “Sneakers Game”?
Cohen was a tailor, a fan, and a sometimes-clubhouse attendant. Giants trainer Gus Mauch served a similar role at Manhattan College. When coach Steve Owen wondered where he could find enough gym shoes on a Sunday to outfit his club, Cohen was dispatched in a cab to Manhattan College. There, by hook or by crook, he entered the gym, opened lockers and returned with a cab full of rubber-soled shoes.
The Giants rallied from an early 10-3 deficit to score four unanswered touchdowns in the last 10 minutes and win. Lewis Burton in the New York American wrote: “To the heroes of antiquity, to the Greek who raced across Marathon Plain and to Paul Revere, add now the name of Abe Cohen.”
2005: The Chicago Bulls retired Scottie Pippen’s No. 33 jersey during halftime of the Bulls’ loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at the United Center.
Pippen was a 6-7 forward from Central Arkansas when the Bulls selected him in the 1987 draft with the fifth pick, which they obtained in a trade with Seattle. Pippen helped the Bulls win six NBA titles in eight seasons. He went on to become an all-NBA player seven times and an all-defensive team player eight times, seven times on the first team.
Pippen finished his Bulls career with averages of 18 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists, making him one of the most versatile front-court players in league history. He was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996.
The Bulls traded Pippen to the Houston Rockets in 1999.
2008: At 6:15 a.m.,Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was roused from his Ravenswood Manor home, arrested, handcuffed and hauled before a federal magistrate on sweeping charges that he conspired to sell his office many times over — including putting a price on the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.
“I intend to stay on the job, and I will fight this thing every step of the way. I will fight. I will fight. I will fight until I take my last breath. I have done nothing wrong,” Blagojevich said on Dec. 19, 2008, in his first news conference after his arrest.
During his second trial, Blagojevich was found guilty on 17 of 20 counts. In 2011, he was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison — the second-longest term ever delivered in federal court in Chicago for a public corruption case.
President Donald Trump, convicted of felonies himself, commuted Blagojevich’s 14-year sentence to about eight years served on Feb. 18, 2020.
2010: Annie Ricks, the last resident of the Cabrini-Green public housing development’s last-standing housing tower, and her family left their home of 20 years — Apartment 1108 at 1230 N. Burling St., Chicago.
2013: The No. 89 jersey worn by Mike Ditka was retired by the Bears at Soldier Field during one of the coldest Bears home games ever at the venue. The temperature was 8 degrees at the 7:40 p.m. kickoff of the “Monday Night Football” game.
2018: Former Chicago Cubs reliever Lee Smith and Harold Baines, former Chicago White Sox outfielder, were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Smith retired in 1997 after an 18-year career as the all-time leader with 478 saves. Baines collected 2,866 hits during a 22-year career, 14 with the Sox.
2021: Marc-Andre Fleury of the Chicago Blackhawks became the third NHL goaltender (Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy were the others) to reach 500 career wins. The Blackhawks won 2-0 over Fleury’s hometown Montreal Canadiens at Centre Bell.
Also in 2021: Actor Jussie Smollett was found guilty on five of six felony counts of disorderly conduct for lying to police about a purported attack in January 2019 in which the “Empire” actor claimed he was the victim. He had been charged with making the whole thing up.
Smollett was sentenced in March 2022 to 150 days in Cook County Jail. His convictions, however, were overturned in November 2024 by the Illinois Supreme Court, which found that a special prosecutor’s decision to retry him for allegedly staging a hate crime against himself violated his rights after the Cook County state’s attorney’s office previously dropped all charges.
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