Today in Chicago History: Arlington Park put up for sale
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)
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.
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.'
1983: U.S. Rep. Harold Washington won the Democratic primary race for mayor, defeating Jane Byrne and Richard M. Daley.
2021: Churchill Downs Inc., owners of the Arlington Park, announced plans to sell the 326-acre Arlington Heights horse racetrack for redevelopment.
Arlington closed its gates Sept. 25, 2021. The Bears finalized a deal to buy the site in February 2023.
Want more vintage Chicago?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump to sign resolutions nixing California's EV rules, sources
By David Shepardson (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump will sign three resolutions on Thursday approved by lawmakers barring California's electric vehicle sales mandates and diesel engine rules, auto industry and House aides told Reuters. Trump is signing resolutions of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to bar California's landmark plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035, which has been adopted by 11 other states and representing a third of the U.S. auto market. Trump will sign one resolution to repeal a waiver granted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under former Democratic President Joe Biden in December, allowing California to mandate that at least 80% of vehicles be electric vehicles by 2035. The White House declined to comment. The White House invited numerous auto industry officials to attend the signing on Thursday, sources said. Trump will also sign a resolution approved by Congress to rescind the EPA's 2023 approval of California's plans to require a rising number of zero-emission heavy-duty trucks, and another resolution on California's low-NOx, or low-nitrogen oxide, regulation for heavy-duty highway and off-road vehicles and engines. The signing is a win for General Motors, Toyota, auto dealers and other automakers that heavily lobbied against the rules, and a blow to California and environmental groups that say the requirements are essential to ensuring cleaner vehicles and cutting pollution. California announced a plan in 2020 to require that by 2035 at least 80% of new cars sold be electric and up to 20% plug-in hybrid models. California Governor Gavin Newsom has vowed to challenge the repeals in court, saying the action by Congress is illegal and would cost California taxpayers an estimated $45 billion in additional health care costs. Since 1970, California has received more than 100 waivers under the Clean Air Act. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, representing GM, Toyota, Volkswagen Hyundai Stellantis and others, previously praised the repeal. "The fact is these EV sales mandates were never achievable," the group's CEO, John Bozzella, said. "In reality, meeting the mandates would require diverting finite capital from the EV transition to purchase compliance credits from Tesla." These are the latest actions in recent months taking aim at electric vehicles. A separate bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in May would end a $7,500 tax credit for new EVs, impose a new $250 annual fee on EVs for road repair costs and repeal vehicle emissions rules designed to prod automakers into building more EVs. It would also phase out EV battery production tax credits in 2028.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Factbox-Los Angeles, progressive beacon at center of anti-Trump backlash
By Costas Pitas LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Protests in Los Angeles against raids on suspected undocumented immigrants have turned into the strongest domestic backlash against President Donald Trump since he took office in January. Here is how the Democratic-leaning city and state of California vary from Trump's Republicans and his support in the U.S. heartland. PARTY POLITICS Nationwide, Trump won around 2.5 million more votes than his Democratic rival Kamala Harris in the November presidential election but in Los Angeles, Harris won by a margin of roughly two to one. Of the 50 U.S. states, California backed Harris by the fifth largest margin. California is also home to several top-level Democrats, including Harris herself, and long-time former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. Governor Gavin Newsom is a Democrat, as is the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass. Both have complained about Trump's tactics this week. The party raises millions in the state from wealthy donors and grassroots supporters, sometimes in a single day. DEMOGRAPHICS At 27.3%, California has the highest foreign-born population of any U.S. state, compared to 13.9% of the total U.S. population, according to a 2024 Census report. Nearly half of Angelenos are Hispanic or Latino and some 35% of the city's total population is foreign-born, according to the American Community Survey, with many cultural and business ties to Mexico, which is only about a two-hour drive south. ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS Faced with persistently bad air quality, especially in cities with strong driving cultures such as Los Angeles, California has developed some of the strictest environmental regulations in the country, opposed by many Republicans. A landmark plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035 in California is in the crosshairs of a battle between its Democratic leadership and the Republican-run federal government, also because many other states replicate California's first-in-the-nation action. In May, the Republican-run Senate in Washington voted to ban the plan and it is now awaiting Trump's signature. He is expected to sign it this week, according to industry officials. HOLLYWOOD American movies and television are one of the most visible U.S. exports, emanating from an LA-based industry that had been hailed by liberals for boosting diversity but criticized by some conservatives for creating films that include LGBT stories. In May, Trump suggested a tariff on movies produced in foreign countries to protect a domestic industry that he said was "dying a very fast death." But when China retaliated by saying it would curb American film imports, he prompted laughter at a cabinet meeting by a response that signaled his derision for Hollywood: "I think I've heard of worse things."
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Charlotte Councilmember asks the city to stop buying Teslas
Charlotte City Council is planning to buy 45 new electric vehicles when the new fiscal year starts in July. One Charlotte City Council member is asking the city manager not to purchase them from Tesla. At-Large Democratic Councilmember Lawana Slack-Mayfield made the remarks at Monday night's council meeting. ALSO READ: Political and market uncertainty in EV market could stifle burgeoning industry in Carolinas 'I want to publicly state that we have a number of EV companies out there now. I would prefer if the city of Charlotte moved in another direction than purchasing more Tesla vehicles,' Councilmember Mayfield said. 'It has been proven on multiple occasions that the instability exists, and I think we can make better choices of tax dollars and identify companies that align with our city's goals and expectations of truly being a welcoming city.' No councilmembers responded to Mayfield's statement. The Charlotte City Council will have to vote to authorize the EV purchases at a later date. Excluding the airport and CATS, the city of Charlotte has 178 electric vehicles in its fleet, and only 15 of them are Teslas. Of the 178 electric vehicles, 103 are Fords. The budget also calls for purchasing 155 hybrid vehicles and converting more of the buses at the airport to electric. VIDEO: Political and market uncertainty in EV market could stifle burgeoning industry in Carolinas
