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Chicago Tribune
3 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
One Century, One Road
It was created to connect us, a fused chain of existing roadways many unpaved that stretched 2,448 miles across eight states and three time zones, starting steps from Lake Michigan in downtown Chicago and ending near the Pacific Ocean and Santa Monica's famed fishing pier. Route 66, 'The Main Street of America.' There is perhaps no better-known highway anywhere in the world. In its 100-year history, it has offered safe passage to Dust Bowl refugees, World War II transports and vacationing families. John Steinbeck called it 'the mother road, the road of flight.' Nat King Cole crooned about its kicks in a 1946 hit song. Disney and Pixar took inspiration from it for a 2006 blockbuster. The famed highway conjured images of quirky roadside attractions, mom-and-pop diners, neon-signed motels and art deco service stations. Each mile promised freedom, escape, adventure, exploration. It introduced countless Americans to their country, to vast lands that previously existed only in the collective imagination. Despite being decommissioned in 1985 in favor of a faster and wider interstate highway system, Route 66 continues to capture our imaginations in the remnants of its past glory that remain today. Now, Route 66 boosters in all eight states (Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California) are gearing up to celebrate the iconic route on its centennial in 2026. Ahead of next year's anniversary, the Chicago Tribune will set out across Route 66 to introduce readers to the people and places it was designed to connect the entertaining characters and roadside oddities, the business owners trying to revitalize their pieces of history and the voices that had been previously obscured in the roadway's lore. In pursuit of the unknown, we're starting our journey at the farthest point from home, in Santa Monica, and working our way back to Chicago. Along the way, we'll explore whether the highway still has the power to unite a deeply divided country and learn what it has to tell us about the current state of our nation. Share your connection to Route 66 using the form below. Your responses may be published in a future Δ
Chicago Tribune
3 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Today in History: 10 killed in Memorial Day Massacre of 1937
Today is Friday, May 30, the 150th day of 2025. There are 215 days left in the year. Today in history: On May 30, 1937, ten people were killed when police fired on steelworkers demonstrating near the Republic Steel plant in South Chicago. CLICK HERE to see the full Chicago Tribune front page from May 31, 1937 The history of the Southeast Side is instructive as students, others fight against General IronAlso on this date: In 1431, Joan of Arc, condemned as a heretic, was burned at the stake in Rouen, France. In 1911, the first Indianapolis 500 auto race was held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway; driver Ray Harroun won the race with an average speed of 74.6 mph. In 1922, the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., was dedicated in a ceremony attended by President Warren G. Harding, Chief Justice William Howard Taft and Abraham Lincoln's surviving son, 78-year-old Robert Todd Lincoln. In 1935, Babe Ruth played in his last major league baseball game for the Boston Braves, leaving after the first inning of the first game of a double-header against the Philadelphia Phillies. (Ruth announced his retirement three days later.) In 1971, the American space probe Mariner 9 blasted off from Cape Kennedy on a journey to Mars. In 1972, three members of the militant group known as the Japanese Red Army opened fire at Tel Aviv's Lod Airport, now Ben-Gurion Airport, killing 26 people. Two attackers died; the third was captured. In 2002, a solemn, wordless ceremony marked the end of the cleanup at ground zero in New York, 8 1/2 months after the terror attacks of September 11th brought down the World Trade Center's twin towers. In 2012, former Liberian President Charles Taylor was sentenced to 50 years in prison after being convicted on 11 counts of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity at a trial at The Hague. In 2023, disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes was taken into custody at the Texas prison where she was sentenced to spend the next 11 years for overseeing an infamous blood-testing hoax. In 2024, Donald Trump became the first former American president to be convicted of felony crimes as a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex. Today's Birthdays: Actor Keir Dullea is 89. Actor Stephen Tobolowsky is 74. Actor Colm Meaney is 72. Country singer Wynonna Judd is 61. Musician Tom Morello (Audioslave; Rage Against The Machine) is 61. Filmmaker Antoine Fuqua is 60. Actor-singer Idina Menzel is 54. Rapper-singer Cee Lo Green is 50.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Who Was the Tylenol Serial Killer? Revisiting the Terrifying True Story of Netflix's' Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders'
In 1982, seven people died in Chicago after ingesting cyanide-laced Tylenol James Lewis, who died in 2023, was considered a primary suspect for decades, though he was never charged in connection with the crime In May 2025, Netflix released a docuseries titled Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders, featuring LewisIt's been over 40 years since the Tylenol serial killer triggered a nationwide panic after seven people in the Chicago area ingested poisoned pain medication and were left dead. Over the course of just over 48 hours, victims between the ages of 12 and 35 suffered cardiac arrest immediately after taking Tylenol capsules that had unknowingly been laced with lethal doses of cyanide. As each victim was hospitalized, medical professionals worked around the clock to uncover what had caused their sudden deaths. It was the joint effort of a fire lieutenant, a public health official and an ICU doctor who connected that all the patients had taken the pain killer just before their death. Given their symptoms, the doctor concluded that the victims had exhibited signs of cyanide poisoning, and lab tests quickly proved his theory correct, per the Chicago Tribune. The swift thinking of emergency personnel helped expedite the process to inform the public and save the lives of many other potential victims. But just who was behind the murders was a mystery — and the case remains unsolved to this day. While James Lewis, a man who sent a ransom letter to Tylenol manufacturer Johnson & Johnson shortly after the murders, has been a primary suspect for the past 40 years, he was never charged with the crime. Although he did spend time behind bars for extortion, he maintained his innocence until the day he died in 2023. Now, the Tylenol murders are being revisited in the Netflix documentary Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders, which is currently streaming and features interviews with Lewis. So what happened during the Tylenol murders? Here's everything to know about the crimes and decades-long investigation. In September 1982, numerous people in the Chicago area died under mysterious circumstances over the span of just a few days — and their deaths were eventually linked to Tylenol capsules that had been contaminated with cyanide. The incident led to mass panic from the public surrounding over-the-counter medication. Within hours of contaminated medication being discovered, news spread around the Chicago area. News publications and radio stations extensively covered the poisonings to spread the word before more people could be impacted. Police officers drove through neighborhoods and used bullhorns to tell the public to throw out their Tylenol. Public health officials went door-to-door with flyers. Tylenol was quickly pulled from shelves around Chicago, per the Chicago Tribune, eventually leading to a nationwide recall of Tylenol products. In total, seven people were killed by ingesting contaminated Tylenol, although there may have been other unknown victims. The casualties included a child as well as three members of the same family: Mary Kellerman, 12, Adam Janus, 27, Stanley Janus, 25, Theresa 'Terri' Janus, 20, Mary McFarland, 31, Paula Prince, 35, and Mary Reiner, 27. The first death linked to the Tylenol poisonings was 12-year-old Mary Kellerman, who collapsed at home and was pronounced dead just hours after ingesting a laced capsule, per the Chicago Tribune. Later that day, Adam Janus, a 27-year-old mailman, also died shortly after being hospitalized. His death was initially ruled a heart attack, according to CBS News, but what happened in the days that followed alerted medical professionals that foul play may have been involved. Just hours after Adam was pronounced dead, his brother Stanley and his wife Terri visited his home to begin making funeral plans. Not feeling well, they each took Tylenol capsules from the bottle that had unknowingly caused Adam's death. They both immediately began experiencing chest pains and collapsed. It was Fire Lt. Chuck Kramer who recognized that just that morning, authorities had responded to a similar emergency at the same address. Believing the incidents were linked and could have affected other members of the family, he ordered everyone else in the house to be quarantined at the hospital. He then contacted Arlington Heights' only public health official, Helen Jensen, to begin an investigation into the deaths, per the Chicago Tribune. After interviewing family members, Jensen concluded that all three people had taken Tylenol shortly before their deaths. She later went to the Janus family home and picked up the bottle of Tylenol, realizing that it was a new bottle that had only been used by the three family members. She brought it back to the Cook County medical examiner's office and declared that there must be something wrong with the pills. She was initially ignored. Meanwhile, others were coming to the same conclusion. Dr. Thomas Kim, who was treating the Janus family, told Lt. Kramer that he believed the deaths were caused by something they had all ingested. Later that night, when Lt. Kramer spoke to a firefighter on the scene of Kellerman's death, he learned that the little girl had also taken Tylenol — and they began putting things together. When Dr. Kim learned of the connection, he began brainstorming what could have caused such a sudden onset of symptoms. After consulting with poison experts, he concluded that the effects of cyanide matched up with the victims' sudden cardiac arrest. Unable to run tests at his hospital, he sent two vials of blood from Stanley and Terri to a 24-hour lab via a taxi cab. With the information from Dr. Kim, the medical examiner's office began to look into the Tylenol bottles from the Janus and Kellerman households. With just a smell test, an investigator could tell there was cyanide inside. The county's chief toxicologist began to run tests on the Tylenol capsules and quickly realized that some of the pills contained nearly three times the amount needed to kill someone. Shortly after, lab results confirmed that Stanley and Terri — as well as several other victims — had died from acute cyanide poisoning. No one has ever been charged for the deaths resulting from the tainted medication, and the identity of the Tylenol serial killer remains unknown. However, Lewis has long been considered the primary suspect. In the midst of the investigation surrounding the contaminated Tylenol bottles, authorities uncovered that Lewis had sent a ransom letter to Tylenol's parent company, Johnson & Johnson, demanding $1 million in order to 'stop the killing,' according to the Associated Press. He immediately became a suspect in the case. At the time, Lewis was described by police as a 'chameleon,' living across several states and using at least 20 aliases. He worked numerous different jobs, including computer specialist, tax accountant, importer of Indian tapestries and salesman of jewelry, pharmaceutical machinery and real estate, per AP. He also had a history of trouble with the law. Several years prior to the poisonings, he had been accused of murdering and dismembering Raymond West, who had been one of his accounting clients. The charges were ultimately dropped because West's cause of death was not determined and some evidence had been illegally obtained. Then, in 1981, Lewis was convicted of mail fraud as part of a credit card scheme, using the name of a former tax client to illegally obtain 13 credit cards. Around that time, he also sent a letter to then-President Ronald Reagan, threatening to kill him with a remote-controlled plane, per UPI. Given his troubled past and his letter to Johnson & Johnson, authorities began an intensive investigation into Lewis's involvement in the crime. Lewis was never convicted of murdering the seven people who died after ingesting the contaminated medication, but remained a primary suspect for the majority of his life. During early interviews with Lewis, he denied involvement in the poisonings but confessed to writing the extortion letter to Johnson & Johnson. The letter referenced how 'easy' it could be to contaminate medication and said it could take him 'less than 10 minutes per bottle.' While he did not admit to contaminating the Tylenol, he did offer an explanation as to how he believed the crime took place. He told authorities that the culprit was likely to have bought the Tylenol and then later added the cyanide and returned the bottles to store shelves. In the years that followed, he said he offered the explanation because he was treating the investigation as he would a business situation. 'I was doing like I would have done for a corporate client, making a list of possible scenarios,' he told AP in 1992. He called the killer 'a heinous, cold-blooded killer, a cruel monster.' Lewis was not able to be linked to the tainted bottles through forensic testing, and he could not be placed in Chicago at the time of the crime. Despite the suspicion surrounding him, there was not enough evidence to convict Lewis. He was never charged with murder but did go to trial on charges of extortion stemming from the ransom letter he wrote to Johnson & Johnson. In June 1984, he was convicted of extortion and sentenced to 10 years in prison, per The New York Times. Over the past four decades, authorities have continued to investigate the Tylenol serial killer case. On several occasions, they have come up with leads, with many seemingly pointing back to Lewis. Around 2007, further investigation was prompted by authorities who wanted a 'complete review of all evidence developed in connection' with the poisonings with the benefit of advances in forensic technology. During an undercover sting operation, Lewis confessed that it had taken him three days to write the extortion letter, per the Chicago Tribune. Using advanced technology, investigators were able to uncover that the letter had an Oct. 1, 1982, postmark — meaning that Lewis began writing the letter before news of the poisoned Tylenol was made public. When Lewis was presented with the information, he recanted his statement, claiming to have a 'faulty memory.' In the years that followed, the FBI met with or had phone conversations with Lewis at least 34 times, according to CBS News. The FBI also obtained fresh samples of his DNA and fingerprints, but they did not match any of the DNA recovered on the contaminated bottles. Authorities also raided Lewis' suburban Boston condo and storage locker, seizing a laptop among other items. They also collected a poison handbook that Lewis had in his home prior to moving to Chicago in 1981, per the Chicago Tribune. Investigators even found Lewis' fingerprints on pages that discussed how much cyanide would be needed to kill someone. Lewis continued to deny his involvement in the crime, and authorities were unable to charge Lewis with murder. In July 2023, Lewis died at the age of 76. Police in Cambridge, Mass., told PEOPLE that Lewis was found unresponsive in his home and was pronounced dead shortly after. 'Following an investigation, Lewis' death was determined to be not suspicious,' police added. After the news was made public, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Margolis, who had prosecuted Lewis for extortion, told the Chicago Tribune and CBS News Chicago that he 'was saddened to learn of James Lewis' death' — not because of the death itself but because Lewis 'didn't die in prison.' However, before his death, Lewis was interviewed for the 2025 Netflix docuseries about the case. He continued to deny his involvement in the poisonings, saying, "They make it look like I'm the world's most horrible, dangerous person ever ... and I wouldn't hurt anybody." Read the original article on People
Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Illinois lawmakers ban police from ticketing and fining students for minor infractions in school
Illinois legislators on Wednesday passed a law to explicitly prevent police from ticketing and fining students for minor misbehavior at school, ending a practice that harmed students across the state. The new law would apply to all public schools, including charters. It will require school districts, beginning in the 2027-28 school year, to report to the state how often they involve police in student matters each year and to separate the data by race, gender and disability. The state will be required to make the data public. The legislation comes three years after a ProPublica and Chicago Tribune investigation, 'The Price Kids Pay,' revealed that even though Illinois law bans school officials from fining students directly, districts skirted the law by calling on police to issue citations for violating local ordinances. 'The Price Kids Pay' found that thousands of Illinois students had been ticketed in recent years for adolescent behavior once handled by the principal's office — things such as littering, making loud noises, swearing, fighting or vaping in the bathroom. It also found that Black students were twice as likely to be ticketed at school than their white peers. From the House floor, Rep. La Shawn Ford, a Democrat from Chicago, thanked the news organizations for exposing the practice and told legislators that the goal of the bill 'is to make sure if there is a violation of school code, the school should use their discipline policies' rather than disciplining students through police-issued tickets. State Sen. Karina Villa, a Democrat from suburban West Chicago and a sponsor of the measure, said in a statement that ticketing students failed to address the reasons for misbehavior. 'This bill will once and for all prohibit monetary fines as a form of discipline for Illinois students,' she said. The legislation also would prevent police from issuing tickets to students for behavior on school transportation or during school-related events or activities. The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police opposed the legislation. The group said in a statement that while school-based officers should not be responsible for disciplining students, they should have the option to issue citations for criminal conduct as one of a 'variety of resolutions.' The group said it's concerned that not having the option to issue tickets could lead to students facing arrest and criminal charges instead. The legislation passed the House 69-44. It passed in the Senate last month 37-17 and now heads to Gov. JB Pritzker, who previously has spoken out against ticketing students at school. A spokesperson said Wednesday night that he 'was supportive of this initiative' and plans to review the bill. The legislation makes clear that police can arrest students for crimes or violence they commit, but that they cannot ticket students for violating local ordinances prohibiting a range of minor infractions. That distinction was not clear in previous versions of the legislation, which led to concern that schools would not be able to involve police in serious matters — and was a key reason legislation on ticketing foundered in previous legislative sessions. Students also may still be ordered to pay for lost, stolen or damaged property. 'This bill helps create an environment where students can learn from their mistakes without being unnecessarily funneled into the justice system,' said Aimee Galvin, government affairs director with Stand for Children, one of the groups that advocated for banning municipal tickets as school-based discipline. The news investigation detailed how students were doubly penalized: when they were punished in school, with detention or a suspension, and then when they were ticketed by police for minor misbehavior. The investigation also revealed how, to resolve the tickets, children were thrown into a legal process designed for adults. Illinois law permits fines of up to $750 for municipal ordinance violations; it's difficult to fight the charges, and students and families can be sent to collections if they don't pay. After the investigation was published, some school districts stopped asking police to ticket students. But the practice has continued in many other districts. The legislation also adds regulations for districts that hire school-based police officers, known as school resource officers. Starting next year, districts with school resource officers must enter into agreements with local police to lay out the roles and responsibilities of officers on campus. The agreements will need to specify that officers are prohibited from issuing citations on school property and that they must be trained in working with students with disabilities. The agreements also must outline a process for data collection and reporting. School personnel also would be prohibited from referring truant students to police to be ticketed as punishment. Before the new legislation, there had been some piecemeal changes and efforts at reform. A state attorney general investigation into a large suburban Chicago district confirmed that school administrators were exploiting a loophole in state law when they asked police to issue tickets to students. The district denied wrongdoing, but that investigation found the district broke the law and that the practice disproportionately affected Black and Latino students. The state's top legal authority declared the practice illegal and said it should stop.
Chicago Tribune
5 days ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Laura Washington: Keep at it, mayor. Equity is the best tool you have against the White House.
Mayor Brandon Johnson is scrambling to beef up his Black bona fides. His moves have backfired. A cardinal rule of politics is that, if you lose your base, you're gone. Halfway through his first term, Johnson is laboring diligently to shore up his support among Black voters. That has put him crosswise with President Donald Trump. Johnson is bogged down by polls that show his popularity has plummeted. For example, a massive 79.9% of respondents disapproved of Johnson's performance in office, according to one survey of 700 likely Chicago voters taken in late February. Only 6.6% of voters viewed Johnson favorably, and about 12% of respondents said they had a neutral opinion of the mayor, according to the poll by M3 Strategies. Johnson's weak performance has brought out the knives. Two political organizations have vowed to fight the mayor and his progressive allies. Chicago Forward, a group of city business leaders, helped torpedo Johnson's prized Bring Chicago Home referendum. Its political consultant, Greg Goldner, told the Chicago Tribune that the group will continue to pound away at Johnson and his supporters. A 'dark money' group called Common Ground Collective has raised $10 million and is targeting aldermen who are close to the mayor, the Tribune reports. So, it's back to the base. Johnson won City Hall by besting opponent Paul Vallas in the 2023 mayoral runoff, taking every one of the city's African American wards. Now, Black voters are grumbling. They want more city services and social service programs directed to their neglected neighborhoods. They complain about the hundreds of millions of dollars the Johnson administration has plowed into supporting immigrants and refugees. They clamor for job and recreational opportunities for African American youths. Johnson is hitting Black churches, appearing regularly on Black radio and at events on the city's South and West sides to tout his record. On a recent Sunday, Johnson boasted about his hiring record at the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn. He listed African Americans he has tapped for top jobs in his administration. 'Business and economic neighborhood development, the deputy mayor, is a Black woman,' he declared. 'Department of Planning and Development is a Black woman. Infrastructure, deputy mayor, is a Black woman. Chief operations officer is a Black man. Budget director is a Black woman.' That unforced error blew up in his face. The U.S. Justice Department reacted by launching an investigation 'to determine whether the City of Chicago, Illinois, is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race,' in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In a May 19 letter to Johnson, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon wrote: 'Our investigation is based on information suggesting that you have made hiring decisions solely on the basis of race.' Johnson, Dhillon noted, 'highlight[ed] the number of Black officials in [your] administration. You then went on to list each of these individuals, emphasizing their race.' The Trump administration is on a crusade to abolish diversity, equity and inclusion in government, educational institutions and the corporate arena. 'We're not going to be intimidated by the tyranny that's coming from the federal government,' Johnson responded at a news conference. 'The diversity of our city is our strength.' He declared that 'we are going to show up for the Latino community. We're going to show up for Asian Americans. We're going to show up for Black folks in this city. We're going to show up for the LGBTQ+ community. Any group that has been marginalized and has suffered under tyranny and oppression, we're going to show up for them.' The racial makeup of the mayor's office staff is 34% Black, 24% Hispanic, 30% white and 7% Asian, according to data a mayoral spokesperson provided to the media. The latest census data shows that Chicago's population is 39% white, 29% Latino, 28% Black and 7% Asian. Of Trump, Johnson said, 'My administration reflects the country, reflects the city; his administration reflects the country club,' noting that Trump's Cabinet is overwhelmingly white. Our civil rights laws were not designed as racist tools to keep Trump in power. Five years, ago, we were all-in on fighting for racial equity in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd. America's racial awakening was in full swing. Now, we are in what the Chicago Defender has labeled the 'post-Floyd backslide.' DEI is under attack by Trump, who sees diversity as a dirty word, even a crime. Trump doesn't give a whit about fairness; he just wants to preserve and uphold white male dominance. For sure, Johnson erred by leaning heavily into his base at the church event, rather than his overall record of making equity a hallmark of his administration. No need to apologize for that. People of color everywhere despise Trump for his assault on our history, culture and achievements. Keep at it, mayor. The best political weapon you have against the White House is battling for equity. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@
