Ron Grossman

Shortly before Stateville Correctional Center opened in 1925, officials laid out their ambitious goals for the prison: “Warden John J.

One hundred years ago this week, took the opening kickoff of the Illinois-Michigan football game on the Fighting Illini's 5-yard line and zigzagged

Except for Al Capone, Gen. John Thompson would be forgotten by all but serious devotees of military history. The two never met, being cut from different cloth.

Ron Grossman Chicago Tribune Except for Al Capone, Gen. John Thompson would be forgotten by all but serious devotees of military history.

In 1949, a Chicago union official invited cohorts to his home on Chicago’s South Side. Some were Black. Five days of violence followed.l

Being a florist, Dean O'Banion was waked amid forests of chrysanthemums and roses and ribbon bows signed in the iconic style of a mobster, his other calling.

Race riots were a sadly persistent theme of American history. But this one was a bit different. Ron Grossman Chicago Tribune

Wallace Fard Muhammad, the founder of the Black Muslim movement, concluded the tutorial of his designated successor, Elijah Muhammad, in 1934.

The Christmas window displays at State Street department stores once drew thousands of holiday revelers, but are now just a memory.

Beginning in the new year, Ron Grossman will be writing occasional columns on Chicago that will appear in Sunday's Life+Travel section, in addition to his regular history features. Here's a preview.