Copyright Chicago Tribune
Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Nov. 7, 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: 75 degrees (1915) Low temperature: 13 degrees (1991) Precipitation: 1.68 inches (1895) Snowfall: 2.8 inches (1941) 1871: Joseph Medill, Tribune editor and publisher who kept the paper going after the Great Chicago Fire — was elected mayor. He represented the “Fireproof Party.” 1934: Democrat Arthur W. Mitchell defeated Black Republican Oscar DePriest to become the first Black Democratic member of U.S. Congress. 1940: Igor Stravinsky’s new C Major Symphony — which was written for and dedicated to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra — was presented for the first time at Orchestra Hall with Stravinsky himself conducting. 1979: Chicago Cubs reliever Bruce Sutter won the National League’s Cy Young Award. He was only the second Cubs pitcher to earn the honor at the time. Now there are five (Fergie Jenkins, Sutter, Rick Sutcliffe, Greg Maddux and Jake Arrieta) 1971: Rolf Betic, 19, Lake Forest, and his College of Lake County classmate Ralph Clousser, 19, Lake Bluff, confessed and were charged in the strangling of Betic’s half-sister, Gabriella, 11, in their family home. 1996: Former U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds and his wife Marisol were indicted on fraud charges, which alleged the couple illegally spent campaign funds and defrauded banks. Reynolds was convicted on 15 of 16 fraud counts. President Bill Clinton commuted Reynolds’ fraud sentence in 2001, with two years remaining to be served. Following his release, Reynolds tried repeatedly to regain his congressional seat. The Dishonor Roll: Meet the public officials who helped build Illinois’ culture of corruption After a federal judge sentenced him to six months behind bars for failing to file tax returns in May 2018, Reynolds went to prison for the third time in his ill-fated career. Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Reynolds said he was “done with America” and planned to move to South Africa with his daughter as soon as he completed his sentence. 2006: Airline and ground personnel at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport reported seeing a UFO hovering over the airport and then darting up, leaving a hole in the clouds. The FAA said it was a “weather phenomenon.” 2007: Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan entered prison after an April 2006 conviction for fraud, racketeering and other charges, which was the culmination of the federal Operation Safe Road investigation that exposed rampant bribery in state driver’s license facilities while he was secretary of state as well as misdeeds as governor. He was sentenced to 6 ½ years in prison but was released in 2013. Ryan died in May 2025 at age 91. 2016: Maine Township High School District 207 voted to pay $1 million to settle a lawsuit by five former Maine West student athletes who said they were physically assaulted in hazing rituals. Want more vintage Chicago? Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago’s past.
