Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 31, 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: 99 degrees (1953)
- Low temperature: 47 degrees (1872)
- Precipitation: 1.24 inches (1977)
- Snowfall: None
1934: A Soldier Field crowd of 79,432 fans saw the NFL champion Chicago Bears and College All-Stars play to a scoreless tie. Chicago Tribune Charities sponsored the game, which continued until 1976.
Chicago White Sox no-hitters: Aug. 31, 1935
Chicago Tribune Archives Chicago White Sox pitcher Vern Kennedy gets a called strike on Joe Vosmik of the Cleveland Indians for the third out of the ninth inning of a game on Aug. 31, 1935, which the White Sox won, 5-0. (Chicago Tribune)
1935: Chicago White Sox rookie pitcher Vern Kennedy threw a no-hitter against Cleveland.
1960: An extension made the runway at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport the longest civilian one in the United States at the time. A Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt, Germany, was the first to land on the 11,600-foot-long runway — a length of more than 2 miles.
At 16,000 feet, Denver International Airport now claims the longest runway for civilian aircraft in the U.S.
2012: Charlie Trotter’s restaurant closed after 25 years.
Trotter burst on the scene in 1987, when the self-taught chef opened his restaurant on Armitage Avenue. In short order, the chef’s intense creativity and never-repeat-a-dish dictum made Trotter’s the most talked-about restaurant in Chicago, and his fame quickly spread throughout the country and beyond.
The mercurial chef was a stern taskmaster who demanded the absolute best from everyone who worked for him. He was also a man of uncommon generosity, creating the Charlie Trotter Education Foundation to provide scholarships for culinary students. He received the James Beard Foundation’s Humanitarian of the Year award in 2012.
Trotter died Nov. 5, 2013.
Also in 2012: Three people died after becoming infected with Legionnaires’ disease at the JW Marriott Chicago hotel, 151 W. Adams St. The Legionella bacteria, which got its name after the first cases were identified at a Philadelphia hotel that hosted an American Legion convention in 1976, was discovered in the Marriott’s decorative fountain in the lobby, the men’s and women’s locker rooms, swimming pool and spa whirlpool.
2022: Seventy-five migrants who arrived in Texas were dropped off at Chicago’s Union Station. They were waiting to be picked up and taken to a shelter, they told a Tribune reporter.
What to know about Chicago’s migrant crisis
The migrants were sent to Chicago by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott who vowed to send more via bus and train to Chicago. By May 2023, Mayor Lori Lightfoot declared a state of emergency. With thousands of migrants settling in the city, often under harsh conditions, she said, “We’ve reached a breaking point.”
As of December 2024, more than 51,000 migrants were sent to Chicago by bus or airplane from Texas.
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