The year 1993 didn’t get off to a great start when somebody gunned down the owners and five workers of the Brown’s Chicken in Palatine. Law enforcement officials formed a task force to track hundreds of leads, but they didn’t charge anyone for nearly a decade after the shooter’s girlfriend turned him and his friend into the police, along with DNA evidence, just in case.

It was also a year of government scandals. City Clerk Walter Kozubowski was charged with corruption, former alderman Fred Roti went to federal prison for four years, and Ways and Means chairman Dan Rosetenkowski was implicated in the House Post Office scandal.

Other Chicago news in ’93:

• A fire at the Paxton Hotel on the Near North Side killed 19 people

• “Rukn Roll” Sun-Times headline is born when Chicago learned federal prosecutors were bribing witnesses in the El Rukn trial

• While school officials worked on the budget, 400,000 CPS students enjoyed an extended summer vacation

• The Bulls beat the Suns to win their third consecutive NBA championship, and Michael Jordan announced his retirement (for the first time)

• The White Sox won the AL West championship

• The Bears said goodbye to Mike Ditka and welcomed their new coach, Dave Wannstedt

40 Years Of XRT

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