Daily Calumet
Encyclopedia
The Daily Calumet was a Chicago newspaper that existed from 1881 until 1987. It was at one time billed as "America's Oldest Daily Community Newspaper."
The Daily Calumet was located at 9120 S. Baltimore Ave., Chicago, in the South Chicago neighborhood on the city's Southeast Side. Depending on the delineation of ward boundaries, it was either in the 7th or 10th Ward.
It served the communities within the city of South Chicago, South Shore, Irondale/Slag Valley, South Deering, the East Side and Hegewisch as well as the neighboring suburbs of Calumet City and Burnham.
Affectionately known as "The Cal" to generations of readers, the newspaper covered only topics of local interest and it was not until its finals years that it used any wire service
copy. In the early 1980s, The Daily Calumet subscribed to the United Press International
service to augment the copy produced by its staff of reporters, photographers and correspondents. Reporting areas, or "beats" were divided into four areas of responsibility on The Daily Calumet.
The police beat, known internally as the "cops and courts" beat, was basically focused on news from the 4th District of the Chicago Police Department
. The detective bureau covered by The Daily Calumet was Area 2, which comprised districts 3 (Grand Crossing), 4 (South Chicago) 6 (Gresham) and 22 (Morgan Park).
The most sensational police coverage done by The Daily Calumet concerned the 1966 murders of six student nurses by drifter Richard Speck
. The women were killed in an apartment rented by South Chicago Community Hospital on East 100th Street. Photographers and reporters from The Daily Calumet were the first media on the scene and were allowed unparalleled access to the homicide scene. The newspaper also extensively reported and photographed the October 30, 1972 collision between two Illinois Central commuter trains, which originated from the IC's 91st Street station in South Chicago. The wreck, which killed 45 people and injured 332, remains the worst commuter rail crash in Chicago's history, and carried a number of victims from the newspaper's coverage area.
The labor beat, which covered both the unions and the businesses of the Southeast Side, concentrated heavily on the steel and auto industries that made up the bulk of the local manufacturing employers. Among the largest of these were the South Works of United States Steel
, Republic (later LTV) Steel, Wisconsin Steel, the Chicago Assembly Plant of Ford Motor Company
and related suppliers to the above industries. The most significant coverage on the labor beat was during the 1937 Memorial Day Massacre when Chicago police shot down several striking workers at the Republic Steel
plant on Avenue O.
The education beat covered numerous parochial and public schools on the Southeast Side. The high schools covered by The Daily Calumet included Washington High School, Bowen High School, Hirsch High School and St. Francis De Sales High School
operated by the Archdiocese of Chicago
.
The political beat covered both the 7th Ward and 10th Ward organizations. As part of its coverage, the beat reporter would attend Chicago City Council
meetings. The beat also covered the state house and senate districts within the Southeast Side area and the 2nd Congressional District of the U.S. House. Some of the most intense political reporting came during the administration of Chicago Mayor Harold Washington
, whose primary nemesis on the council floor was Ald. Edward Vrdolyak
, the 10th Ward alderman. Vrdolyak led the floor opposition to Washington during the stormy time known as "Council Wars," a play on words from the popular "Star Wars" films, when the Washington bloc found itself at odds and often outnumbered or outmaneuvered by Vrdolyak and his allies.
The environment beat was created during the turn of the 1980s, when Waste Management Corp. tried unsuccessfully to create a nature preserve in Burnham, Illinois, to mitigate a planned expansion of its CID Landfill near 130th Street and the Calumet (Bishop Ford) Expressway, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency initiated legal actions against several small operating and closed landfills concentrated in a heavily industrialized area near Torrence Avenue.
In addition to these "beats," reporters were encouraged to produce enterprise stories on any neighborhood subject of their choice. The Daily Calumet also had a photo department with two full-time staffers and several stringers; two full-time sports personnel and a full-time Lifestyles editor and an assistant.
As the neighborhood demographics changed, The Daily Calumet added a Spanish language page known as "Fin de Semana" or "Weekend" which served the growing Latino market.
In approximately 1980, The Daily Calumet was sold by its owners, Panax Publishing Co., to a British-owned group from Liverpool. After several years, the British group sold the paper to Pulitzer, which owned The Daily Southtown
newspaper which served Chicago's Southwest Side. After about two years of operation by Pulitzer, The Daily Calumet nameplate was phased out and replaced by The Daily Southtown, which opened a bureau in a building owned by The Daily Calumet in south suburban Lansing, Ill. at 18127 William St. The office was closed and The Daily Southtown effectively withdrew from the southeastern Chicago market when its product failed to catch on with the local population.
The Daily Calumet building at 9120 S. Baltimore Avenue in Chicago was donated to the South Chicago YMCA
. After a structural analysis determined the building was not safe, it was razed to expand the YMCA parking area. The Lansing building was sold, was razed and is now the site of a medical building.
The Daily Calumet was located at 9120 S. Baltimore Ave., Chicago, in the South Chicago neighborhood on the city's Southeast Side. Depending on the delineation of ward boundaries, it was either in the 7th or 10th Ward.
It served the communities within the city of South Chicago, South Shore, Irondale/Slag Valley, South Deering, the East Side and Hegewisch as well as the neighboring suburbs of Calumet City and Burnham.
Affectionately known as "The Cal" to generations of readers, the newspaper covered only topics of local interest and it was not until its finals years that it used any wire service
News agency
A news agency is an organization of journalists established to supply news reports to news organizations: newspapers, magazines, and radio and television broadcasters. Such an agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire or news service.-History:The oldest news agency is Agence...
copy. In the early 1980s, The Daily Calumet subscribed to the United Press International
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
service to augment the copy produced by its staff of reporters, photographers and correspondents. Reporting areas, or "beats" were divided into four areas of responsibility on The Daily Calumet.
The police beat, known internally as the "cops and courts" beat, was basically focused on news from the 4th District of the Chicago Police Department
Chicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest local law enforcement agency in the...
. The detective bureau covered by The Daily Calumet was Area 2, which comprised districts 3 (Grand Crossing), 4 (South Chicago) 6 (Gresham) and 22 (Morgan Park).
The most sensational police coverage done by The Daily Calumet concerned the 1966 murders of six student nurses by drifter Richard Speck
Richard Speck
Richard Franklin Speck was a mass murderer who systematically tortured, raped and murdered eight student nurses from South Chicago Community Hospital in Chicago, Illinois on July 14, 1966.- Monmouth, 1941–1950 :...
. The women were killed in an apartment rented by South Chicago Community Hospital on East 100th Street. Photographers and reporters from The Daily Calumet were the first media on the scene and were allowed unparalleled access to the homicide scene. The newspaper also extensively reported and photographed the October 30, 1972 collision between two Illinois Central commuter trains, which originated from the IC's 91st Street station in South Chicago. The wreck, which killed 45 people and injured 332, remains the worst commuter rail crash in Chicago's history, and carried a number of victims from the newspaper's coverage area.
The labor beat, which covered both the unions and the businesses of the Southeast Side, concentrated heavily on the steel and auto industries that made up the bulk of the local manufacturing employers. Among the largest of these were the South Works of United States Steel
U.S. Steel
The United States Steel Corporation , more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe. The company is the world's tenth largest steel producer ranked by sales...
, Republic (later LTV) Steel, Wisconsin Steel, the Chicago Assembly Plant of Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
and related suppliers to the above industries. The most significant coverage on the labor beat was during the 1937 Memorial Day Massacre when Chicago police shot down several striking workers at the Republic Steel
Republic Steel
Republic Steel was once the third largest steel producer in the United States.The Republic Iron and Steel Company was founded in Youngstown, Ohio in 1899....
plant on Avenue O.
The education beat covered numerous parochial and public schools on the Southeast Side. The high schools covered by The Daily Calumet included Washington High School, Bowen High School, Hirsch High School and St. Francis De Sales High School
St. Francis de Sales High School
St. Francis de Sales High School or SFS is a private, all-male, college-preparatory high school in Toledo, Ohio. It is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo. The school was named as one of the top 20 Catholic high schools in the nation for academics by Catholic High School Honor Roll for the...
operated by the Archdiocese of Chicago
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
The Archdiocese of Chicago was established as a diocese in 1843 and as an Archdiocese in 1880. It serves more than 2.3 million Catholics in Cook and Lake counties in Northeastern Illinois, a geographic area of 1,411 square miles. The Archdiocese is divided into six vicariates and 31 deaneries...
.
The political beat covered both the 7th Ward and 10th Ward organizations. As part of its coverage, the beat reporter would attend Chicago City Council
Chicago City Council
The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 aldermen elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms...
meetings. The beat also covered the state house and senate districts within the Southeast Side area and the 2nd Congressional District of the U.S. House. Some of the most intense political reporting came during the administration of Chicago Mayor Harold Washington
Harold Washington
Harold Lee Washington was an American lawyer and politician who became the first African-American Mayor of Chicago, serving from 1983 until his death in 1987.- Early years and military service :...
, whose primary nemesis on the council floor was Ald. Edward Vrdolyak
Edward Vrdolyak
Edward Robert Vrdolyak is a noted Chicago lawyer and politician and a convicted felon. He was a powerful longtime Chicago Alderman and also head of the Cook County Democratic Party before running unsuccessfully for Mayor of Chicago as a Republican...
, the 10th Ward alderman. Vrdolyak led the floor opposition to Washington during the stormy time known as "Council Wars," a play on words from the popular "Star Wars" films, when the Washington bloc found itself at odds and often outnumbered or outmaneuvered by Vrdolyak and his allies.
The environment beat was created during the turn of the 1980s, when Waste Management Corp. tried unsuccessfully to create a nature preserve in Burnham, Illinois, to mitigate a planned expansion of its CID Landfill near 130th Street and the Calumet (Bishop Ford) Expressway, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency initiated legal actions against several small operating and closed landfills concentrated in a heavily industrialized area near Torrence Avenue.
In addition to these "beats," reporters were encouraged to produce enterprise stories on any neighborhood subject of their choice. The Daily Calumet also had a photo department with two full-time staffers and several stringers; two full-time sports personnel and a full-time Lifestyles editor and an assistant.
As the neighborhood demographics changed, The Daily Calumet added a Spanish language page known as "Fin de Semana" or "Weekend" which served the growing Latino market.
In approximately 1980, The Daily Calumet was sold by its owners, Panax Publishing Co., to a British-owned group from Liverpool. After several years, the British group sold the paper to Pulitzer, which owned The Daily Southtown
Daily Southtown
The SouthtownStar is a newspaper of the Chicago, Illinois metropolitan area that covers the south suburbs of Chicago and the South Side neighborhoods of the city - a wide region known as the Chicago Southland. Its popular slogan is "People Up North Just Don't Get It"...
newspaper which served Chicago's Southwest Side. After about two years of operation by Pulitzer, The Daily Calumet nameplate was phased out and replaced by The Daily Southtown, which opened a bureau in a building owned by The Daily Calumet in south suburban Lansing, Ill. at 18127 William St. The office was closed and The Daily Southtown effectively withdrew from the southeastern Chicago market when its product failed to catch on with the local population.
The Daily Calumet building at 9120 S. Baltimore Avenue in Chicago was donated to the South Chicago YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
. After a structural analysis determined the building was not safe, it was razed to expand the YMCA parking area. The Lansing building was sold, was razed and is now the site of a medical building.