1969: 'Those "bullet holes" aren't'
In the predawn hours of Dec. 5, 1969, a police raid on a West Side apartment ended in the deaths of two leaders of the Black Panther Party -- chairman Fred Hampton and fellow Panther Mark Clark.
Many considered the Black Panthers to be radicals. It was easy for them to believe a Chicago Tribune report that there were bullet holes in a kitchen door frame of the apartment -- from shots fired at police. There were photos, too -- from State's Attorney Edward Hanrahan's office.
Sun-Times editor Jim Hoge, acting on a tip, and reporter Joe Reilly checked. All they saw in the door frame were unplastered nail heads. But they did find so many bullet holes above Hampton's bed -- where friends said he was sleeping -- that it "looked like machinegun fire."
The Sun-Times' story the next day ("Those 'bullet holes' aren't") was the first of many that ultimately chased Hanrahan from office.
Sun-Times staff