13-May-15 – A “criminal retrial” in the Loop in June will be part fundraiser, part legal whodunit that will ponder what might have happened if the Eastland Disaster had happened today and not 100 years ago.

On July 24, 1915, between Clark and LaSalle Streets, the S.S. Eastland – docked on the Chicago River with more than 2,500 passengers – rolled over, killing 844 people including 22 entire families.

There were trials to determine who was responsible but no guilty verdicts. Noted criminal lawyer Clarence Darrow successfully defended the Eastland’s chief engineer, Joseph M. Erickson (left). James Barbour won exoneration for his clients, the owners of the Eastland and its navigators.

Kenesaw Landis, who would go on to become the first Commissioner of Baseball, was the United States District Court judge who, seven days after the accident, issued an injunction that prevented anyone subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury from testifying in any other hearing. The grand jury heard the only detailed testimony by witnesses but the transcript of the hearing was not published and it was eventually lost.

Robert A. Clifford	Anne Burke	Dan K. Webb

At The Eastland Disaster Criminal Retrial 2015, hosted by Eastland Disaster Historical Society and John Marshall Law School on June 18, the prosecuting attorney this time will be Robert A. Clifford, principal partner at Clifford Law Offices. Representing the defense will be Dan K. Webb, chairman of Winston & Strawn LLP. Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke will be the presiding judge.

The mock criminal trial will try to find out who should be held responsible. An audience will hear from attorneys and witnesses, then vote on the verdict. (Right) A man searching for survivors holds the lifeless body of a young victim.

“Retrying the criminal case in Chicago using today’s laws will give us the opportunity to take a fresh, present-day look at how justice might have been served had the trial been held in Chicago today,” explains Ted Wachholz, executive director and chief historian of Eastland Disaster Historical Society.

“The Eastland Disaster was an unparalleled tragedy that resulted in the loss of 844 innocent lives,” says Wachholz. “It was unexpected and it was extremely traumatic. It was also preventable, yet no one was held accountable.”

Money raised from the event will benefit the EDHS.

What: The Chicago Trial That Never Was: The Eastland Disaster Criminal Retrial 2015 When: June 18, 6:00-7:30 p.m. Where: Harold Washington Library Center, 400 South State Street, Cindy Pritzker Auditorium Map Cost: $125 per person for a standard ticket. $250 also gets you into a cocktail reception prior to the event, a premium spot in the auditorium, and your name in the program book.

(Above) The area on July 18, 2014, seen from the 28th floor of OneEleven.