THIS
WEEK IN CHICAGO FBI HISTORY
On
August 27, 1964, the FBI's Chicago Field Office moved into new space located
in the just completed E.M. Dirksen Federal Building and Courthouse. Located
at 219 South Dearborn Street in Chicago's "Loop", the Chicago
FBI occupied the entire 9th floor of the building. Marlin W. Johnson was
the Special Agent-in-Charge of an office that boasted 281 Special Agents
and 185 support employees.
The
Dirksen Federal Building remained the home of the Chicago FBI for the
next 42 years. During that time, the office expanded to occupy the entire
8th and 10th floors and part of the 11th floor. The size of the office
grew to approximately 450 Special Agents and 350 support employees.
Prior
to the move, the Chicago FBI's operations were housed in the Federal Building
and Customs House, located at 536 South Clark Street.
Also
this week, on August 28, 2001, Chicago Police Detective Joseph Airhart,
who was assigned to the Chicago FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF),
was shot and seriously injured while attempting to arrest a bank robbery
suspect. Detective Airhart and FBI Special Agents found the suspect, Daniel
Salley, in the south Loop apartment of his girlfriend, located at 1307
South Wabash in Chicago.
After
gaining entry to the apartment using a ruse, Detective Airhart and the
Agents were met with a barrage of gunfire from Salley. Detective Airhart
was struck in the head and lay wounded on the floor of the apartment,
while Agents negotiated with Salley for his release. After a four hour
stand-off, Salley eventually surrendered and Detective Airhart was treated
for his wounds, from which he has not totally recovered. Salley was subsequently
convicted in U.S. District Court of bank robbery and attempted murder
and received a life sentence plus 132 years in prison.
Editor's
Note: This release is part of a weekly series designed to help commemorate
the 100th anniversary of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which will
be celebrated on July 26, 2008. Additional facts about the history of
the FBI are available on-line at www.fbi.gov.
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