MAIN 13 MAGAZINE / POLICE “13-13” CHICAGO POLICE JOURNAL

Main 13 was published by the Chicago Police Department from May 1921 to March 1923. It was a monthly magazine devoted to news of the Police Department and articles of interest to the policeman and their family. The magazine was named for the phrase a caller would give a telephone operator in order to be connected to the police. General Superintendent Charles C. Fitzmorris, a former newspaperman and City Hall insider, began publishing Main 13 in an effort to lift the morale of the police department and to boost its public image. The magazine was run out of City Hall by Jack Lait, a renowned Chicago newspaperman.

In April 1923 the magazine was renamed Police “13-13” Chicago Police Journal and continued publication until being discontinued in 1938. Police “13-13”, was the new emergency number, replacing Main 1313, to call for police. The first call taken by Police “13-13” was on Tuesday night, July 5, 1921. O. K. Muss Josephine Trialo of 364 Townsend Street (present day 364 North Hudson Avenue) was the caller. She had locked herself in an office located at 317 West Adams Street, and wanted to go home.

Police “13-13” Chicago Police Journal was a pre-curser to the now defunct Chicago Police Digest.