CHICAGO (AP) – Strong winds that swept across northeast Illinois caused additional damage to a historic Chicago church where famed gospel singers often sang and the man considered the father of gospel music led the choir. Winds that reached nearly 100 mph knocked down the south wall of the fire-damaged Pilgram Baptist Church on Monday. Two walls, made by limestone and braced by metal beams, remain intact. The building has been a shell since January 2006, when it was gutted by fire. The building, constructed in 1890 as a synagogue, was converted to a Christian church in the 1920s. It was here that Thomas A. Dorsey perfected his cross of the blues with the sacred music into a sound that became gospel music.
