Now this could only happen to a guy like me
And only happen in a town like this
So may I say to each of you most gratefully
As I throw each one of you a kiss.
This is my kind of town, Chicago is
My kind of town, Chicago is
My kind of people too
People who smile at you. Sammy Cahn, My Kind of Town
Eventually, I think Chicago will be the most beautiful great city left in the world. Frank Lloyd Wright
Chicago is known for good steaks, expensive stores and beautiful architecture. Unfortunately, the Windy City also enjoys a reputation for corrupt politics, violent crime, and some of the strictest gun control laws anywhere in the country. Bob Barr
It’s wonderful to be here in the great state of Chicago. Dan Quayle
Back in Chicago, all we cared about was rock-‘n’-roll and staying out of the army. John Belushi
Chicago is the product of modern capitalism, and, like other great commercial centers, is unfit for human habitation. Eugene V Debs
No realistic, sane person goes around Chicago without protection. Saul Bellow
Capone had become the chief enforcer for the boss of Chicago vice – Johnny Torrio. Ken Burns & Lynn Novick, Prohibition III: Murder & Mayhem, PBS 2011
The Chicago beer wars had begun. Ken Burns & Lynn Novick, Prohibition IV: A Sea of Rum
Al Capone held press conferences. ibid.
Capone became one of the best known Americans on Earth. ibid.
In 2014 there were over 2,500 shooting in Chicagoland. Underworld Inc s2e4: The Money Laundry, 2015
‘12-13-year-olds are walking round with bullet-proof vests on under their clothes.’ Storyville: The Interrupters, BBC 2011
‘One of the girls was about to stab one of the guys.’ ibid.
This is Chicago: it’s the third-largest city in America … This place has one of the highest murder rates for under-25s in the whole of the US. Stacey Dooley in the USA: Kids in the Crossfire, W 2017
Innocent families like that Hardmons seem to be caught in the middle of gang warfare that’s taken over their neighbourhood. Ashley was killed in the neighbourhood of Austin. ibid.
There are two main rival gangs – the Four Corner Hustlers and the Gangster Disciples. ibid.
Chicago has the toughest gun laws within the US. ibid.
Chicago 1894: 12,000 US army troops were sent in to attack their own citizens. Plutocracy II: Solidarity Forever, Mother Jones, 2016
1893: The World’s Fair … One in every four Americans travelling to the Windy City to witness the marvel. American Ripper in London V, CI 2017
As many as 5,000 prostitutes worked in over 30 establishments over the city’s red light district. ibid.
Sam Giancana, leader of the Chicago Mafia. Clever. Most powerful mobster in America. Arrested more than 70 times for assault, larceny, bombing and murder, he personally tortured some of his victims. Thought responsible for 200 killings. Mobsters s1e2: Sam Giancana, Bio 2007
Sam Giancana was boss of the Chicago Mafia. And without doubt the most powerful gangster in America. ibid.
It’s the ultimate story of organised crime in America. ibid.
He became a gun for hire, a freelance enforcer who killed to order. ibid.
The Teamster’s pensions’ fund controlled by Hoffa became a piggy-bank for Giancana. ibid.
For the big fellow, killing was just part of his business plan, a plan to become the CEO of organised crime in Chicago. But as king of the bootleggers during Prohibition, Scarface Al became more of a celebrity than any corporate executive. He became the most famous gangsta in the world. Mobsters s1e10: Al Capone, Bio 2007
Al could be an asset to [Johnny] Torrio … Capone rose quickly through the ranks of the underworld. ibid.
His 30-year-old brother Frank was killed in a shootout with Chicago police. ibid.
He was to become the target of criminals and lawmen alike. ibid.
May 15th 1962: a police officer on Chicago’s south side walks up to an abandoned car on 55th Street. Neighbours had complained about an intense stench coming from the car’s boot. The bodies were covered with maggots ... The victims were local thugs ... The Outfit considered the neighbourhood off limits ... Violating a mob rule meant a visit from 24-year-old Tony Spilotro ... The M & M murders. In the following months the story circulated around Chicago. One thing was clear – Tony Spilatro could get information from anyone and could use any means necessary. Mobsters s1e26: Tony Spilotro
After school he hung out with a local gang. ibid.
Spilotro was given a lucrative book-making territory on the north-west side of Chicago. Bookmaking was a major source of income for Tony. ibid.
The Mobsters pocketed the rest. The desert city had become a cash cow for the outfit. With so much money flowing from Las Vegas casinos the Mob needed muscle to protect its investment. Naturally, the bosses turned to a man who had killed and tortured on behalf of the Mob for years – Tony Spilatro. And the young mobster saw it as a chance to prove himself. ibid.
The judge found the mobster not-guilty. But his victory was short-lived. That same month was indicted once again. ibid.
In the wake of the indictments the Nevada Gaming Commission raided The Stardust casino. The move put a serious hole in the Chicago Outfit’s Vegas revenue. ibid.
In 1932 the notorious gangsta Al Capone was finally put away for tax evasion. Capone had run the Chicago outfit with an iron fist. He handed over control to his right hand man Frank Nitti. Mobsters s2e5: Frank Nitti
Nitti figured safety was in numbers so he befriended three Italian brothers who lived around the corner ... And their little brother Alphonse. ibid.
Nitti excelled at fencing stolen goods. ibid.
Nitti started out at the bottom as a debt collector. ibid.
On 10th November 1924 Nitti and Capone settled the score: three men walked into O’Banion’s flower shop on the city’s north side. ibid.
At just twenty-six Al Capone became the biggest mob boss in Chicago. Frank Nitti was his right-hand man. ibid.
In 1927 due in part to Nitti’s iron first and business acumen the Chicago outfit raked in over $100,000,000 (over a billion in today’s money). ibid.
The Capone gang’s chief rival for business was the north-side gang run by Bugs Moran. ibid.
Nitti had taken over the outfit at the worst possible time. ibid.
Labour unions ... Nitti had found a new source of income for the outfit. ibid.
The Feds indicted Nitti for racketeering, mail fraud and conspiracy. ibid.
January 1943: top mobsters in the Chicago outfit were knee-deep in a high-stakes shakedown. Mobsters s2e6: Tony Accardo
The Circus Gang had a special role in Capone’s outfit ... Capone needed protection more than ever: he was engaged in a fierce struggle for power with north-side mobster Bugs Moran. ibid.
His name has been linked to numerous assassinations. ibid.
By the end of the decade there were more than 7,500 gambling dens in the city. ibid.
The outfit-controlled unions demanded studio bosses make payments of hundreds of thousands. ibid.
With Nitty dead, Paul Ricca was now boss and Accardo his number two man. ibid.
Gambling was still the outfit’s most profitable racket. ibid.
In 1950 Chicago took centre stage in the Senate investigation of the Mob. ibid.
The Outfit’s Las Vegas casino The Stardust was full of gamblers spending money. ibid.
Accardo was indicted on filing false tax returns. ibid.
Sam Giancana, his number two man, was anything but discreet. ibid.
It was believed a hit on Giancana could come only from the top. ibid.
His death marked the end of the Capone-era gangsters. ibid.
Tony Accardo had achieved something very rare amongst mobsters – he died of old age. ibid.