Author : Dominic Candeloro
Publisher : Arcadia Publishing
Page : 164 pages
File Size : 10,56 MB
Release : 2004
Category : History
ISBN : 9780738524702
The history of Chicago Heights mirrors the growth and struggles of the entire nation. From determined settlers to visionary industrialists, from the power of rail to the vast intercontinental highway system, this Illinois city of hard workers and dynamic ethnic groups persevered through overwhelming obstacles to claim its place at the center of the Industrial Revolution.
Author : Charles Hager
Publisher : SIU Press
Page : 186 pages
File Size : 11,34 MB
Release : 2018-07-12
Category : True Crime
ISBN : 0809336731
Winner, ISHS Best of Illinois History Award, 2019 In this riveting true story of coming of age in the Chicago Mob, Charles “Charley” Hager is plucked from his rural West Virginia home by an uncle in the 1960s and thrown into an underworld of money, cars, crime, and murder on the streets of Chicago Heights. Street-smart and good with his hands, Hager is accepted into the working life of a chauffeur and “street tax” collector, earning the moniker “Little Joe College” by notorious mob boss Albert Tocco. But when his childhood friend is gunned down by a hit man, Hager finds himself a bit player in the events surrounding the mysterious, and yet unsolved, murder of mafia chief Sam Giancana. Chicago Heights is part rags-to-riches story, part murder mystery, and part redemption tale. Hager, with author David T. Miller, juxtaposes his early years in West Virginia with his life in crime, intricately weaving his own experiences into the fabric of mob life, its many characters, and the murder of Giancana. Fueled by vivid recollections of turf wars and chop shops, of fix-ridden harness racing and the turbulent politics of the 1960s, Chicago Heights reveals similarities between high-level organized crime in the city and the corrupt lawlessness of Appalachia. Hager candidly reveals how he got caught up in a criminal life, what it cost him, and how he rebuilt his life back in West Virginia with a prison record. Based on interviews with Hager and supplemented by additional interviews and extensive research by Miller, the book also adds Hager’s unique voice to the volumes of speculation about Giancana’s murder, offering a plausible theory of what happened on that June night in 1975.
Author : Matthew J. Luzi
Publisher : Arcadia Publishing
Page : 152 pages
File Size : 44,54 MB
Release : 2012-10-16
Category : True Crime
ISBN : 1614237263
“Chronicles the heyday of the Chicago Heights subsidiary of Al Capone’s infamous Prohibition-breaking criminal organization” (Time Out Chicago). Chicago Heights was long the seat of one of the major street crews of the Chicago Outfit, but its importance has often been overlooked and misunderstood. The crew’s origins predate Prohibition, when Chicago Heights was a developing manufacturing center with a large Italian immigrant population. Its earliest bosses struggled for control until a violent gang war left the crew solidified under the auspices of Al Capone. For the remainder of the twentieth century, the boys from Chicago Heights generated large streams of revenue for the Outfit through its vast gambling enterprises, union infiltration, and stolen auto rackets. For the first time, the history of the Chicago Heights street crew is traced from its inception through its last known boss. Includes photos! “I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Chicago Heights Street Crew. It not only provides a well researched history of the crew, but also explains how the boys from Chicago Heights became an important, yet little known, part of the Chicago Outfit.” —Springer Science + Business Media
Author : Dominic Candeloro
Publisher : Arcadia Publishing
Page : 132 pages
File Size : 48,25 MB
Release : 2000
Category : History
ISBN : 9780738501291
This is the long-awaited second volume on Chicago Heights in the Images of America series. Chicago Heights Revisited expands on the popular first volume, as the authors cover the period from 1930-1970 in greater detail. What emerges from this wonderful collection of images is a multi-layered portrait of a lively city striving as one to assist in a World War II Allied victory, even while supporting a large spectrum of differing religious, social, and ethnic institutions. When residents remember Chicago Heights, they remember downtown. Images of the Liberty Restaurant, Nick Guzzino's Barbershop, and Rau's Toyland will evoke fond memories for past and present Chicago Heights residents. The various industries of the city are captured in historic photographs, reminding us all of the hard working residents that created the thriving community of Chicago Heights. Images of the World War II era capture the contributions that the people of Chicago Heights made for their nation and community.
Author : Louis Corsino
Publisher : University of Illinois Press
Page : 184 pages
File Size : 49,99 MB
Release : 2014-11-15
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780252038716
From the slot machine trust of the early 1900s to the prolific Prohibition era bootleggers allied with Al Capone, and for decades beyond, organized crime in Chicago Heights, Illinois, represented a vital component of the Chicago Outfit. Louis Corsino taps interviews, archives, government documents, and his own family's history to tell the story of the Chicago Heights "boys" and their place in the city's Italian American community in the twentieth century. Debunking the popular idea of organized crime as a uniquely Italian enterprise, Corsino delves into the social and cultural forces that contributed to illicit activities. As he shows, discrimination blocked opportunities for Italians' social mobility and the close-knit Italian communities that arose in response to such limits produced a rich supply of social capital Italians used to pursue alternative routes to success that ranged from Italian grocery stores to union organizing to, on occasion, crime.
Author : Dominic Candeloro
Publisher : Arcadia Publishing
Page : 166 pages
File Size : 41,55 MB
Release : 2003
Category : History
ISBN : 9780738524566
Since 1850, Chicago has felt the benefits of a vital Italian presence. These immigrants formed much of the unskilled workforce employed to build up this and many other major U.S. cities. From often meager and humble beginnings, Italians built and congregated in neighborhoods that came to define the Chicago landscape. Post-World War II development threatened this communal lifestyle, and subsequent generations of Italian Americans have been forced to face new challenges to retain their ethnic heritage and identity in a changing world. With the city's support, they are succeeding.
Author : Ann Durkin Keating
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 340 pages
File Size : 37,54 MB
Release : 2008-11-15
Category : History
ISBN : 0226428834
""Which neighborhood?" It's one of the first questions you're asked when you move to Chicago. And the answer you give - be it Bucktown, Bronzeville, or Bridgeport - can give your inquisitor a good idea of who you are, especially in a metropolis with so many different neighborhoods and suburbs to choose from." "Many of us know little of the neighborhoods beyond those where we work, play, and live. This is particularly true in Chicagoland, a region that spans over 4,400 square miles and is home to more than 9.5 million residents. Now, historian Ann Durkin Keating's compact guide, drawn largely from the bestselling Encyclopedia of Chicago, brings the history of Chicago neighborhoods to life."--BOOK JACKET.
Author : Melvin Holli
Publisher : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Page : 660 pages
File Size : 18,59 MB
Release : 1995-05-19
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780802870537
A study of ethnic life in the city, detailing the process of adjustment, cultural survival, and ethnic identification among groups such as the Irish, Ukrainians, African Americans, Asian Indians, and Swedes. New to this edition is a six-chapter section that examines ethnic institutions including saloons, sports, crime, churches, neighborhoods, and cemeteries. Includes bandw photos and illustrations. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Author : Jennifer Billock
Publisher : Arcadia Publishing
Page : 160 pages
File Size : 46,71 MB
Release : 2021-09-27
Category : History
ISBN : 1467150118
As immigrants came from outside the United States and settled in pockets around Chicago, each neighborhood had its own bakery--and sometimes several. At one time, more than seven thousand bakeries dotted the city streets. Stalwarts like Dinkel's, Roeser's, Weber's, Pticek and Ferrara continue a legacy that shaped Chicago's food traditions: an atomic cake for family celebrations, bacon buns in the morning or a poppy seed bun for hot dogs and pączki and zeppole for holidays. Even the never-ending debate over seeded or unseeded rye. From pioneering bakers to today's cake makers, author Jennifer Billock puts the sweet and doughy history of Chicago on display.
Author : Sam Giancana
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 498 pages
File Size : 48,24 MB
Release : 2016-11-01
Category : True Crime
ISBN : 1510711252
One of the most feared Chicago mobsters Sam Giancana clawed his way to the top of the Mafia hierarchy by starting as a hit man for Al Capone. He was known as one of the best vehicle escape artists, a tenacious business man, and a ruthless killer. He partied with major stars such as Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe and did business with agents ranging from the CIA to the Vatican to the shah of Iran. When politician Joe Kennedy gave Giancana the chance to use mob muscle to get his son John elected, Giancana jumped at the task. But the Kennedy brothers double-crossed him, waging full-out war on organized crime throughout the United States. And Giancana went after them. Written with suspense and conviction, we learn about how the CIA asked Giancana to assassinate Fidel Castro. The book includes Giancana's testimony about the truth of his involvement in the deaths of Monroe and others, among others. Chuck Giancana, Sam's brother, contributes a unique perspective of the mobs relationship with the Bay of Pigs and many other pivotal events of the 60's and beyond. Double Cross is an eye-opening account of the interworking of the government and the mob and how this relationship has impacted American history.
