Results tagged “alcapone”

This week in the Chicagoist Podcast Series, we cover the distant past and the sci-fi future. From discoveries regarding bootleggers to conversations regarding Buffy. From Capones to comics. The alliteration possibilities are nearly endless but the content remains the same high level of excellence that you've come to know and expect from our legion of producers and editors.

If you consider Galena the end of the line in terms of western Illinois tourism, the Julien Inn of Dubuque, IA would like to get you to cross the mighty Mississippi for a Chicago-centric connection. Last week we had the "Capone was photographed here" news (which we'll expand on in next week's podcast). This week, NBCChicago brings us the "Capone slept here" story. (Which isn't really anything terribly new, but it's probably easier to get people with expendable income to drive to Dubuque than to stay in Cicero.)

If you've ever hoped for a "smoking gun" photo connecting a Mayor of Chicago with a major criminal figure, today could be the day you've been waiting for. No, it's not a photo of the current Mayor Daley taking a big fat check from Tony Rezko. No, it's not a photo of the elder Daley palling around with Sam Giancana. It's not even a picture of Michael Bilandic and John Wayne Gacy.

• The "world" (well, 30,000+ followers at least) is awaiting Oprah's entry into the Twitter universe as the talk show queen will "tweet" for the first time live on her show tomorrow morning. Prediction: it will be something about french fries.
• Speaking of fries, an elderly Naperville couple traveling back home from their winter place in Arizona stopped for lunch at McDonald's in the middle of a wind storm, and the restaurant's giant sign blew over and landed on their car, crushing them.
• Tupac's got nothing on Al Capone -- more than 60 years after the infamous gangster's death, a song Capone wrote while in prison at Alcatraz is being recorded and released by a group of musicians. "Madonna Mia" is going to be the best $.99 we've ever spent on iTunes.

Johnny Depp's gangster epic Public Enemies doesn't come out until this summer, but you can wet your whistle by watching Al Capone, with Rod Steiger in the title role. Just don't look for it at your local video store. Warner Bros. Archive has launched an experimental new program, opening its vaults and giving the public access to some rare movies that have never been released on DVD. For $19.95 you can order a title directly from the website; a DVD is manufactured on demand, put in a case with custom art and shipped to you within a week. Or you can buy it as a download for $14.95 and watch it right away.

[Hogsette] knew little and cared even less about its history. But its walls were sturdy, and there were enough bedrooms for the single mother to raise her son and still have rooms to rent out. The exterior of the six-bedroom, split-level remains virtually identical to the place Capone called home. Much of the interior is original, too, with detailed green and white tile in the front entrance, dark hardwood floors and narrow hallways.

Continue reading "For Sale: Al Capone's House"

Cheers to the 75th anniversary of Repeal Day, marking the end of prohibition and the beginning of the end of bathtub gin. To celebrate the occasion, we went on the often over-looked gangster tour of Chicago, The Untouchable Tour. This is not the architectural tour with its fancy building pointing out and cash bar. The Untouchable Tour is an old, black school bus, driven and guided by two middle-aged guys dressed up in suspenders and fedoras with thick Chi-caaaaa-go accents. Cheesy? Yes. Better than a herd of twenty-something aspiring actors spouting off memorized scripts (sometimes inaccurately) on a double-decker bus? Absolutely.

Both sides presented opening arguments today in the ongoing media circus that is R. Kelly's kiddie porn trial. The jurors will be shown the now-infamous tape that shows two people engaging in sex acts; the prosecution says those people are R. Kelly and an underage girl, and the defense says it's not R. Kelly, nor has the prosecution correctly identified the girl on the tape.

Al Capone's IRS records are finally being made public, thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request. (The IRS says, "All Federal tax records are confidential by law. The availability of historical records is highly unusual. However, the records of the criminal investigation of Al Capone below are of historical significance and of interest to the public.") The files are pretty amazing.

We told you it was happening; now it has, and both the Food Chain and The Stew stopped by to take their respective looks at the new Pastoral in the Loop. Food Chain asked owner Greg O'Neill about the popularity of fancy cheese: "People have the sense that 'if I’m going to be bad, I might as well be bad with something good.'" Indeed, my friend, Indeed. Handlebar owner Josh Deth has been all over...

Chicago History Books?

It probably comes as no surprise when we say that we Chicagoistas have a touch of the news junkie to us. And even though we haven't been posting up on the "Family Secrets" trial too much this week, we certainly haven't been ignoring the largest Mob trial the city has seen in decades. All the talk about This Thing Of Ours (...omerta...) reminded us of one of the most infamous events in journalism history,...

The city was abuzz Saturday afternoon with the news that Chicago has made the cut to be the US Olympic Committee’s choice to host the 2016 Olympics. It’s not a done deal yet; the International Olympic Committee still has to choose a final site for the Games, but this latest adventure from Mayor Daley has certainly changed the equation. In bars and coffee shops, around dinner tables and water coolers, and yes, even here in...

Chicagoist can’t decide whether hosting the 2016 Olympics would be a boon or boondoggle. But this morning’s Trib article about the latest obstacle to Chicago’s bid nearly had us choking on our Lucky Charms. Apparently, our image is still stuck in the past:

Gothamist posts on the capture of a NYC perv thanks to Little Brother and a camera phone. They also scour the city for vodka martinis and Shamrock shakes and spot the friend from the Wonder Years at a city law firm. New York police think that Littlejohn is their man. Houstonist is no stranger to megachurches or stripmalls or mega-strip-churchmalls. The children of Houston are under assault by unknown forces as this week a playground...

While Chicago may not be the "First town" of the nation, the babbling rant from the New York Post's gossip columnist Cindy Adams was odd in general, hilarious at best. In a column reminiscent of, oh, the fight over the World's Fair of 1893, the

Just when you thought the holiday season was over, here comes Abramoffukkah, the moniker given to the emerging political scandal surrounding lobbyist Jack Abramoff, shown here disguised as Al Capone. Abramoff was a high powered lobbyist who defrauded his clients, primarily Native American tribes, and conspired to buy the support of public officials by donating to their election campaigns. He gave to politicians on both sides of the aisle, although he is probably best...

Before a certain sports team and its star player made international headlines, most outsiders associated Chicago with tales of mythic gangland figures like Al Capone or Terrible Johnny Torrio. Chicagoist saw proof of this many years ago on a family vacation to San Francisco when we encountered a street performer dressed as a clown. While making a balloon animal, the clown asked us where we were from. When we said Chicago, he said “Oh? Gangsters,...

Some of you may know that way back in 1904, Chicago was supposed to host the Olympics... until St. Louis stole the games away! So Chicago has yet to host the Olympics.

Indie kids the world over have been salivating in anticipation of the new Sufjan Stevens album Illinois, the second of fifty albums about the fifty states, that was to be released today. Pitchfork even gave the new album, due to be released today, an astounding 9.2 rating. Mr Stevens himself even appeared on NPR’s Eight Forty-Eight this morning to promote his album…due to be released today. Only it wasn’t released today. Sort of. DC Comics...

Was it Vince Vaughn’s return to the Chicago area that prompted the Illinois State Assembly to renew the Film Production Services Credit Act last week? The timing seems awfully suspicious. Was there quid pro quo? Sine quo non? Semper ubi sub ubi? The people demand answers--preferably in Latin because it sounds important! Credited with bringing a resurgence of Hollywood dollars to Chicago, the FPSCA provides a 25% tax credit to production companies that film in...

"Tony the Ant," "Joey the Clown," "Joe Batters": You've heard these nicknames of Chicago mobsters in the news a lot lately because of the recent FBI smackdown. Today Slate gave us some insight into how the mobsters got their nicknames.

This morning the FBI started rounding up a bunch of reputed members of Chicago's mob... .just when you thought the Chicago mob was dead...

Perhaps Chicagoist made a bit too much of a stink yesterday about how boring municipal primary elections can be, because Tuesday's voting brought out a stunner for the Village of Cicero that could be one of the most encouraging signs for American democracy yet: The crooked Town President Ramiro Gonzales lost to newcomer Larry Dominick.

Cicero, Illinois, located just west of Chicago, right by I-290, is a generally well-swept town of about 85,000 with a storied history. Once known as the "Italian suburb", Once a center of Al Capone's activities, Cicero to this day has rumored ties to "The Outfit". In recent years the demographics have changed somewhat, with second-generation Mexicans replacing Italians. But the nature of Cicero politics remains somewhat murky -- and this year there's been plenty to ponder.

For the first time ever, the Golden Age of Gangsters Convention is coming to the Chicago area.. well, Itasca, IL. And actually, it's the first convention of this sort. Held September 10 - 12th, it's open to the public and will feature noted authors, collectors of gangster memorabilia, historians, and gangster movies and documentaries.

In 1921, Greek immigrant Peter George Poulos founded Margie's Candies. Over 80 years later, this classic ice cream parlor is still serving Chicago sweet toothes from their shop in the Bucktown community. Al Capone was reportedly one of their more famous patrons, as were the Beatles in 1964 after they finished their concert at Comiskey Park. Margie's makes their own 18% butterfat ice cream, hot fudge, real butterscotch, and caramel. Current owner, Peter Poulos Jr., the third generation to own Margie's, also hand-dips homemade candy - just like his mother, Margie, used to do.