Chicago gangster's funeral draws thousands

Mar. 11, 2013
Chicago gives a gaudy good-bye to a Gage Park gangster.

On West Side, Mexican poet marches against drug war

Sep. 4, 2012
Javier Sicilia, whose son was killed last year by drug traffickers in Cuernavaca, blames the drug war for violence on both sides of the border.

A St. Valentine's Day Massacre postscript

Feb. 14, 2012
If you're from Chicago, you probably know about the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. On February 14, 1929, seven men were gunned down at the SMC Cartage garage at 2122 N. Clark Street. Most of the dead men were members of the Bugs Moran bootlegging gang.

The violent attack of Smiling Joe Lewis

Nov. 9, 2011
Chicago in the 1920s could be a dangerous place if you got on the wrong side of the wrong people. Smiling Joe Lewis found that out on November 9, 1927.Lewis was an up-and-coming young cabaret singer. For a year he'd been the star attraction at the Green Mill in Uptown.

Capone, conflict and a truce meeting at the Hotel Sherman

Oct. 21, 2011
The war has been getting out of hand. So Don Corleone calls for a summit meeting. All the gang chiefs sit down together and hammer out a truce.It's a famous scene from "The Godfather."

The mayor who cleaned up Chicago

Oct. 3, 2011
Ken Burns has a new film about Prohibition. One of the forgotten players in that comedy-drama was a Chicago mayor. His name was William E. Dever.Dever was born outside Boston in 1862. He came to Chicago at 25, worked as a tanner on Goose Island, and studied law at night.