We are Chicago.
The Chicago Outfit has seen its leadership change hands many times since 1910. Find out who lead the outfit throughout the years.
LIFE.com remembers a series of photographs made in Chicago in 1954 and featured in LIFE in the spring of 1955, focusing on what the magazine called the "encroaching menace" of the city's slums.
in 1929, gangsters linked to mobster Al Capone lured eight men into a garage in Chicago, lined them up facing the wall, then opened fire. Here's the story, plus photos and diagrams.
I recently came across the website of photographer Bob Rehak, who took some wonderful images of people living in Uptown in the 1970s. He was...
Insane Gangster Disciples was formed by the hands of Solomon.
1929 Chicago the Vacation City Vintage Style Travel Poster
Welcome to the Stone Greaser website, documenting the Greaser gangs from Chicago and New York from the 1950s until today.
This is insane.
Big shots of gangland shown up at detective bureau after being caught in police raid. Left to right: Mike Quirk, once tried for murder; Edward Sirnek: Myles O'Donnell, west side booze and beer baron; George Barker, ex-convict; Frank Lacey; Bernard O'Donnell, brother of Myles
Rival gangs battle it out to control the black market booze trade of 1920's Chicago!
Street gangs in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and other urban centers have various ways of identifying (or shall we say, branding?) themselves—think ba…
These calling cards from a variety of Chicago gangs in the ’70s and ’80s proves that the toughies of the time were fiercely protective of their neighborhoods and always down for hanging out. The Insane Freaks, Insane Lady Vigilantes, and other old…
Roti Sr. was "The Bomber," "The Mustache," "a big man in the Chicago crime setup." In the early part of the century, he was part of the Black Hand, police said. The Black Hand gangs would be taken over in the 1920s by Al Capone's gang. "Roti was close to Al Capone and was visited by Capone on many occasions," according to an FBI report prepared nine years after his death. The FBI identified Roti Sr. as the leader of what would become the Chicago Outfit's 26th Street/ Chinatown crew.
In the 1970s and 1980s, gangs in Chicago advertised their presence and membership on business cards. This was criminality with a dash of style and wit. Meet the Almighty Playboys, the Royal Capris, The Almighty Hells Devils and the Almighty Playboys. Or rather, you’ve been met by them, their signature calling card tucked into … Continue reading "Compliments of Chicago – Gang Business Cards from the 1970s and 1980s"
These business cards come from Chicago during the 1970s and early 1980s—a charmingly distinguished touch for what was after all in most cases just a bunch of buddies who would get into rumbles every so often. As the proprietor of We Are Supervision, the blog where most of these cards came from, says, these cards come from the days when “a gang was more of a neighborhood crew then what it is today.” These were the days of “fists, bats, and bottles” rather than AK-47s. “Most of the gangs were just about the neighborhood and hanging out...
We Are Supervision has shown off a lesser known snippet of Chicago’s history: Gang cards. Apparently it was common practice ca. 1980 for Chicago gangs to put together their own business cards to impress, intimidate, whatever. It’s a bit of outsider history with a homespun aethetic. The names of the members are often included. We […]
