Category Archives: Crime and vice

Johnny Connors (boxer, saloon-keeper)

Posted on April 23, 2016 by editor

Johnny Connors – boxer, saloon-keeper and sportsman – was small in stature, but he played an outsize role in Springfield for nearly 80 years. Connors (1867-1966) was born John O’Connor in Ireland, but boxed as Johnny Connors. He never legally changed … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Crime and vice, Hotels & taverns, Prominent figures, Restaurants, Sports and recreation, Theaters | 10 Comments

Prohibition referendums in Sangamon County, 1908-17

Posted on February 17, 2016 by editor

Most of Sangamon County voted itself “dry” as soon as it legally could in 1908. But it would take four referendums and nearly 10 years before the city of Springfield finally succumbed to prohibitionist sentiment. After a bitter struggle, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Business, Crime and vice, Hotels & taverns, Local government, Politics, Race riot of 1908, Restaurants, Social life, Women | Leave a comment

Joe Yucas (‘King of the Lithuanians’)

Posted on January 16, 2016 by editor

This entry has been retitled and greatly expanded. Joe Yucas (1874-1926) was a Springfield bar owner and political operative who the Illinois State Register once called “the King of the Lithuanians.” According to his obituary, Yucas immigrated to the U.S. … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Crime and vice, Ethnic groups, Hotels & taverns, Lithuanians, Prominent figures | 1 Comment

Alby’s Tavern & the Stasukinas family

Posted on January 16, 2016 by editor

Alby (Albinas) Stasukinas, son of Lithuanian immigrants Joseph and Rose (Poskevicius) Stasukinas, opened his storied tavern at 14th and Carpenter streets in 1944. Alby quit coal mining in 1940 to work at the Illiopolis munitions plant, but by 1944 he … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Business, Crime and vice, Ethnic groups, Hotels & taverns, Lithuanians, Social life | 2 Comments

Last execution in Sangamon County

Posted on December 17, 2015 by editor

The last person executed in Sangamon County went to the gallows with a new suit, a plucky attitude and one last request – no women were permitted to witness his hanging. James Hayes (1898?-1927) was put to death shortly after … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Law enforcement, Sangamon County | 5 Comments

‘Hunkie John’ Buskiewich murder trial (1926)

Posted on December 15, 2015 by editor

“Hunkie John” Buskiewich (1903?-69) was the defendant in 1926 in one of Sangamon County’s most sensational murder trials. “Hunkie,” a slang term for immigrants from Eastern Europe — Buskiewich was of Lithuanian descent – was an expression that could be … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Law enforcement, Lithuanians | 2 Comments

Pawnee High School fire, 1958

Posted on November 8, 2015 by editor

Pawnee High School was demolished by a fire on Feb. 24, 1958, that was ignited by a student attempting to break into the school’s vault. Frank Carlos Ewing Jr., 15, admitted to Sangamon County sheriff’s investigators that he broke into … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Communities, Crime and vice, Disasters, Education, Law enforcement | 13 Comments

Lauterbach Cottage Hardware ax attacks (1981)

Posted on September 1, 2015 by editor

No one was ever charged with the 1981 ax attacks at Lauterbach’s Cottage Hardware Store, but the case did lead to a change in Illinois’ mental-health privacy law. The attacks took place inside the family-owned hardware store at 15th Street … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Crime and vice, Law enforcement | 21 Comments

Hammer attacks, 1975

Posted on August 20, 2015 by editor

Two men were killed and eight other people injured in frenzied hammer attacks that took place in Springfield on Aug. 4, 1975. Frank Sherry (1950-2004) later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in a deal agreed to by relatives of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Law enforcement | 19 Comments

The death of Fido, the Lincoln family dog

Posted on July 19, 2015 by editor

Fido, a yellow mongrel dog the Abraham Lincoln family adopted about 1855, stayed behind when the Lincolns moved to Washington, D.C., in 1861 and was stabbed to death sometime in 1866. The man who killed Fido has gone down in … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Crime and vice, Lincoln, Abraham | 15 Comments