Category Archives: Crime and vice

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 | 20 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 | 13 Comments

Paul Powell shoebox scandal

Posted on July 15, 2015 by editor

The discovery of hundreds of thousands of dollars stuffed in suitcases, an attache case, loose envelopes and, of course, a shoebox within days after the October 1970 death of Illinois Secretary of State Paul Powell remains clouded by confusion and … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Illinois capital, Politics, Prominent figures, State government | 1 Comment

Noll Saloon murders, 1913

Posted on June 16, 2015 by editor

A string of saloon holdups had Springfield already on edge in December 1913, when a shootout with a pair of robbers left two men dead in the Carl Noll Saloon, 1301 E. Reservoir St. Gun-wielding robbers had held up at … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Crime and vice, Hotels & taverns, Law enforcement | Leave a comment