The Unseen Victims of Chicago

By Annika Tourlas

Chicago, the windy city, known for deep dish pizza, sky scrappers and the shoreline of Lake Michigan. However, there is a dark side. For over 100 years Chicago has been the setting for murder, robberies, sex trafficking and gang culture. Among the victims to the dark side ... innocent women. The Great Chicago Fire, in 1871, burned an entire city to nothing but ashes. Who took the blame for the fire? A woman named Catherine O'Leary and her cow. After the reconstruction of the third largest city a world's fair commesned; full of gold, bright lights, the latest technology and a serial killer named H. H. Holmes. Holmes was responsible for the death of 27 people, majoirty innocent women who fell victim in what is now known as "Murder Castle." 30 years later a strand of 351 murders grabbed the attention of the Chicago Police Department. Who were the victims? Innocent wives killed by their husbands now known to scholars at North Western University as the "Wife Murderes." Meanwhile, a group of men took charge of city led by the infamous Al Capone. To this day Capone is one of the most famous mob bosses in U.S. history, resposible for the St. Valentines Day Massacre. While the massacre was the fall of Capone's control he inspired gangs on Chicago's westside and southside to take over. Chicago's dark history and the crimes of these men destroyed the lives of thousands of women no matter what their status was. From rich housewives, teens strolling through the park to children watching t.v. in their homes killed by a stay bullet they victims were never given a chance. The men of Chicago's dark history now go down in infamy inspiring books like "Devil in the White City" and movies "Capone." While the women and victims are as muted as the faint blue stripes of the Chicago flag overshadowed by the four red stars. Will Chicago ever change or will it continue to be the eerly perfect setting for murder, sexual harrasment, sex trafficking and the crossfire of rival gangs.

References:

Bowman, Cynthia Grant, and Ben Altman. “Wife Murder in Chicago: 1910-1930.” Scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu, North Western University, scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7105&context=jclc.

Hagedorn, John M. Race Not Space: A Revisionist History of Gangs in Chicago, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20064070?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.

Larson, Erik. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America. New York: Vintage Books, 2004. Print.

McCoppin, Robert, et al. “History of Chicago Homicides .” Chicagotribune.com, Chicago Tribune, www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/.

Raphael, Jody, and Jessica Ashley. “Domestic Sex Trafficking of Chicago Women and Girls.” Human Trafficking Hotline , State of Illinois , humantraffickinghotline.org/sites/default/files/Domstic%20Sex%20Trafficking%20Chicago%20-%20ICJIA.pdf.

Sabino, Pascal. “After Years Of Unsolved Murders, West Side Women Launch Stop Taking Our Girls Campaign.” Block Club Chicago, Block Club Chicago, 2 Mar. 2020, blockclubchicago.org/2020/03/02/after-years-of-unsolved-murders-west-side-women-launch-stop-taking-our-girls-campaign/.

Smith , Christina. “ The Shifting Structure of Chicago's Organized Crime Network and the Women It Left Behind.” ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst, Nov. 2015, scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1464&context=dissertations_2.