John Dillinger was a bank robber, auto thief and national fugitive whose crimes and bravado captivated Chicago, and those impacts continue to this day.
“He was like a Kardashian,” said Tammie Williams, a tour guide with Windy City Ghost Tours. “I mean seriously. He was so famous.”
Dillinger started getting in trouble when he was a teenager. He spent most of his 20s serving time, and once released, it didn’t take long for him to get back to his lawless ways.
“(A span of) 11 months was his reign of terror,” Williams explained. “He robbed 12 banks and six police arsenals.”
In less than a year, he became public enemy number one, hunted aggressively by Chicago police and the FBI.
A close friend of Dillinger made that search quite simple. Anne Sage was looking to make a deal with the authorities, and one that was in her favor.
“She was a Romanian immigrant and she thought this was her chance for citizenship. So in exchange for citizenship, she told this police officer she could bring him JD,” Williams said.
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That brings us to the Biograph Theater located at 2433 N Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Park. Dillinger and his friends were seeing a film at the theater on July 22, 1934. When they exited the FBI was waiting. Dillinger had been set up by Sage, and her actions led to him being gunned down.
“In the immediate aftermath, you get tons of people congregating on the scene and there are stories, not entirely verified, that people were even trying to like collect the blood that had been spilled in the alley,” said Paul Durica, the Director of Exhibitions for the Chicago History Museum.
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Following Dillinger’s death, the city of Chicago allowed for his body to be put on public display.
Although he was a violent criminal, he was roundly beloved by the people. He was seen as a man not afraid to steal from the big banks, who many blamed for the Great Depression.
“He seemed to be someone that was sticking it to those who really were responsible for the great depression,” Durica explained. “And he was kind of stealing something for the little guy. Just the fact he was willing to strike out and allude justice for so long turned him into this legendary figure.”
Dillinger remains a figure that is still talked about some 90 years later, having achieved mythical status even in death.
