GAMBLING:
THEN and NOW
NORMAN V. KELLY
I think it is interesting to note that every thing
that was illegal while I was growing up here in Peoria, Illinois is now legal
in the State of Illinois. Of course
prostitution is still illegal, but what goes on in our strip joints and late
night bars would make a fella doubt that…you think? We can gamble on the lottery like we used to
bet on the baseball pool here in town, after all they were just numbers games.
Gambling can easily be traced here in Peoria the
moment a packet boat or steamboat pulled up to our shores even before we became
a city in 1845.
All along Water Street during the Civil War, brothels,
hotels and small gambling establishments flourished. As time went on both vices grew along with
the population of this small river city town, and by the turn of the century,
Peoria’s reputation as a rather bawdy, lusty town grew.
In 1917, believe it or not, because of a phony wartime
conservation act, our distilleries and breweries were closed down. Wouldn’t you think that a major event like
that would pretty much put the halt to Peoria, Illinois? Truth is, that never happened.
By January 20, 1920, not only were the distilleries
and the breweries shut down, but every one of our bars, taverns and dives were
closed as well.
Mayor Woodruff stepped in and allowed the Soft Drink
Parlor scheme to reopen most of them. By
1923 we had 166 parlors flourishing in our downtown area. There and then, gambling took hold again and
did nothing but grow and grow. By 1941,
just before Pearl Harbor, Peoria was the place to be and our population was
just over 105,000. Gambling grew like
wildfire during the Roaring Twenties, and by the time America was at war once
again, Peoria was a hot, lusty, bawdy, wide-open town. Our own health board announced that we had
close to 1000 known prostitutes, and among the 242 taverns, at least nine of
them were flat out casinos. That was
Peoria, Illinois and I can tell you during WW 11, it was one of the best
liberty towns in the good old U.S.A
Let’s go back to 1941 here in Peoria, Illinois and
visit a spell. Woodruff was mayor for
the eleventh time and would serve his one and only four-year term. Our pet
gangster Bernie Shelton and his brother Carl were here and their reputation as
gangsters preceded them. I can tell you
they were just punk nickel and dimers among the mighty, influential and very
rich tavern and casino owners. “Bernie took over gambling in Peoria,” is the
biggest joke this town ever fell for.
Woodruff, now he was the key to all our gambling in
Peoria, simply because when he was the mayor he had the power to stop gambling
or allow it. Here is what he said publicly on many, many
occasions.
“There is bound to be vice. Under
regulation, such
activities will be required to defray costs of civic
maintenance and improvements.”
That was the source of the “Funny Money” that poured
into the city coffers all during Woodruff’s administrations. Other mayors allowed it as well, and as long
as the gamblers paid the piper…things rolled along here in Peoria, Illinois.
We had real ‘kingpins’ that ran and owned the local
gambling establishments, and they made a fortune in Peoria, I can tell you
that. That’s why I laugh out loud when I
hear all these stories about the Sheltons controlling gambling in Peoria. Places like the Empire, the Saratoga, El
Cazar, the It Club, the Sportsman Club, the Lyceum and the Talk O’ Th’ Town are
just a few examples. Peoria was THE
mecca for gambling of all types, and of course with that came the prostitution
that was legendary in our fair city.
There were times when even Woodruff put a stop to
gambling in town, and as I said it was he and he alone that made these
decisions. Listen to what he said one
Tuesday night at the alderman’s meeting.
“When payments resume for gambling privileges
the money will not be put in any special fund. I
am
going to use it to pave the alleys.”
Does this sound like a mayor that is going to be
intimidated by some punk, so-called gangster?
And so from the Civil War, through WW1 and Prohibition
gambling in Peoria thrived. All through
the 1930’s and into 1941 it was considered just another ‘business’ in town’. Then when WW11 began thousands of new
Peorians came into town to take the jobs of the 23,200 men that went off to
war. Camp Ellis was a major factor over
in Fulton County because thousands of soldiers came here and gambling was
‘King.’
All that ended on September 9-3-1946. This time it was Mayor Triebel who spoke to a
stunned council and audience. He told
them that he was tired of the complaints he was getting and went on to discuss
his reasons behind stopping gambling in Peoria.
Here is just a small part of that speech.
“I know all of you will be in full accord with my
plan. Therefore I have ordered
the chief of police
to stop all gambling of every kind and description
which might be done publicly.”
So that was it and stop it did. Of course some of it went under cover and yes
there was money on a table here and there in Peoria, but for all of the major
places downtown the gambling era was over.
Slots, oh sure, what person over 75 living here today did not play a
slot after September 1946? But the big
glory days, the nights of endless gambling were over. Even Bernie Shelton moved out into the
county. Gambling marched across the
river to Tazwell County and a few places sprouted up in Peoria County…but the
great gambling era in the City of Peoria, Illinois ended. Yep, Peoria went
‘legit’ and as a result a few years later we had no downtown. Now we share a gambling boat with East Peoria,
and play bingo in brightly lit parlors.
Some of us play poker on video machines, and now we have to drive down
to Bloomington to bet on a horse. How is
that all working out for us?
Editor’s Note:
Norm Kelly if a life-long Peoria, historian and author of 8 books
available in the Peoria Public Library.
He encourages your comments.
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