In May, 1976 the world was a different place than it is today (2023). The country is now unrecognizable based on what we lived in and thru in that relatively safe and carefree time. One night in Canaryville changed the lives of many people as it took the life of De La Salle Junior, John Hughes.
Coen is a writer for the Chicago Tribune and he covers crime. His detailed and thorough dig back to a cold case from the mid to late 1970's stirs up many emotions for those of us who came of age during the era. The summer of '76 was the nation's Bicentennial year and nearly every person living within the borders of an American state was thrilled and excited by their nation's illustrious and exceptional history. Not anymore. One is far more likely to run into people who loathe the country and to many - they loathe their own lives.
When I say carefree I do indeed mean carefree. We lived somewhat fearlessly and in large part we lived that way since we literally had little to nothing to fear. Back on that night when John Hughes was shot in the heart by a man in a green chevy was a moment of change. It certainly altered the lives of the Hughes family, but it also accelerated the changes that would soon be happening in the neighborhoods of Canaryville, Bridgeport and Chinatown. These neighborhoods are among the most well-known of Chicago's neighborhoods and in the case of Bridgeport - it is the oldest neighborhood in the city.
What should have been a simple solve for the Chicago Police Department became one of the worst offenses in the annals of cold cases. This story involved eyewitnesses who literally recognized the person in the passenger seat. The witnesses knew that person wasn't the shooter and for all intents and purposes it wouldn't take the proverbial rocket scientists to figure out who the shooter was. The Chicago Police Department was accused of covering up the crime. The immoral hijinks that took place between some members of the CPD, the Mayor's office (Richard J. Daley was the Mayor at the time) and members of the Chicago crime syndicate are on full display in this relatively short (236 pages), but extraordinary true tale of a murder that went "unsolved."
Coen takes deep dives into a multiple number of highly conflicting and deeply rooted stories of corruption. Some of these people served time, some didn't serve enough time and others never served any time. The killer of John Hughes was never officially named. Coen and Jim Sherlock sort of tell us in a few ways who they believe the killer was and clearly you agree.
Coen and Jim Sherlock (a famed detective with CPD, who also worked with the FBI) track down so many details and share so many stories that the book takes you on a near roller coaster of trackbacks, takedowns, mishaps and wacky coincidences - all of this makes the book downright unputdownable. The book was released in 2019, but I just read it in four hours this weekend. My brother had recommended it on Tuesday. I placed an order at the Public Library and the book was in my hands that same afternoon. The librarian told me the book event held on behalf of the author proved to be one of their most successful in-house events.
If you are from Chicago you will treasure some of the nostalgia moments of the city's south side neighborhoods. Have you ever been in Ricobene's? Well, it gets a mention. Yes, the author still refers to White Sox Park as White Sox Park. Boyle Field, Marquette Park. Then there is Princeton and Lowe Streets.
This is a book that is a must read for anyone intrigued by true crime stories; and if you are also from Chicago you wouldn't want to miss this absolutely superb book. It's not John Steinbeck, but then again he didn't write non-fiction.
John Hughes. I'm sorry I never met you. A nice kid who was smart and athletic and apparently brave. He died in May, 1976 and no one paid the price for that crime. As the Bible states "Vengeance is mine, says the Lord."
Copyright Read On Read Now 2023
