Aldermen's Wars

The Alderman's wars is the series of murders and violent rioting between warring Alderman Johnny "de Pow" Powers and Anthony D'Andrea from 1916 until 1921. Over a period of five years, over 30 deaths were reported during the struggle for control over the "Bloody" 19th Ward of Chicago's Little Italy.

Johnny Powers, a local saloonkeeper and longtime political boss of the predominantly Irish 19th Ward, had been in power since the 1890s and, despite the large influx of Italian immigrants over the decades, Power's managed to retain power among the area despite his reputation for corruption and offering political protection to criminal elements in Chicago's underworld.

However, Powers was faced with a challenge when Anthony D'Andrea ran against junior alderman and Powers associate James Bowler in 1916. D'Andrea, although a defrocked priest and convicted counterfeiter, was a popular leader within the Italian-American community as a prominent member of several Italian-American fraternal organizations and as a labor union official. As reported by the Chicago Tribune, "Anthony Andrea is the name of Antonio D'Andrea, unfrocked priest, linguist, and former power in the old 'red light' district, who in 1903 was released from the penitentiary after serving 13 months on a counterfeiting charge. Dander’s name has also been connected with a gang of Italian forgers and bank thieves who operated at one time all over the country."

The first murder to occur took place in February 1916 when Frank Lombardi, a Powers associate and ward heeler, was shot and killed in a saloon by 17-year-old Samuzzo Amatuna. With both sides employing "election sluggers" in attempt to influence voting, violence increased as supporters from both sides would be killed in continuous fighting throughout the year. A grim practice emerged during the fighting where the names of future victims would be carved into a poplar tree on the corner Loomis Street, later becoming known as "Dead Man's Tree".

Despite D'Andrea's defeat that year, and again in 1919, his campaign against Powers continued as violence reached its height during the 1921 campaign, with murder and bombing, including the bombing of Power's home, becoming commonplace. The bombing of a political rally for D'Andrea would injure five people as well as those against D'Andrea's campaign headquarters and the home of one of his lieutenants.

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