Mayor Dever’s War on Wet Chicago

December 28, 1923, will be remembered as the night Chicago Mayor William K. Dever declared war on the city’s underworld. In a scathing address to the Mens Club of the First Presbyterian church at the Orrington Hotel, Dever laid bare the opposition he faced in enforcing the city’s dry laws. The Volstead Act, a law that had been on the books since 1919, prohibited the sale of intoxicating liquors, but Dever claimed that even the forces of civic welfare were working against him.

‘It is a painful fact,’ Dever said, ‘but in so simple a matter as enforcing the laws of state and nation, I have met with the opposition not only of organized crime but also of those very forces which claim to and should operate for civic welfare.’

Dever’s words were a stark reminder that the liquor war in Chicago was far from over. The city’s gangsters, who had made a fortune from bootlegging and speakeasies, would stop at nothing to undermine the mayor’s efforts to enforce the law. But Dever was undeterred, vowing to crack down on those who defied the Volstead Act.

‘The question of law enforcement is not a debatable one,’ Dever declared. ‘As long as the Volstead Act is a part of the laws of the United States, I intend to enforce it with the same vigor.’

Dever’s speech was a call to arms for those who supported his efforts to clean up the city. But it also served as a warning to those who would dare to defy him. As the mayor put it, ‘I have never allowed my administration to become involved in a campaign either for or against a modification of the Volstead Act. Neither do I intend to allow it.’

Only time will tell if Dever’s determination will be enough to bring order to Chicago’s streets. But one thing is certain: the mayor is not afraid to take on the city’s underworld and bring them to justice.

As Dever stood at the podium, his voice ringing out across the crowded hotel, it was clear that he was a man on a mission. And those who were listening knew that they would be watching closely to see how this drama would play out.