{"exhibit":{"title":"Champaign\u2019s Gambling Hotspots in 1937","description":"
In 1937, an unnamed\u00a0Evening Courier<\/em>\u00a0reporter made a survey of the gambling conditions in Champaign. His 9-part series appeared nightly in the\u00a0Evening Courier<\/em> beginning April 29, 1937 and ending May 9, 1937. He found that even though gambling houses were hidden behind ambiguously marked doors, steep staircases, and peepholes, they were an open secret available to anyone.\u00a0 The writer of the series claimed no malice and supposedly did not intend for the articles to be vindictive.\u00a0 They merely wanted to make the police and community aware of the establishments and how they operate openly without rebuke.<\/p>\n The analysis of the Evening Courier <\/em>series in this exhibit is supplemented by a brief history of gambling in Champaign County prior to 1937, as well as another example of vice and institutional corruption in the form of a dishonest mayor.\u00a0 The stories found within this exhibit are reminiscent of the noir stories of Chandler and Bogart but are tinged with the excitement of true crime.\u00a0 To learn more about gambling and other true crime in Champaign County, please visit the Champaign County Historical Archives at The Urbana Free Library.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>","credits":"Sherrie Bowser; Tom Kuipers; Allison Kilberg","featured":0,"public":1,"theme":"","theme_options":"a:2:{s:6:\"rhythm\";a:6:{s:11:\"style_sheet\";s:4:\"fall\";s:12:\"site_tagline\";s:0:\"\";s:4:\"logo\";N;s:11:\"footer_text\";s:0:\"\";s:24:\"display_footer_copyright\";s:1:\"0\";s:19:\"use_advanced_search\";s:1:\"0\";}s:10:\"minimalist\";a:6:{s:4:\"logo\";N;s:11:\"footer_text\";s:0:\"\";s:24:\"display_footer_copyright\";s:1:\"0\";s:17:\"item_file_gallery\";s:1:\"0\";s:19:\"use_advanced_search\";s:1:\"0\";s:12:\"exhibits_nav\";s:4:\"full\";}}","slug":"champaigngambling","added":"2019-10-16 16:00:28","modified":"2020-04-02 00:51:52","owner_id":56286,"use_summary_page":0,"cover_image_file_id":27,"id":2},"item":{"item_type_id":6,"collection_id":4,"featured":1,"public":1,"added":"2019-10-16 15:59:58","modified":"2020-04-21 13:18:58","owner_id":56286,"id":23}}