It happened here: In 1928, Charlie Birger was the last man publicly hanged in Illinois
91 years ago, Charlie Birger was hanged in Benton.
On April 19, 1928, Charles Birger was hanged in Benton. He was a notorious bootlegger and gang leader, who profited from gambling operations and alcohol sales. During his time in Southern Illinois, he feuded with the Ku Klux Klan and the rival Shelton gang, bringing violence to the streets of Williamson and Franklin counties.
On the day Birger was hanged, the Carbondale Free Press proclaimed: "Nerve Unshaken, Dies As He Lived; Smiles and Does Not 'Squeal.'"
According to the news report, 500 people were present to watch Birger's hanging. "Erect and nonchalant, almost debonair, Birger walked to his death," the story reads. "The procession emerged from the jail at 9:50 a.m., headed by Sheriff James Pritchard ... (Birger) moved at an easy pace, stopping to shake hands with several persons on the way through the stockade to the gallows a distance of 100 feet. The condemned man mounted the steps. Smiling, he pointed a finger at some man in the crowd and waved his hand ... Birger nodded and closed his eyes an instant. Quickly the black cap was slipped over his head ... True to the code of gangland, Birger died without 'squealing.' 'Beautiful world,' he said which standing on the scaffold. 'I've forgiven everybody.'"
Birger was responsible for a lot of violence, but the crime that ultimately led to his death sentence was his involvement in the murder of then-West City Mayor Joe Adams.
According to a 2008 story from The Southern, Adams had been a part of the Shelton Gang, with whom Birger and his gang feuded after a bootlegging and slot machine partnership deteriorated after an Election Day shoot-out between Birger's gang and the KKK.
From The Southern's archives:Â
"On Nov. 12, 1926, Birger allegedly arranged for the attack of Adams at his home. At the (Franklin County Historic) jail museum a bullet-ridden dresser hit in that attack is on display.
"Adams was not killed.
"One month later, Birger hired Harry and Elmo Thomasson of West Frankfort to go to Adams' home and murder him. In 1928, Birger was convicted of involvement in the murder and sentenced to death by hanging."
War with the Shelton Gang
According to The Southern's archives, Birger's conflict with the Shelton Gang was based on business and the fight over territory to bootleg alcohol. Carl Shelton is pictured above.
Birger's hatred for the KKK came along with his big-brother type of sincerity for the rights of immigrants.
From a 2008 story in The Southern:Â
"Birger was born Shachna Itzik Birger in Russia around 1880. His family immigrated to the United States when he was about 8 years old and set up their home in the St. Louis area.
"(Franklin County Historic Preservation Society President Bob) Rea said Birger became a 'news boy' with The Post-Dispatch newspaper and later moved to the O'Fallon area where he started work in a pool room. In 1901, he joined the 13th Calvary, according to Rea.
'He went out west,' Rea said. 'He was an expert horseman.'
Birger committed a number of crimes throughout his career as a gangster, but Rea said he wasn't convicted of most of them because he claimed self-defense.
'He would allow them (his rivals) to publicly threaten him so he could claim it was self-defense,' he said.
Because of his criminal history, Birger brought national attention to Southern Illinois.
'He gave us national attention that we didn't necessarily want,' said Jon Musgrave, local author and historian. 'The exploits and the massacre and the Klan wars and gang wars between Birger's faction and the Shelton Gang got as much play as Al Capone.
'He was a criminal, but unlike the Shelton Gang, Charlie had aspirations of respectability,' Musgrave said. 'He wanted to hobnob with the top people. He wanted to have that class that he just couldn't get as a coal miner. He would portray himself as American born when he wasn't. He wouldn't portray himself as Jewish when he was.'
Birger was married several times and had two children, Minnie and Charline. Neighbors said he lived the life of a respectable man in Saline County despite leading his gang of criminals throughout Franklin and Williamson counties.
Rea said Birger had everyone fooled, even those who thought they knew him best.
'Over in Harrisburg, he had a family,' Rea explained. 'His neighbors said he was a family man and a solid citizen. He got on the radio and said he was going to protect the people of Saline County from the outrageous acts of the Shelton Gang. These people couldn't believe this guy was running around Franklin County with guns.'
The rivalry between Birger, the Ku Klux Klan and the Shelton Gang is where much of the violence stemmed in Southern Illinois during that time.
'I forgive everybody ... "
From the April 19, 1928 edition of the Carbondale Free Press:
"Turning to the crowd, Birger said 'I have not a thing in the world against anybody. I forgive everybody ... '
"With a quick gesture Birger turned to the hangman and deputies. 'Let's go' he exclaimed. As they were adjusting the cap he said 'make it fast.' Those were his last words."
Pictured above is a replica of the noose used to hang Birger.
The gallows that were used in the hanging of notorious ganster Charlie Birger in 1928 are on display at the Franklin County Historic Jail Museum in Benton.
The gallows used in the hanging was returned in 2013 to Franklin County.
According to a 2013 story in The Southern, the location of the scaffolding used in the hanging has long been a mystery, but one that was solved with its discovery in a Grand Tower barn. The gallows were borrowed from Jackson County, and ended up in various storage places over the years, until they were eventually discovered in 2013 in a barn in Grand Tower, and donated to the Franklin County Historic Jail Museum.Â
Charlie Birger's spirit lives on?
Paranormal investigators have been drawn to the Franklin County Historic Jail Museum over the years. In 2013, an investigator claimed he saw a likeness of Birger in "ghost mists."
The photo above from 2013 shows a picture of Charlie Birger reflected in the glass at the museum holding a copy of the journal that recorded his hanging.
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