History in Des Plaines

Richard Ogilvie ran for Cook County Sheriff in 1962 by promising to wage war on vice.  During his campaign, he took specific aim at Louis Gager's "Fun Lounge."  Louis Gager was an associate of notorious Chicago mobster Anthony Accardo, and his "Fun Lounge" hosted late, late parties featuring acts that Richard Oglivie deemed "too revolting to describe in detail in public."  He was alluding primarily to public sex acts involving persons of like gender, and possibly involving participation by underaged youths.  On February 24, 1964, the vice squad burst into "Fun Lounge," which was located right here, and arrested 109 people, including a suburban junior high school principal, eight teachers, six students, a retired judge, and several municipal employees, many of whose names therafter appeared in the newspapers because the police released the information to the public.  During the raid, the police also confiscated marijuance and barbituates.  Ultimately, all charges were dropped, although a great many reputations had already been already trashed.  The episode went down in history as one of the biggest "gay bar" raids in American history and is generally considered to be the event most critical to galvanizing the organization of the Chicago gay and lesbian community.