History in Pilsen

Eliot Ness's (Kevin Costner) home is at 2030 22nd Place  in the Pilsen neighborhood.

Bruna Cani, also known as "Bella Bruna," opened this restaurant in 1933 in a neighborhood then rich with immigrants from the Tuscany region of Italy.  Bruna, who would dance on the bar for the delight of her hungry patrons, continued to dish out Italian fare until illness forced her to retire in 1981, at which time she sold the restaurant to Luciano Silvestri, a fellow native of Tuscany who, like bruna, specializes in northern Italian cuisine.  The restaurant has been operating in the same location, at 2424 South Oakley Avenue in Pilsen, since it first opened, and, as of February 2012, Bruna's 93 year-old daughter was still the landlord of the building.  over the years, a great many celebrities and dignitaries have dined here, including Harrison Ford, Richard Gere, Tommy LaSorda, Cardinal Bernadine, all the Daley brothers, and Dennis Farina, who lived a couple blocks away when he was still a police detective.

Labor activists Bessie Abramowitz and Sidney Hillman helped devise the system of collective bargaining and arbitration.  The two were leaders of both the United Garment Workers Union and the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America.  The couple resided at 1922 South Halsted Street, where Abramowitz started the historic garmet workers strike.