Paint it Black

For about ten years, James Dungan, called a Union Czar, was a "business agent" for local 191 of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America. He also had a record of multiple arrests for carrying guns. Seemingly like every other union in Chicago, there was a war going on for control of the local 191 and Dungan became a casualty.

At around nine in the evening of August 8, 1938 Dungan had just exited his house and headed for his car. Before he had a chance to get in, an two acquaintances walked up and started to speak with him. Dungan took a seat on railing and conversed with the men. He then noticed another guy creeping up from behind. Realizing he was on the spot, Dungan shot up and began to run but the gunman behind him managed to bring him down with a couple of shots to the neck. As Dungan dropped, a car pulled up to the curb and the three men jumped in while another leaned out and fired two more shots into the prone labor leader, hitting him in the head and side. He died a couple hours later in the hospital.

The reason for the murder may be that Dungan stopped paying tribute to South Side gangsters. He wasn't the first to die in the union strife. In 1934 former bootlegger Michael "Bubs' Quinlan tried muscling into the union and was bumped off. This was followed by the murder of the "business agents" of local 191 who killed Quinlan. On August 20, 1934 a carload of machine gunners attempted to murder Dungan while he was driving, but he managed to get away. After that a peace was worked out where Dungan paid to live. Around Christmas time 1937, Dungan stopped his payments and reportedly went to the police and asked for protection stating that if he was to get killed it would be at his house. He requested a police presence in his neighborhood. He also owned a farmhouse outside of town and spent time there. He had just returned the day he was murdered.

James Dungan