Lindsey Graham

Bundesen vowed to keep the inquest going, though, and to continue to question witnesses until they got answers.

In the meantime, the newspapers covered the reenactment in detail, helping satiate the public's desire for a robust response to the murders.

But the police and state attorney's office were also quick to assure the public that they were taking action, too, promising a raid to crack down on bootlegging and turn Chicago dry.

due to widespread corruption.

For years, law enforcement had turned a blind eye to the illegal sale of alcohol.

Also, with roughly 10,000 establishments selling alcohol in Chicago, authorities knew it would be virtually impossible to shut them all down.

Furthermore, some authorities believe that allowing a black market in alcohol actually prevented other crimes.

By some estimates, there were 30,000 people employed through bootlegging in the city.

If those people were suddenly out of work, authorities worried that crime could actually get worse.

But in the aftermath of the carnage of the Valentine's Day massacre, it was clear to many that the days of rampant and unchecked bootlegging in Chicago were over.

The public wanted the city cleaned up and the violence to stop, and many prominent Chicago business owners came forward to pressure the government to act, arguing that the city's reputation for violence was costing them business.

As a result of this public pressure, the state attorney issued an edict to the local speakeasy owners to close up shop or go to jail.

In response, many establishments put padlocks on their front doors, though they continued to find ways to serve their regular customers.

Meanwhile, the police commissioner ordered all the usual suspects be rounded up and questioned by both the coroner and the police.

But even after this initial flurry of activity, the reenactment, the crackdown on the speakeasies, and the roundup of known gangsters, it became clear that little progress had actually been made.

After several days, the police were still in the dark about who was behind the shootings, and authorities had another concern, the whereabouts of the leader of the Northside gang, Bugs Moran.

The original theory that Moran had been kidnapped was disproven after he sent a message to one of the lead detectives claiming that he didn't know who had orchestrated the shooting.

It became clear that Moran was in hiding, but the police had no idea where.

Instead, a clever member of the press had managed to track him down.

Imagine it's mid-February 1929.