Part 2 of 8

John Looney went into yellow journalism because he was bitter at his treatment by The Rock Island Argus, which he believed destroyed his political career. His life of crime began about the same time.

His involvement in Rock Island's 24th Street storm-drainage project had shown him how money could be made underhandedly, behind the scenes, says Looney historian Richard Hamer of Rock Island.

The city's history was changed forever.

On one of John Looney's trips back to Ottawa, Ill., with the help of Maurice T. Maloney, he acquired a printing press. His brother, William, who worked for a paper in Ottawa, came to Rock Island with him. They started The Rock Island News, ``the only truthful paper in Rock Island,'' in 1895.

Despite its claim, The Rock Island News quickly became nothing more than a scandal sheet which he used to blackmail people, extorting money from them to keep lies about them out of print.

``He also went to Kansas City,'' Mr. Hamer says, ``to learn how to run a newspaper the way it shouldn't be run'' from the Pendergast political machine.

``He was good at what he did,'' says author B.J. Elsner, who wrote ``Rock Island: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.'' ``Whatever he chose to do, he could have been successful. But it was just too easy.''

``If he could have been honest, he could have done good things,'' Mr. Hamer agrees. ``But whenever he tried to be `straight,' he lost money. He couldn't seem to make money legally.''

Mr. Looney began establishing quite a business enterprise from his building, which now houses the bar Second Avenue next to the Rock Island Brewing Co. on The Plaza. The building housed the law offices he shared with Frank Kelly, The Mirror Lounge, the offices of The Rock Island News -- and the beginnings of his prostitution business, with gambling in the basement, according to Mr. Hamer, whose historical book on John Looney's life, ``Citadel of Sin,'' is expected out later this year.

Mr. Looney wasn't a good lawyer, Mr. Hamer says. ``He lost all of his cases. But he made a habit of befriending hoodlums, and even if he lost, they owed him, because they couldn't pay.

``He would later use these people. He played people and got something on them, and used that against them.''

Mr. Looney was about 5 foot 8 and slight of build, weighing 125 to 135 pounds. According to his 1924 ``Wanted'' poster, he had jet-black hair, dark, beady eyes, a sallow complexion, and a prominent nose slightly twisted to the right. It also said he ``walks like an Indian, toes straight forward,'' and that he was known to wear a natural black beard as a disguise.

Mr. Looney's power grew because he was able to control portions of two key elements of the community: politicians and the press.

The Argus gave a hint of how the community viewed Mr. Looney's courtroom demeanor in this excerpt from a 1908 report, headlined ``Looney as Usual. Creates a Scene in Court by Assailing Grand Jury's Action. Public Nuisance Again.''

``The public is familiar with the practice of Looney appearing before the Grand Jury term after term,'' The Argus wrote, ``attempting to indict persons who have aroused his enmity, and the matter over which he made an exhibition of himself in court today (an accidentally broken window in his business), was, it is understood, not the only one which Looney wanted the grand jury to take action on this term ...''

``He has not only taken the time of many preceding grand juries, but has worn on their patience with his persistency in attempting to have bills returned against institutions and individuals against who he entertained a grudge, and the shameful spectacle of abuse and slander by him of good citizens who happened to be grand jurors, has furnished the aftermath of his endeavors, particularly in the cases wherein he himself was indicted.''

In 1907, after months of endless attacks by The Rock Island News, The Argus filed libel suits against Mr. Looney and News editor William H. Dilsworth. Mayor George McCaskrin and others filed suits as well. In December 1907, a grand jury handed down 37 indictments against Mr. Looney for bribery, extortion and libel.

Mr. Looney managed to escape conviction because his former law partner, Frank Kelly, assistant to state's attorney John K. Scott, declined to present evidence against him. A judge directed the jury to return a verdict of not guilty.

In almost 10 years of research, Mr. Hamer says, he has found two or three people who thought Mr. Looney did some good for the community.

``They thought he brought up things that needed to be brought up,'' he says. ``He started by working with the unions because he thought workers were being oppressed. He thought that businesses were avoiding taxes.

``He touched some important issues in that crazy paper of his, but he always distorted the truth.''

Mr. Looney made it his life's duty to attack The Rock Island Argus. Minnie Potter was his biggest target; he once wrote that she was having an affair with her gardener.

But perhaps the most frequently attacked was Argus managing editor John M. Colligan, who started at The Argus in sixth grade and worked his way up to his position of authority in the newsroom. Headlines like ``R.I. Editor is Insane and Syphilitic'' were aimed right at him.

Colligan ``enjoyed a good time and was probably a good editor,'' Mr. Hamer said. ``He took off on Looney a lot.''

Tomorrow:Looney's duel on the streets of downtown Rock Island.

Editor's note: Many inaccuracies and contradictions have been found in the written history of Rock Island while researching the history of John Looney. Facts from original reports by the Rock Island Argus have been used as the primary source of accurate information. Information from historian Richard Hamer, who has spent 10 years studying the history of John Looney, also was consulted.