White Oak Author Tour Presents: Amy Kinzer Steidinger

Join us Tuesday, June 22, 2021 in-person at the Crest Hill Branch or online from home for a presentation by local author Amy Kinzer Steidinger. Steidinger's most recent book is Joliet Prison Blues: A Century of Stories, and last year she published Old Joliet Prison: When Convicts Wore Stripes. Lots of great tales to share! The author will host a Q&A session at the end of her talk, and copies of her book will be available for purchase.

Reserve your spot here: https://whiteoaklibrary.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails?EventId=24768&backTo=Calendar&startDate=2021/06/16

Amy Kinzer Steidinger is a genealogist and historian who loves stories. She's been an educator in public and private school programs for twenty-five years. She is currently working on a collection of stories from the historical archives of the Old Joliet Prison that was built in 1859 (where the Blues Brothers was filmed!)

Joliet Prison Blues: A Century of Stories
Named warden of the Illinois State Penitentiary in 1913, Edmund Allen arrived with a glamorous new wife and ambitious plans of reform that did away with years of striped uniforms and humiliating practices. Two years later, his wife was found murdered in her bed, shocking the country and throwing the prison into chaos. Over the past century, life behind bars at Joliet has often been a national spectacle. Infamous inmates like Leopold and Loeb, John Wayne Gacy, Baby Face Nelson and James Earl Ray drew headlines, and iconic scenes in movies like The Blues Brothers ensured that the prison walls themselves were instantly recognizable. From overlooked prisoner profiles to the kind of dramatic incidents that incited riots or inspired Hollywood, Amy Steidinger's stories cover the modern era of Old Joliet Prison.