iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Will Lee @midnoircowboy.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

I feel like I could still strike it rich if I introduced the rest of the country to pizza puffs...

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Will Lee @midnoircowboy.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Showing off my new Chicago flag design.

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Will Lee @midnoircowboy.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

A final thought about Wimp's funeral: The Defender covered Wimp's funeral at the Leak Funeral Home for two days and sold out of all copies. His parents were pleased with how the elaborate Coupe Deville casket turned out. Here's former columnist Bob Greene talking to Flukey afterward:

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Will Lee @midnoircowboy.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Flukey died wearing blue sweatpants, powder blue undershorts, a red leather jacket, a red T-shirt with the word Michigan on it, white sneakers, brown socks and a black cap. No jewelry. His funeral wasn't nearly as flashy as his son's, but it was a spectacle as 7,000 showed up.

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Will Lee @midnoircowboy.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

It turned out that the bodyguard in the tail car had been feeding directions to the killers with his portable phone. A break in the case came from a CB operator who overheard the plan. Two years later he would be sentenced to life in prison for setting up his former boss.

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Will Lee @midnoircowboy.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

...two gunmen set upon Flukey's Cadillac and opened fire. Flukey's GF survived, but he and his driver did not. Somehow, these attackers had anticipated Flukey's moves that night although he was always very careful about how he moved.

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Will Lee @midnoircowboy.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

His last night on Earth, Nov. 16, 1986, was pretty easygoing. Flukey and his lady saw "Something Wild" at the Hyde Park Theater. Then the pair and 2 bodyguards went to an all-night grocery store where he picked up popcorn and bottled water. As they arrived at this GF's home at 7943 S. Ellis Ave...

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Will Lee @midnoircowboy.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

But police said Flukey ruled his cocaine and heroin operations with an iron fist, leaving numerous bodies in his wake.

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Will Lee @midnoircowboy.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

"...They drove off in a splendid caravan--on their way to lunch." This rubbed a lot of cops the wrong way, though he likely had a few on his vast payroll. Flukey was popular on the streets due to his generosity, giving away cash, paying people's rent and giving away turkeys to senior citizens.

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Will Lee @midnoircowboy.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Cops said Flukey became enormously wealthy from trafficking "Mexican Mud" heroin on the South Side. Despite being arrested more than 50 times, he was only convicted of one drug offense. He was untouchable as no criminal charges ever stuck to him.

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Will Lee @midnoircowboy.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Flukey was the last of Chicago's drug kingpins who lived more like celebrities than criminals. Like Capone, he claimed to be unemployed and a gambler who somehow had a fleet of Cadillacs and fine clothing. Most will remember how he said farewell to his son, Wimp Stokes, in 1984.

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Will Lee @midnoircowboy.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Bringing over one of my favorite Twitter🧵: A photo of Willie "Flukey" Stokes, former heroin king of the South Side in the 70s/80s. "Willie Stokes flashes more jewelry than Elizabeth Taylor. His fingers are weighted with diamond cluster rings as big as silver dollars," the Trib wrote in 1978.

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Will Lee @midnoircowboy.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

Chicago's police district map as of 1977. Several of the districts, including Monroe, Wood and Prairie districts have been phased out. #Chicago

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Will Lee @midnoircowboy.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

Photos of Chicago's original Regal Theatre--our version of the Apollo. The grand ornate venue showed films and musical acts from Nat "King" Cole to the Jackson 5. It was demolished in the early 70s amid a demolition push of all older buildings in the city.