Graffiti piece by the former 49th & Honore set of the Gangster Disciple Nation on West 50th Street and South Hermitage Avenue, Chicago IL.

Chicago is considered the most gang-occupied city in the United States, with 150,000 gang-affiliated denizens,[1] representing more than 100 gangs.[2] Gang warfare and retaliation is common in Chicago. Gangs were responsible for 61% of the homicides in Chicago in 2011.

History


The first gangs in Chicago were loosely organized groups of immigrant youth in the late 1800s. In the early 1900s, before the establishment of the Chicago Fire Department, decentralized, localized fire brigades were common throughout the city and would often fight with each other as well as amongst themselves.

In 1910, Big Jim Colosimo founded the Chicago Outfit on the South Side.

In the early 1950s, immigration to Chicago had picked up considerably, namely to the westside and parts of the south side with many coming from Puerto Rico. Demographic shifts and conflicts around this time led to the formation of many gangs, and the inception of a broader gang culture in Humboldt Park, and around other parts of the city.

In the 1970s, gang related crime and violence spiked, particularly with Hispanic-on-Hispanic homicides increasing in the summer of 1971 due to Latin Kings gang election meetings.[3]

In July 2021, federal agents participating in Operation Legend arrested 27 Black Disciples gang members associated with drugs and gun violations in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.[4]

Causes

Lack of opportunity and economic oppression especially in the form of redlining by Chicago's city hall and banks has forced working class citizens to turn to the sale of illicit drugs for income. Former Chicago Police Superintendent, Garry McCarthy, blames Chicago's gang culture for its high rates of homicide and other violent crime, stating "It's very frustrating to know that it's like 7% of the population causes 80% of the violent crime... The gangs here are traditional gangs that are generational, if you will. The grandfather was a gang member, the father's a gang member, and the kid right now is going to be a gang member".[5]

Policing strategy

Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel disbanded the Chicago Police Department's anti-gang unit in 2012 in order to focus on beat patrols, which he said would have a more long-term solution to violence than anti-gang units.[6][7]

Composition

Most traditional Chicago street gangs, known as nations, fall under two main factions, called the People Nation and the Folks Nation. The People Nation has most, if not all gangs under the "Almighty" moniker. The Folks Nation has most gangs divided into various sub-factions, the majority of which are a part of an alliance called Latin Folks which are further divided into groups called Familias. There are nations that are independent of both the Folks and People Nations, such as the Black Soul Nation.[8][9][10]

Street gangs that are independent of Folks and People but retain similar identifiers and symbolism as well as maintain a hierarchical structure in membership are known as war crews. They do not identify as nations though they will engage in traditional gang activity and may conflict with nations as well as other crews. Street gangs that do not retain any semblance of traditional nations or war crews are known simply as cliques. Each individual gang is divided into sets which are territories spanning blocks or neighborhoods that may be combined to form supersets or divided further into subsets. Typically, a single set is based on a single intersection of city streets. There are currently over 90 active Chicago street gangs, with over 747 sets that have been identified by law enforcement.[11][12][13]

Active gangs

Currently active street gangs based in Chicago of the era after Folks and People were established are as follows: [14][15][16]


Folks Nation


Latin Folks Families


Almighty Family

  • Almighty Ambrose Nation
  • Almighty Brazer Nation
  • Almighty Harrison Gent Nation
  • Almighty Imperial Gangster Nation
  • Almighty Insane Pope Nation
  • Almighty Krazy Getdown Boy Nation
  • Almighty Latin Eagle Nation
  • Almighty Simon City Royal Nation


Gangster Family

  • Gangster Disciple Nation
  • Gangster Morgan Boy Nation
  • Gangster Party People Nation
  • Gangster Sin City Boy Nation
  • Gangster Two-Six Nation


Insane Family

  • Insane Ashland Viking Nation
  • Insane Campbell Boy Nation (defunct)
  • Insane C-Note Nation
  • Insane Deuce Nation
  • Insane Dragon Nation
  • Insane King Cobra Nation
  • Insane Orquesta Albany Nation
  • Insane Outlaw Gangster Nation
  • Insane Spanish Cobra Nation
  • Insane Young Latino Organization Cobra Nation


Maniac Family

  • Maniac Latin Disciple Nation
  • Maniac Campbell Boy Nation
  • Maniac Young Latino Organization Disciple Nation


Nations outside of the Families

  • Allport Lover Nation (defunct)
  • Aztec Soul Nation
  • Black Disciple Nation
  • Black King Cobra Nation
  • Boss Pimp Nation
  • Hoodlum Nation
  • Insane Gangster Satan Disciple Nation
  • Insane Gangster City Knight Nation
  • Insane Guess Boy Nation
  • Insane Latin Jiver Nation
  • Insane Majestic Nation
  • Insane Racine Boy Nation
  • Insane Two-Two Boy Nation
  • La Raza Nation
  • Latin Dragon Nation
  • Universal Latin Lover Nation
  • Unknown Assassin Nation (defunct)
  • Latin Soul Nation
  • Latin Styler Nation
  • Milwaukee King Nation
  • Ridgeway Lord Nation
  • Spanish Gangster Disciple Nation


People Nation

  • Almighty Bishop Nation
  • Almighty Black P. Stone Nation
  • Almighty Familia Stone Nation
  • Almighty Four Corner Hustler Nation
  • Almighty Fourth Generation Messiah Nation
  • Almighty Gaylord Nation
  • Almighty Insane Latin Brother Nation
  • Almighty Insane Latin Count Nation
  • Almighty Insane Pope Nation
  • Almighty Insane Unknown Nation
  • Almighty Laflin Lover Nation (defunct)
  • Almighty Latin Angel Nation
  • Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation
  • Almighty Latin Pachuco Nation
  • Almighty Latin Stone Nation
  • Almighty Noble Knight Nation
  • Almighty Party Player Nation
  • Almighty Puerto Rican Stone Nation (defunct)
  • Almighty Saint Nation
  • Almighty Spanish Lord Nation
  • Almighty Spanish Vice Lord Nation
  • Almighty Stoned Freak Nation
  • Almighty Twelfth Player Nation
  • Almighty True Warlord Nation
  • Almighty Vice Lord Nation
  • Almighty Villa Lobo Nation
  • Chi-West Nation
  • Mickey Cobra Nation


Independent Nations


Crews

  • 103rd Street Crew
  • 35th Street Family
  • 43rd Boys
  • 61st Boys (defunct)
  • 91st Boys
  • Adidas Boys
  • Bad Boys
  • Bony Boys
  • Born Legends
  • Crazy Gangsters
  • Crazy Latino Boys
  • Crime Busters
  • Dragons
  • Fly Boys (defunct)
  • Goonie Boys (defunct)
  • Homicide Boys
  • Insane Hoxie Boys
  • Krazy Ass Latinos
  • Latin Omen
  • Latinos out of Control
  • Lynch Mob
  • Mafia Family (defunct)
  • Maniac Players
  • Nike Boys
  • Night Riders
  • One of the Boys
  • Outlaws
  • Partners in Crime
  • Polish Mafia
  • Red Scorpion Gang
  • Slag Valley Boys
  • South Deering Boys
  • Southwest Boys (formerly a Gangster Two-Six Nation future crew)
  • U-Boys (formerly an Almighty Latin King Nation future crew)
  • Vietnamese Clan
  • West Lawns (defunct)
  • Winchester Boys
  • Wolcott Boys


Transplanted Gangs

Bloods

Crips

  • Gangster Crips (defunct)
  • various gangs (defunct)

Norteños

  • various gangs (defunct)

Sureños

  • Barrio Pobre
    • Mount Prospect 13
    • Outlaw Gangster Lunatics
    • Parkholme 13
  • Brown Pride
  • Clanton 14
  • Cyclones
  • Florencia
  • Mexican Posse
  • Playboys


Independent Transplanted Gangs

  • Akrhos (founded by Akrho Pinoy)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Chicago Most Gang-Infested City in U.S., Officials Say". NBC Chicago. January 26, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Chicago Gang Violence: By The Numbers". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Latin Kings 1971-72 Election Meetings". Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  4. ↑ CHICAGO BLACK DISCIPLES GANG LEADER AMONG 23 CHARGED IN FEDERAL INVESTIGATION, OFFICIALS SAY ABC7 Chicago, July 19, 2020
  5. ↑ "Gangs and guns fuel Chicago's summer surge of violence | PBS NewsHour". Pbs.org. July 20, 2015. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is defending his decision in the first days of his administration to disband anti-gang units like the Mobile Strike Force | WBEZ 91.5 Chicago". Wbez.org. July 9, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Terrorised Chicago residents plead for police crackdown as gang war murders soar". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2022-01-12. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  8. ↑ Jones, Zachary 2023. "Notorious Street Gangs". Chicago Gang History. Retrieved August 2, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ "Gang Areas in Chicago". Uic.edu. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Dedicated to 20th Century Gang History". Chicago Gang History. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  11. ↑ "Chicago Street Gangs". Chicago Gang History. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Gang Areas in Chicago". Uic.edu. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Dedicated to 20th Century Gang History". Chicago Gang History. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  14. ↑ "Gang Name Lookup". Illinois State Police. January 8, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Chicago Police Department Gang Maps". Chicago Police Department. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  16. ↑ Zachary "Zook" Jones. "Notorious Street Gangs". Chicago Gang History.
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