‘Gang Book’ spotlights suburban threats

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The Chicago Crime Commission "Gang Book."

Updated: February 22, 2012 12:21PM

For more than 40 years, street gangs and the illegal drug sales they control have been major drivers of property crime in the suburbs.

For most people, though, gangs remain a shadowy phenomenon, visible only in the occasional newspaper or TV clip and usually in Chicago, not the suburbs.

The 2011 edition of the Chicago Crime Commission’s “Gang Book” sheds new light on street gangs and provides a clearer picture of the dangers they present to Chicago’s neighboring communities.

“This is a very complicated problem,” said Jody Weis, president of the Chicago Crime Commission. “Gangs have been around a very long time, and they’re not going away.”

The former Chicago police superintendent made the comments during a media talk “Gangs: What We Know, What’s Being Done and What’s Left to Learn.” More than 70 law enforcement officials participated in the three-hour panel.

Police say the harmful impact of street gangs is multi-faceted. Gangs sell heroin to drug addicts who trek here from as far away as Rockford. Those addicts commit crimes like retail theft, copper theft and burglary to pay for their habits.

Meanwhile, gangs such as the Four Corner Hustlers and Vice Lords are also responsible for many crimes in the suburbs, such as armed robberies, burglaries, theft and even violence.

Weis said the city has “more than 100,000 gang members, more than any other city, and there are more than 15,000 gang members in the suburbs.”

Besides drugs, suburban gangs engaged in numerous other criminal activities, Graffiti ranked first, followed by drug sales, burglary, theft, aggravated assault, robbery, murder and gun trafficking.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said gangs are steadily spreading throughout the suburbs.

“Chicago has long been the home of hundreds of street gangs, but more recently my officers and I have witnessed the spread of Chicago-based gangs and their expanding grip on suburban communities,” Dart said.

Educating about gangs

For years law enforcement authorities held to a policy of not publicizing specific gangs, out of concern that doing so glamorized their activities.

That appears to be changing.

Weis said 170 out of 249 suburban police departments throughout the Chicago six-county region responded to the Crime Commission’s 2011 Survey of Gang and Drug Activity. That data is incorporated in “The Gang Book.”

Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez called the report a concise and “valuable asset in the fight against gang-related crime as well as an excellent resource for law enforcement, community groups, schools and parents.”

Federal authorities agreed.

“By shedding light on these criminal organizations,” said John J. Riley, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago DEA office, “the Chicago Crime Commission’s ‘Gang Book’ serves as a valuable tool.”

Weis urged the average citizen, and parents in particular, to work to understand everything about street gangs.

“Learn as much as you can about gangs,” Weis urged. “They’re a very disruptive influence on young people.”

“The threat posed by gang members is very real,” said Weis. “It will take a comprehensive and integrated approach to return the streets to our residents, and this is where the Chicago Crime Commission can help.”

He said law enforcement was only part of the solution.

“Most experts agree that solving the gang problem requires a far broader solution than police,” Weis said. “It is critical for all components of the community- schools, parents, faith based organizations, businesses, and government agencies- to work together to address the threat posed by these extraordinary numbers of gang members.”

Future initiatives

Multi-jurisdiction cooperation is key to future enforcement, police officials said.

“You have unprecedented cooperation in the Chicago area,” said Weis, who has served with both the FBI and local urban law enforcement agencies.

Legislatively, Weis is looking for less restrictions on recording phone conversations, calling for legalizing “one person consent” for taped phone calls.

“We should not have to get a court order in the middle of the night to get somebody to engage in a telephone conversation where we’re trying to develop information that can put a shooter, a killer, in jail,” he said.

Officials also called for a state RICO law (racketeering influence criminal organization) that would allow police to go after gang organizations more comprehensively.

“We’re working with our legislative partners to try and develop a state RICO statute that makes sense and that will be laser-focused on gangs,” Weis said. “To take out the organization and not just the individuals.”