THE GANGS

Traditionally, youth gangs have been relatively small and loosely structured. Their members know each other and they maintain their association for legitimate social purposes as well as criminal activity. Generally, they claim a certain territory in their communities and fight to keep other gangs out of it.

As already noted, however, changes in this pattern have recently taken place in some of the Chicago youth gangs. Three of them – the Disciples, Vice Lords, and Blackstone Rangers – set a new pattern when they began organizing on a large scale through the use of violence.

These gangs differed from the older types, since increased size brought both notoriety and an awareness of potential power based on force and the threat of force. The techniques used in recruitment earned these gangs a reputation in the community, which they eventually realized could be utilized for profitable ends.

DISCIPLES

Police estimate Disciple membership at over 1000. The gang is centered mainly in the Englewood community. At first their main reason for organizing was combat with the Rangers. They were traditional enemies, and during the Rangers sudden growth, the Disciples pushed for members in order to survive in the battles that were to follow. They discovered in the process of organization that the use of terror, intimidation and extortion brought them both prestige among other, smaller gangs and also revenue.

In 1968, one of the gang was killed in a battle with a policeman. According to the policeman, several Disciples entered a tavern on 63^rd Street and demanded money and liquor. The owner had been playing them regularly. When the policeman identified himself, he was attacked and was forced to shoot. A relative of the owner told the Chicago Tribune, “Those gangs are extorting money up and down the street …. Now it’s all over. He can never reopen again.”¹⁵

Police identify 26 members as leaders of the Disciples. Collectively they have been convicted of 29 crimes ranging from mob action to attempted murder. Their top man, David Barksdale, was arrested by police in 1968 and charged with aggravated assault. At the time he was arrested, he was carrying $600 in cash.

VICE LORDS

A Lawndale community gang, the Vice Lords, have a history of terror and murder dating back to the 1950’s. The older leaders began quitting in the late 1950’s and early 60’s, but new revenue from grants and extortion seems to be bringing back some of them, even though they are now in their thirties. A resident of the community, Willie Pullen, 19, said this has created resentment. “The leaders of the gang are older guys, and they rake in all the dough while the younger guys do the dirty work.” Willie was wounded by a shotgun blast for opposing the gang. Shotguns also killed his 5-year-old brother when gang members invaded the Pullen home in 1967 in a mass attack on the family.¹⁶

The conflict over control and revenue has led to execution-style killings. Last May, two top leaders of the Vice Lords were slain, both shot once in the forehead, as a result of the struggle for control. Also in May, Alfonso Alford, then the gang chief, was wounded by a shotgun blast in the Vice Lord hangout. He refused to identify the would-be assassin and told police, “We’ll take care of it ourselves.” Alford was carrying more than $300 when he was shot.”¹⁷

Police identify 18 members as leaders of the gang. Collectively they have been convicted of 20 crimes ranging from assault to rape.

BLACKSTONE RANGERS

The Rangers were the first of the major gangs to begin organizing on a large scale. Beginning in 1965 savage recruitment techniques quickly increased the size of the gang. Their sudden growth and reputation for terror led them to proclaim themselves a power in the Woodlawn community.

The Disciples and Vice Lords are no less violent, no less dangerous to a community, but because the Rangers have become the largest gang in the city; and because their notoriety has led smaller gangs to emulate their violence and terror, it is worthwhile to chronicle their growth.

Recruitment

In the years the Blackstone Rangers began organizing, the Reverend John Fry, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Woodlawn, gave the gang space in his church for meetings. His account of the gang’s growth is consistent with observations of __________(sentence cut off)_______________. “In the fall of 1965,” Reverend Fry wrote, “There were an estimated 200 Blackstone Rangers all told.” He stated further:

There were, again an estimation, less than 150 so-called East Side Disciples …. The growth of these Disciple components in West Woodlawn meant, throughout the winter, a steady contest, steadily escalating. Ranger X would be ambushed (beaten, shot, roughed up or killed) by Disciples Y and Z …. The retaliation on particular Disciples was generally heavier than what occasioned the retaliation. It was shoot’em up and beat’em up all winter long. It was virtually open war every night.¹⁸

Reverend Fry points out that combat with the Disciples spurred the Rangers organizational efforts. People who live and work in Woodlawn and nearby areas confirmed that gang recruitment began in earnest. By the spring of 1966 complaints from parents and school teachers were filed with police at the rate of nearly one every school day. In May and June of that year, 16 youths were shot, one of them 11 years old, because they were not members of the gang or refused to join. Thirteen more were beaten or stabbed.¹⁹

The following is an excerpt from a Chicago police report:

Victim approached on his front porch by 2 youths and asked if he was a member of the Blackstone

Rangers. When victim said “no” he was shot.

Apparent shotgun wound in center of chest. X-rays show multiple shotgun pellets in chest and abdomen. Condition critical.

Reverend Fry wrote, “By midsummer (1966) at one particular meeting, over 1500 Rangers were in attendance.” He further commented, “The success of this organizational work was – let us tend toward a modest word – incredible.”²⁰

Recruitment by 1967 was no longer confined to Woodlawn and neighboring areas. As Reverend Fry observed, “They began organizing South Shore boys, Essex boys; they began organizing on 79^th and 87^th Streets.”²¹

The Rangers shot 41 young people in their 1967 recruitment drive. Four died. One child was kidnapped and beaten. Thirty were beaten in the streets, in parks and in their homes. The gang broke into one home while the family was asleep and turned the gas jets on in the kitchen. Molotov cocktails were hurled through the window of a woman’s home because she refused to let her sons join the gang. When young people were beaten and shot, witnesses and victims said the assailants shouted, “Mighty Blackstone Rangers” or in some way identified the gang.²²

To sustain fear and spread their reputation, the Rangers also employed more subtle pressures. Every apartment building, home and business in the heart of Woodlawn was painted with the name of the gang and its slogans. An account of the painting of the Southmoor Hotel at 6646 Stony Island Avenue was given in confidence to a community organization by a woman who lived nearby and witnessed it. While armed Rangers stood guard, several others painted the face of the building with “Blackstone” in letters two feet high.

Toward the end of 1967, recruitment terror began to recede. At that time, social agencies and police estimated gang strength at 2000 members and even as high as 4000. The Rangers were now in a position to consolidate what they had gained in membership.

Gang Discipline

Maintaining discipline within the organization gave rise to assassinations. James “Watusl” McCain, a member of the 4 –Corner Rangers became involved in a power struggle within the gang. Gang leaders gathered in a reem with McCain, forced him to his knees and ordered him to beg for his life. He was found with four bullets in his head. Corrall Steele, a leader in the Blackstone Rangers, has been convicted of the murder of McCain.

Members of the Rangers have quit the gang without reprisal. Some return; some do not; but Ranger leadership has frequently used the assassination-style killing to prevent mass defections or to make an example of certain defectors, especially if they join a rival gang.

Charles Strong, 17, lived in a neighborhood controlled by the Blackstone Rangers, but he refused to join the gang. Rangers had beaten him and fired shots into his home, until his family finally moved to a new neighborhood. Word got back to the Rangers that he had joined the Disciples. On May 27, 1969, Strong came back to the neighborhood to see a girl friend. They sat her porch until 10:30 p.m. when 15 Rangers approached from an alley and ordered them to freeze.

One of the gang fired a shot at his feet and another grabbed his clothes at the back of the neck and ordered him to walk fast. They went into an alley.

He shouted, “Don’t kill me.” They beat him and he fell. He lay in the alley and did not speak again. One of the gang stood over him with a revolver and carefully pointed the barrel at the back of Charles Strong’s head. Methodically, he pulled the trigger four times.

One or two of the gang looked at Strong’s body. Blood was coming from holes in the back of his head and at the base of his neck. Then they left.

Eight Rangers were arrested and indicted by the grand jury.²³

Clarence Whitehad was a Ranger and he too moved to a new neighborhood. He joined a rival gang. The Rangers told him, “Nobody quits us and lives” and they shot him in the arm. He said he would testify against his assailant, but after threats from the Rangers he said in court he could not identify the boy who shot him. It was not enough for the gang.

On April 30, 1968, Clarence, his mother and 5 brothers and sisters were eating supper in the kitchen of their home. The shade was drawn over the kitchen window. At 7:45 p.m., three bullets ripped through the window shade. Three more were fired through the open door.

The shots missed Clarence, but a bullet hit his 5-year-old brother in the head and threw him from his chair to the kitchen floor. He was dead, “Head pointed in a northerly direction,” the police report read.²⁴

Limited use of the contract-type execution also characterized gang methods. Two youths, 14 and 16, under contract to carry out assassinations for the Rangers, were charged with murder early in 1968. The 16-year-old said the gang gave him clothing valued at $50 for the killing.²⁵

The 14-year-old, Dennis Jackson, was charged with killing a reputed dope pusher. Witnesses in the case testified that Jackson did the killing for Eugene “Bull” Hairston, number two man in the Rangers.

Mrs. Anabelle Martin, whose sons Marvin and Sanders were witnesses in the case, recounted their testimony before the Senate Permanent Sub committee on Investigations:

Mrs. Martin: Sanders told me that he was on his way home from school. He was going westward.

He said he met Eugene Hairston between Kenwood and Dorchester on 63^rd Street.

Eugene Hairston pointed to a car and told him to see the mens in the car to hit ….

Hit or burn means to kill ….

There were 4 mens in it ….

He walks over to the car, looked in the car at the men, came back and told Dennis. Dennis Exchanged guns with Robert Daney and went over to the car and told the man that he heard that they had been messing with the Chief.

The Chairman: Messing with the Chief?

Mrs. Martin: The Chief means Eugene Hairston ….

The Chairman: They were messing with Eugene Hairston?

Mrs. Martin: Yes, the Chief. So he fires six times. He killed one of the men and injured the other two awfully badly.²⁶

The payoff for the murder was $6. Eugene Hairston, convicted for solicitation to murder, received a sentence of 5-to-15 years. On September 2 Dennis Jackson entered a guilty plea and received a sentence of from 14-to-25 years.

Gang Rivalry

The immediate challenge for the Rangers, as with most gangs, was to hold the territory they had claimed. Their strategy for combat with the rival Disciples was essentially defensive. As Reverend Fry pointed out:

The Rangers, without consulting us or informing us, have sought to keep all Disciple students out of Hyde Park High School and have pledged strict tic-for-tac policy at Wadsworth (Disciple territory) whereby an eye will be extracted for an eye. No more; no less. A Disciple act of violence will be exactly encountered.²⁷

During the winter of 1967, they began negotiations with the principal of the Wadsworth School, who sought permission from the Rangers and their rival gang, the Disciples, for students to attend school free from gang intimidation. They gave him their permission in March 1967.²⁸

Due primarily to the warfare between the gangs, 19 teenage youths were shot to death in Woodlawn from September 1966 to September 1968. Approximately 150 Woodlawn youngsters were shot during the same period. In Grand Boulevard, which more recently became a battleground, 135 youths were shot in the first six months of 1969 – over 22 per month.²⁹

Earnest Rollins, 15-years-old and a Ranger, told homicide detectives of his combat experience:

I opened up the gun to see if there were any bullets in it, and there were six bullets in it. I went toward Woodlawn and I saw a bunch of “D’s” standing on the corner of 65^th and Woodlawn. Then I ran toward the alley so I could get a good shot, and then they started charging, and then I shot one of the boys. Then I looked to see if he was going to fall, and he fell ….³⁰

The sudden, ruthless killing of Michael Causher, said by police to have been a member of the Disciples, was reported by the Chicago Tribune:

Witnesses told police an auto carrying 5 or 6 youths stopped across the street from where Causher was standing. Some of the occupants were wearing red berets of the Blackstone Rangers, witnesses said. One youth left the auto, walked up to Causher, and fired twice. As Causher crumpled to the sidewalk, the auto made a U-turn, picked up his killer, and sped off. Four youths, including a 16-year-old, have been indicted for the slaying ….³¹

The death of Michael Causher struck not only his family, but his friends. It struck his neighbors. It even struck his assailants, who lived with the fear of retaliation.

Leon Fountain is a case in point. He was involved in a gang shooting, arrested and held in the County Jail. He was shot the day after his release from jail. His mother told reporters, “It was no accident …. They knew he was coming out of jail, and they were out to get him.”

Leon’s stepbrother told the State’s Attorney’s office what he saw:

I was standing on our back porch, and I heard someone call him, and my brother went down the steps, and when my brother was ready to leave the yard, I saw “Papa”, who stepped out of the gangway, and saw the gun in his hand, and I saw him fire at my brother ….³²

“Papa” Dunnigan is 13-years-old, and a member of the Blackstone Rangers. He is now under indictment for attempted murder. About four days before the shooting, his mother brought him into the district police station because her neighbor said they had seen the boy in the streets with a sawed-off shotgun. Police were unable to find the weapon.

A by-product of the warfare between the gangs was an increasing ability and willingness to use deadly force against anyone without reason. From mid 1966 through 1968, for a young person of high school age attending Hyde Park High School (located in Woodlawn), the chances of being shot during this 3-year period were one in 20.³³

On a warm night in June 1968, at a public housing development on South Dearborn, Raymond Odum stood in a courtway with four of his friends. Several shotgun blasts cut them all down. The shooting was not connected with gang combat or recruitment. There was no grudge. There was no reason. Just terror. The police report cannot measure the fearful impact of these shots, a few of the many fired that night:

INJURIES: Odum, Raymond, 19, shotgun wounds, 4 chest

(Fatal) 5 right shoulder, 5 upper

right arm, 1 right side,

4” below and 1 ½” above

right ear, all embedded.

Morgan, Roscoe, 19, shotgun wound above left

(Condition good) eye, embedded.

Smiley, Ronald, 17, shotgun wounds right arm

(Condition good) and right hip, embedded.

Sterling, Gerald, 17, shotgun wounds lower

(Condition good) left back and back of head.

Walker, Herbert, 17, shotgun wounds lower left

(Condition good) back, embedded.

Equally senseless was the death of Demetrie Wormley. At 6220 South Dorchester, the Disciples and Rangers approached each other and fired 11 shots. Demetrie was between them. She was 14 and cared nothing about the gangs. Her death was reported in Chicago papers in three short paragraphs.³⁴ Four other children have died in the crossfire of these gun battles in Woodlawn from July 1966 to the present.³⁵

Even the police have been the object of gang violence. Six members of the Blackstone Rangers are presently under indictment for the murder of policeman. Two more Rangers have been indicted for arson; they are charged with throwing a molotov cocktail into the automobile of a policeman who had arrested several gang members.

The fact that more than 200 people, the majority in their teens, have been shot in Woodlawn in the past 3 years does not say enough. An injury from a bullet or shotgun blast puts a youth in the hospital, takes him out of school or work or possibly injures him forever. In the case of parents whose children are killed, it means the pain of the moment, identifying the dead child, the irreparable loss, and fear that it may happen to another child in the family.

Revenue

Expanding Ranger membership served a purpose beyond increasing the strength of the organization. Recruitment also brought in revenue through the payment of dues.

From the beginning of the membership drive, police and school officials were told by parents that the Rangers put pressure on members for dues. The money went into the gang treasury and was used for such expenses as ----------(?) and guns. While dues provided a nominal source of revenue, the gang’s reputation for the use of force provided the foundation for a more lucrative flow of money through extortion. At first they simply took money from school children.

Charles LaPaglia, who was hired by the First Presbyterian Church to work with the Rangers, told the Senate’s Subcommittee on Investigations about extortion at Hyde Park High School:

He, (the principal) did, in fact, say there was extortion, but he had no proof that the Rangers were involved in it. There were probably Rangers who were involved in extortion, that is, extortion of quarters, dimes, that kind.³⁶

Yakir Korey, the principal of Wadsworth School, conformed the practice of extortion in his area:

In September 1966, I discovered that children who were enrolled in my school had to pay 25 cents a day or $1.25 a week to the Rangers in order to get to school because they had to cross through territory controlled by the Rangers.³⁷

Eventually the Rangers demanded tribute from the merchants in the community. They found where fear of the gang exists, often there is no need to make an overt threat. A simple request for a donation will suffice, since the mere presence of four or five young men wearing gang insignia conveys a clear message to the merchant or individual approached.

Three merchants on the same block in Woodlawn received the following form letter and financial statement:

The New Woodlawn Youth Drive for 69

Dear Sir:

This is to advise you that plans are being made for the welfare of the youths in the Woodlawn area, as you well know the youth in this area have no longer any recreation facilities available to them. This means that youths are roaming the streets in search of activities be it good or bad, recreation in this area is badly needed, the up and coming generation should be all of our concern, not just a minority.

So it would be much appreciated if by any chance we the people of the Woodlawn area could express upon you the necessity of this drive.

Enclosed in this envelope is a well laid financial statement which in turn hand the signature of the acting owner of this establishment. This has been discussed, arranged and agreed upon that you donate $100 a month to this cause. If you feel this unfair kindly fill out the financial statement enclosed stating what you can do for this very urgent cause.

Thank you very kindly.

Financial Statement

I, the owner of this establishment being duly in charge, is willing to donate _________ a month until such time that proper recreation centers and playgrounds has been duly established in this immediate area. Please sign thus statement and a representative will be out in a day or two to pick it up.

NAME

ADDRESS

SIGNATURE

Thank you kindly.

These merchants were visited by a group of young men who were identified as Blackstone Rangers. Veiled threats were made concerning the effect of failing to contribute.³⁸

In other reported cases, the threats have been overt. The owner of a lounge on 47^th Street was approached by two men and handed a note which read: “You are under the Blackstone contribution of $50 a week or you will be run out of business. Blackstone power will be back tomorrow.”³⁹

The owner of a cleaning establishment was visited by an individual identifying himself as a Blackstone Ranger. He demanded $50 and told the owner he would be run out of business if he refused to pay. The Ranger then situated youngsters across the street from the cleaners, and they tossed rocks and bottles through the establishment’s screen door and window.⁴⁰

On June 9 and 10 of this year, seven commercial establishments on one square block in Woodlawn reported attempts at extortion by individuals identifying themselves as Rangers.⁴¹

Perhaps the best statement demonstrating why extortion became a successful operation for the gang was made by an automobile dealer. He pointed out the difficulty of obtaining insurance in a high-crime area and that he could not afford to replace his showroom windows time and again. When a group of Rangers asked him to contribute a car or two to the organization, he arranged payments over a long period of time. Payments stopped after the second installment, but the dealer decided he would not demand his money from the gang.⁴²

A total of 52 extortion complaints have been filed with the police where the accused has either identified himself as a Blackstone Ranger or is a known member of the gang.⁴³

The gang contends that persons who are not members present themselves as Rangers and request sums of money in return for protection. In some cases this is probably the truth, but the central point remains that those making demands, whether gang members or not, rely on the reputation of the gang for making good its threats.

A less direct result of the gang’s activity was the attention focused on the organization from outside the community. Through the Rangers’ growth and attendant publicity, individuals, private agencies and government bodies became aware of the gang. Most knew of its unsavory record, but for some this only increased a belief that it was a structure to work with both to strengthen the community and to divert the Rangers from criminal activity.

The most widely publicized project relating to the Rangers was the Office of Economic Opportunity’s $927,000 grant to the Woodlawn Organization (TWO) to be used for job training. Thirty seven Ranger and Disciple leaders were hired by TWO to recruit students and to assist the four professional teachers in the program. Salaries ranged from a low of $2 per hour to a high of $6500 per year. The trainees in the program were paid $45 a week. In sworn testimony Nicholas Dorenzo, a Disciple leader, testified that the trainees were required to kickback $5 a week to the gang out of their checks. Dorenzo himself gave $50 a month from his $6500 yearly salary to the Disciples. Dorenzo testified that one payday he collected $2300 for the gang.⁴⁴

Application for refunding of the TWO Manpower Training Project was denied by the Office of Economic Opportunity and the program terminated in July 1968. Investigations were begun last September into charges that widespread forgery had taken place in connection with the project. A government handwriting expert testified that he found evidence of mass forgery in an examination of cancelled checks and records of the project. He discovered 1,061 separate acts of fraud relating to the checks and records of the two job training centers where members of the Blackstone Rangers were involved. An examination of records by a private auditing firm supported the allegations of fraud.⁴⁵

The loss of the TWO grant as a source of funds for the organization has forced the Rangers to rely on businesses in the area for revenue. In recent weeks several incidents have been brought to light which indicate that the Rangers are not neglecting this source of revenue. The owner of a tavern has left Woodlawn – and even the state for a period of time – as the result of an attempt by the Rangers to take over her ____(line missing)_________ she related that a Ranger told her he was assuming control of her tavern, and later said he was going to kill her. She left the state. The juke box dealer who supplied her tavern was subsequently visited by a group of six Rangers who demanded $125,000 to protect his business. The demand was later reduced to $50,000.⁴⁶

On July 22 four individuals wearing red berets, current Ranger insignia, identified themselves as Rangers, and told the superintendent of a construction project in Woodlawn that they wanted money within five minutes or there would be shooting.

Contractors working on the transit system for the Dan Ryan Expressway have been warned to pay or suffer the loss of materials and equipment.

In a novel approach to maintaining store security, the Red Rooster food chain, according to several sources, recently hired the Ranger leadership to protect stores in Ranger territory.

The Chicago police presently identify 32 young men as Ranger leaders. Among them they have more than 50 convictions for serious crimes and have served collectively more than 24 years in jail. Their crimes range from battery to murder.

As noted before, Eugene Hairston, the number two man in the Rangers, is serving a 5-to-15 year sentence in the Illinois State Penitentiary. Jeff Fort, the Ranger leader, has been convicted of battery and is presently under indictment for attempted ____________(missing sentence)___________.

CITY PROGRAM

In response to the threat presented by youth gangs organized for criminal purposes, the Mayor of Chicago, on May 19, 1969, announced that government agencies would undertake a coordinated effort against such criminal structures based on the three-point program outlines in the introduction.

The Gang Intelligence Unit, consisting of police officers specially trained to investigate crimes by youth gangs, has been increased from 38 to 200 men. The unit has investigated various aspects of gang operations, including their acquisition of funds, their methods of recruiting new members and their basis relationship with one another.

Government agencies recognized, however, that police action alone was not sufficient. The essential ingredient of an effective program for dealing with criminal youth gangs is enlisting the full cooperation of citizens in the affected communities, both in supporting the program itself and in serving as witnesses in cases where they observed the commission of a crime. In the past, gangs relied heavily on their ability to intimidate witnesses and victims in order to escape punishment for crimes.

There is increasing evidence that the promises of protection by the police and State’s Attorney’s office – and their record of keeping these promises – have encouraged witnesses to come forth and testify against gang members. As of June 30^th, 78 witnesses were receiving protection in gang-related cases. Some have even been relocated outside the state to insure their safety. According to State’s Attorney Edward V. Hanrahan, “We have persons talking to us who were never willing to talk to us before. This is because we are providing protection.”

The result of this cooperation between citizens and law enforcement agencies has been an increasing number of successful prosecutions against gang members. Since May 1^st of this year, 144 indictments have been returned by the Cook County Grand Jury against known gang members for crimes ranging from murder to robbery.*

Cornell Steele, a Ranger, was convicted on August 23 of the assassination-style killing of James McCain. The jury recommended the death sentence for Steele. On August 25 Leroy Hairston, also a Ranger and brother of Eugene Hairston, was sentenced to 75-150 years in the penitentiary for murdering a rival gang member as he stood on a street corner. Hairston’s accomplice received a sentence of 25050 years.

The State’s Attorney’s office has increased its investigative force and has established a special force of attorneys which deals exclusively with the prosecution of youth gang crimes.

*For the period August-December 1969, 160 additional indictments were returned against gang members. Of the approximately 300 total ___________(missing sentence)_________.

The Chicago school system has also taken steps to meet the threat posed by gangs. The school security force has been increased from 13 men in September 1966 to 328 men as of June 1969. A full-time Director of Personnel Security was appointed in June and funds for security operations have been increased from $46,000 in 1967 to $970,000 for the current school year.

These steps have made an impact. There has been a 24 percent reduction in gang-related shootings through July of this year as compared with a similar period last year. During the same period there has been a 2.6% reduction in homicides. Hopefully, the reductions are the beginning of a trend.

The city fully recognizes, however, that efforts to combat youth crime must not be limited to effective enforcement and prosecution following the commission of a crime. Positive, constructive programs relating to youth are clearly an essential part of any realistic approach to developing the potential of the young people in our city.

Several projects relate directly to youth crime. The Joint Youth Development Committee, involving several city, county and state agencies, has developed a collaborative, community-based approach to corrections. The Youth Division of the Chicago Police Department, a participant in the J.Y.D.C. program, consists of officers specifically trained in the handling of youth problems. The Correctional Services Division of the Department of Human Resources works closely with the Youth Division and the court system to aid young people who have been in trouble with the law. The Correctional Services Division has also made a major effort to aid youth victims of crime and their families. From March through December 1968, over 350 youth victims were contacted. Services ranging from making job contacts to securing counseling were provided wherever necessary. From January through May 1969, 136 youth victims of crime have been served through the program.

Less directly related to youth crime but equally necessary in combating it are those programs which concern recreation, jobs and education. For the past two summers, over 70 public and private agencies have worked together in Project Reach-Out to make such programs available to all Chicago youngsters. Over 40,000 jobs have been made available; extensive educational programs have been offered through the Board of Education.

The Park District has established recreational programs for youngsters of all ages. Over 250,000 young people participated in these programs during the summer of 1969.

The Chicago Committee on Urban Opportunity has developed a series of projects covering a number of areas: jobs (over 22,000 in the Neighborhood Youth Corps) education, recreation, theater and music.

Without constructive programs being made available to the youth population of our city, there can be no effective resolution of the youth crime problem. Even more vital, however, is the participation of community residents in seeing that neighborhood youngsters have proper guidance and leadership. Where adult leadership is lacking, a vacuum is created which is often filled by the young man who has little knowledge of, or regard for, the values of the overall community.

The city’s program of diligent investigation and vigorous prosecution of youth crime, coupled with carefully planned constructive programs for young people, constitutes an approach which will make possible substantial progress in communities directly affected by gang activity, and, therefore, progress in the entire city.

The people who live daily with the terror and violence wrought by certain gangs in our city need not be convinced that such conduct cannot be tolerated. It is those in the so-called “safe” areas who must recognize that to accept as a legitimate force any group which has arrived at its position by criminal acts is to disregard those residents who are striving for legitimate advancement both for themselves and the communities in which they live.

NOTES

1/ Frederick M. Thrasher, The Gang (abridged and now introduction by James F. Short, Jr.; Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963) p. 46.

2/ Lewis Yablonsky, The Violent Gang (New York: MacMillan Co., 1962) p. 119.

3/ Id. at 3,129.

4/ Homicide Division, Chicago Police Department.

5/ Murder Analysis, 1968, Homicide Division, Chicago Police Department. p. 1.

6/ Homicide Division, Chicago Police Department.

7/ Hearings, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Senate Committee on Gov’t. Operations, 90^th Cong., 2^nd Sess. Pp. 2251-2252 (1968) (hereinafter Hearings 1968.)

8/ Youth Services Division, Department of Human Resources.

9/ Chicago Tribune, March 2, 1968.

10/ Gang Intelligence Unit, Chicago Police Department.

11/ “Affidavit of Yakir W. Korey, reproduced in Hearings 1968, supra note 7, at p. 2039.

12/ In the first two months of the 1966 fall semester, 150 families, in interviews with social workers, police, and truant officers, stated they removed or transferred their children from Wadsworth Upper Grade Center or Hyde Park High School because of gang threats and beatings.

13/ Chicago Tribune, June 15, 1969.

14/ Chicago Tribune, July 18, 1968.

15/ Chicago Tribune, July 10, 1968.

16/ Chicago’s American, March 14 and 15, 1969; Chicago Police Department reports.

17/ Gang Intelligence Unit, Chicago Police Department. This incident was reported by the Chicago Daily News, May 27, 1969.

18/ Reverend John Fry, A Statement Regarding the Relationship of the First Presbyterian Church and the Blackstone Rangers, pp.1-2. (September 1966.) (hereinafter Rev. Fry Statement.)

19/ Gang Intelligence Unit, Chicago Police Department.

20/ Rev. Fry Statement, p.2.

21/ Ibid.

22/ Gang Intelligence Unit, Chicago Police Department.

23/ The account summaries police reports, State’s Attorney reports and newspaper statements, including Chicago Today, May 31, 1969, and Chicago Daily News, June 23, 1969.

24/ This summary is based on police reports and newspaper accounts, including Chicago’s American, March 1, 1968, and Chicago Daily News, March 1, 1968.

25/ Statement from State’s Attorney Office of Cook County.

26/ Hearings 1968, supra note 7, at pp. 2120-21.

27/ Rev. Fry Statement, supra note 18, at p. 5.

28/ Affidavit of Yakir W. Korey, reproduced in Hearings 1968, supra note 7, at p. 2039.

29/ Data compiled from district files of the Chicago Police Department.

30/ Gang Intelligence Unit, Chicago Police Department.

31/ Chicago Tribune, June 15, 1969. The Tribune account is based on the police report of the Chicago Police Department.

32/ Statement to State’s Attorney Office of Cook County.

33/ Police records show that 121 young people between the ages of 13 and 18 were shot during the stated period. The average population of Hyde Park High School for 1966 and 1967 was 2363 students. Prior to September 1968, almost all high school age youngsters in Woodlawn attended Hyde Park. Its 1968 enrollment declined significantly with the ___(missing word)____ of students to Kenwood.

Due to this shifting student population and the lack of exact correlation between community and school district boundaries, the one-in–twenty figure is not mathematically exact, but does basically reflect the risk of being shot if you are a teenager in Woodlawn.

34/ Chicago Tribune, February 15, 1968.

35/ Gang Intelligence Unit, Chicago Police Department.

36/ Hearings 1968, supra note 7, at p. 2270.

37/ Affidavit of Yakir W. Korey, reproduced in Hearings 1968, supra note 7, at 2038.

38/ Gang Intelligence Unit, Chicago Police Department.

39/ Ibid.

40/ Ibid.

41/ Ibid.

42/ Ibid.

43/ Ibid.

44/ Hearings 1968, supra note 7, at pp. 2419-20.

45/ These proceedings were reported in the Chicago Daily News, September 6, 1969.

46/ Intelligence Division, Chicago Police Department.

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