Gang Book spotlights threats to River Forest

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The Chicago Crime Commission "Gang Book."

Updated: March 3, 2012 8:36AM

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.

Local concerns

Oak Park and River Forest police responses to the 2011 Crime Commission survey show police here are watching the Four Corner Hustlers, followed by the Vice Lords (which have at least eight operating factions) the Latin Kings and Gangster Disciples.

But it is the presence of gang bangers on the West Side numbering in the thousands concerns police here. “The Gang Book’s” maps show a growth in the presence of street gangs on the West Side of Chicago, particularly the 15th district from Roosevelt Road to Division Street.

The Four Corner Hustlers dominate Austin, with the exception of a few areas run by various Vice Lord factions and another controlled by the Black P Stones.

Since 2006, the Hustlers’ turf has grown to almost 100 city blocks in the 15th District, and another 50 blocks in the 25th District’s North Austin area.

Large gang populations are also present in the Chicago’s Galewood to the north, Berwyn to the south and Maywood and Broadview to the west.

“We border various communities, some of which are challenged,” said Oak Park Detective Cmdr. Ladon Reynolds.

He stressed that “gang activity” in Oak Park isn’t a definitive term.

“They may reside in Oak Park. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re active in Oak Park as gang members. I can tell you that we don’t have any areas in Oak Park that are controlled by gangs.”

River Forest Detective Sgt. Marty Grill said he too saw no evidence of overt gang activity in the villages.

“Based on my experience, there are many, many more gang members traveling back and forth through (River Forest and Oak Park),” Grill said.

Police in both villages diligently document any and all contacts they have with documented or suspected gang members, whether through arrests, traffic enforcement or street stops.

Oak Park has an officer permanently assigned to the federal Drug Enforcement Agency and has two gang intelligence officers. River Forest’s Grill regularly participates in WEDGE gang suppression operations as a supervisor. WEDGE involves Oak Park, River Forest and Elmwood Park police.

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 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.”

Reynolds echoed that recommendation.

“It’s about communication between parents and children,” he said of countering the threat of gang involvement by young people. “Parents are a huge part of that.”

Grill is adamant that police must continue to maintain and increase pressure on street drug sales. The connection between drug use and property crime, he said, is “as clear as day to me.”

“What happens (east of Austin Boulevard) affects not just Oak Park but much of Cook County,” Grill said. Drug addicts needing to feed their habits “are responsible for crimes everywhere from where they buy drugs to where they live.”

“If we don’t go after the street drug deals, we’re just inviting more users to come in, and then property crime goes up.”

Future initiatives

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.

“We always get excellent cooperation from the City of Chicago and suburban police departments and the federal agencies,” said Grill.

“It’s important for us to work with initiatives such as WEDGE and federal authorities,” said Reynolds. “We can’t do this alone. This is an urban environment and crime is transient.”

Reynolds and Grill said they welcomed whatever improved law enforcement tools they are provided, including broadening racketeering charges and enhanced surveillance abilities.

Legislatively, Weis is looking for less restrictions on recording phone conversations.

“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.”