The City of Chicago is very rich in street gang history. Many people believe that the origin of the modern day street gang was founded in Chicago. The creation of the People and Folks Nations can be accredited to Chicago, and was well known for organized crime syndicates in the past. Street gangs are a secret underground culture and the gangs are not limited to gender, race, culture, or neighborhood.
There are African American Gangs, Asian Gangs, Arabic Gangs, Female Gangs, White Gangs, Latino or Hispanic Gangs. They are on the west side, the north side, the south side and the east side of Chicago. The members can range from a handful in a small neighborhood crew, to thousands for larger gangs. Members can be as young as 10 and as old as 50. Street Gangs are a rich part of Chicago's underworld, they have been around for many years and will continue to be a secret culture among Chicago's Society.
UPDATED 2/13/2012
LOOKING FOR PICTURES OF GANG DRAWINGS FOR THE UPCOMING UPDATE, LARGEST UPDATE IN THE SITES HISTORY OVER 1000 PICTURES WILL BE ADDED EMAIL US WITH ANY NEW PICTURES FOR THE UPDATE
GANGINK.COM UPDATED 900 PICS ADDED
SOURCE: Chicago Tribune By Hal Dardick and John Byrne Tribune reporters
7:15 a.m. CST, February 8, 2012 City Clerk Susana Mendoza said Tuesday she’s investigating whether gang signs are part of the winning design for Chicago’s next city sticker, just days before the decals are scheduled to be printed.
The sticker, meant to honor city firefighters, paramedics and police, was designed by a 15-year-old boy who attends a school for troubled youth. The artwork shows four hands lifted skyward toward symbols of the three professions — above a heart containing a carefully rendered city skyline against the city flag.
A blogger who writes about police issues identified the position of those hands as symbols often flashed by members of a notorious Chicago street gang. Concerned citizens began calling the clerk’s office Tuesday after those allegations hit the web, the clerk’s office said.
“Every artist has a back story and oftentimes artwork is controversial,” Mendoza said in a statement. “However, the artwork on Chicago’s city stickers should not be controversial. “In a design that is meant to honor the city’s first responders, I am very sensitive to this issue. I grew up in a neighborhood filled with crime and gang violence and I come from a law-enforcement family,” Mendoza added.
Exactly what’s on the city stickers is a touchy subject, in part because they will be the first to carry the names of Mendoza and Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Jody Weis, a former police superintendent who is now president of the Chicago Crime Commission that puts out a handbook on city gangs, said he initially saw the imagery on a Blackberry and didn't think it looked like a gang sign. But a short time later, when he blew up the picture on an iPad, he could see it much clearer and he changed his mind.
“It’s very, very close to a gang sign,’’ Weis told the Tribune when reached by phone Tuesday night. “It’s not exactly, but it’s very close,’’ Weis said. “It’s too close to be a coincidence.’’ Weis explained that the left and right hands shown in the artwork are the same. “Every finger configuration is identical,’’ he said.
Weis said he believes authorities should take a closer look at the artwork. “I don’t know what was in the boy’s heart, but somebody needs to find that out,’’ Weis said. “For a city sticker, it would spark controversy,’’ Weis said. “You don’t want that kind of controversy on a city sticker.’’
The new city sticker was picked after a round of judging and another round of voting. In the first round, judges invited by the clerk’s office crowd into City Council chambers and rank their favorites from among hundreds of designs submitted by high school students.
The top 10 then were posted at suntimes.com, and Mendoza said more than 18,000 votes were cast.
The winning design was announced last week at a news conference. The teen said his mother and his school, Lawrence Hall Youth Services, were helping him improve his academic performance. He said he was honoring firefighters because they rescued him when he was 4 and had lit his clothes on fire with a candle.
We are looking for historical information (History) on all the gangs and crews that are listed on the site, we are also searching for basic information or historical information for all the gangs listed in the Oldskool list. If you have any historical information or pictures for any of the gangs listed please email us @ chicagogangs@aol.com
DISCLAIMER: The images and information in this web site are of a mature nature. Images portray gang symbols, gang drawings and gang members. Please be advised that gang activities, crimes, recruitment, tagging are illegal. This website does not condone or promote any type of gang activity, gang recruitment, gang glorification, gang promotion, or any type of illegal activity. The sole purpose of the website is to provide general information and images about the gang culture in the Chicago land area. This website and the images it contains is for informational purposes only.
Chicago Gangs will provide information on street gangs and crews that can be found in Chicago and in the Chicago land area. The information on this site comes from a variety of sources and therefore the accuracy or the authenticity of the information may vary depending on the source. The goal of this web site is to show in detail how rampant street gangs or crews are in Chicago. They can be found in almost every neighborhood and are not limited to any specific race. Enjoy your stay any questions or comments please email ChicagoGangs@aol.com
Chicago Gangs featured as one of the best 171 websites of Chicago in the February 2008 Chicago Magazine
"Gangsta Chicago meets virtual Chicago at ChicagoGangs.org, the site has grown from a collection of graffiti photographs to include maps delineating gang turf across the city, lists of active gangs, photos of hand signs and tattoos, a chatroom and history on how gangs actually function"
