Gangs In Chicago

Chicago is considered the most gang-occupied city in the United States, with a population ranging from 100,000 active members from over 70 gangs with more than 150,000 members. Gang warfare and retaliation is common in Chicago. Gangs were responsible for 61% of the homicides in Chicago in 2011.

Causes

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".

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.

Composition

Most traditional Chicago street gangs, known as ''nations,'' fall under two main factions called the People Nation and the Folks Nation, with the former having most, if not all gangs under the "Almighty" moniker while the latter having 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 also nations that are independent of both the Folks and People Nations, such as the Black Soul Nation. 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'' and 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 divided further into subsets. There are currently at least 70 active Chicago street gangs with 747 factions that have been identified. All currently active street gangs in Chicago are:

Folks Nation

Latin Folks Familias:

Almighty Familia:

* Almighty Ambrose Nation
* Almighty Brazer Nation
* Almighty Harrison Gent Nation
* Almighty Imperial Gangster Nation
* Almighty Insane Pope Nation (Folks Nation)
* Almighty Krazy Getdown Boy Nation
* Almighty Latin Eagle Nation
* Almighty Simon City Royal Nation

Gangster Familia:

* Gangster Disciple Nation
* Gangster Two-Six Nation
* Gangster Party People Nation
* Gangster Sin City Boy Nation

Insane Familia:

* 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 Spanish Cobra Nation

* Insane Young Latino Organization Cobras

Maniac Familia:

* Maniac Latin Disciple Nation

* Maniac Campbell Boy Nation

* Maniac Young Latino Organization Disciples

No Family:

* Allport Lover Nation (likely defunct)

* Aztec Soul Nation

* Black Disciple Nation

* Black King Cobra Nation (No relation to Black Cobra Souls, Mickey Cobras, Insane King Cobras or Insane Spanish Cobras)

* Boss Pimp Nation

* Hoodlum Nation

* Insane Gangster Satan Disciple Nation (formerly Insane Familia and Gangster Familia)

* Insane Gangster City Knight Nation (given prefix by Insane Gangster Satan Disciple Nation)

* Insane Two-Two Boy Nation (formerly Insane Familia)

* Insane Majestic Nation

* La Raza Nation

* Latin Dragon Nation

* Latin Jiver Nation

* Universal Latin Lover Nation (possibly defunct)

* Latin Soul Nation

* Latin Styler Nation

* Milwaukee King Nation

* Spanish Gangster Disciple Nation

* Wolcott Boy Nation

People Nation
* Almighty Bishop Nation
*Almighty Black P. Stone Nation
* Almighty Familia Stone Nation
*Almighty Four Corner Hustler Nation
* Almighty Gaylord Nation
* Almighty Insane Latin Brother Nation
* Almighty Insane Latin Count Nation
*Almighty Insane Pope Nation (Southside, People Nation)
* Almighty Insane Unknown Nation
*Almighty Laflin Lover Nation (likely 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 (likely defunct)
* Almighty Saints Nation
* Almighty Spanish Four Corner Hustler 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
*Fourth Generation Messiah Nation
* Mickey Cobra Nation
* Taylor Jouster Nation (defunct)

Independent gangs

* Black Gangster Nation

* Black Souls Nation
* Mara Salvatrucha (defunct)
* Bloods (defunct)
* Sureños (defunct)

Crews

* 103rd Street Crew
* 35th Street Crew
* 61st Boys
* Adidas Boys
* Akrhos
* Bad Boys
* Born Legends
* Crazy Latino Boys
* Goonie Boys (likely defunct)
* Homicide Boys
* Krazy Ass Latinos
* Lynch Mob
* Mafia Family (likely defunct)
* Maniac Players
* One of the Boys
* Outlaws
* Nike Boys
* Polish Mafia
* Slag Valley Boys
* South Deering Boys
* Southwest Boys (formerly a Gangster Two-Six ''future crew'')
* West Lawns (defunct)
* Winchester Boys
* Vietnamese Clan

History

Hispanic-on-Hispanic homicides increased in the summer of 1971 due to the Latin Kings gang election meetings.
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.CHICAGO BLACK DISCIPLES GANG LEADER AMONG 23 CHARGED IN FEDERAL INVESTIGATION, OFFICIALS SAY
ABC7 Chicago, July 19, 2020

See also

*Crime in Chicago
*Gangs in the United States

References

{{Gangs