Evanston

Nicknames	Heavenston
Settled by	Provide info
Year infiltrated	1979
Crime impact	Part
Worst areas	Greenbay Road/McCormick Boulevard on the north to Dempster Street on the south. The Village limits on the west to Ridge Avenue on the east Monroe Street on the north to Howard Street on the south. Sherman Avenue on the west to the tracks just west of Chicago Avenue on the east
Suburban projects	None

The area now known as Evanston used to be barren Native American territory that was settled by scattered European settlers in the 1830s and 1840s.  The area was simply known as “Grosse Point Territory” or “Gross Point Voting District.” 

In the year 1850 some of what is now Evanston became annexed into Ridgeville Township, then the following year plans were put forth to build Northwestern University in the area, construction soon followed.  In 1854 the founders of the university petitioned to have a town built all around the university that they wanted to call “Evanston,” named after one of the Northwestern University founders John Evans, in 1857 that request was granted, and the town of Evanston was born, but incorporation was not granted until 1863. 

In the year 1855, the first African American resident moved to Evanston.  Maria Murray Robinson became the first African American to live in Evanston as she was employed as a house servant for a wealthier family.  Robinson was a former slave and would become the first of many former southerners and former slaves to move to Evanston (Fact source: https://www.evanstonian.net/reparations/2024/05/21/decades-of-displacement/). 

Following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, several displaced former Chicagoans moved to Evanston and built mansions.  Most of the fire engulfed wealthier community areas of downtown Chicago, hence, why so many mansions were built in Evanston.  This brought a call for the need for house servants and former African American southerners answered the call.  As Evanston developed and was heavily platted after the Chicago Fire, African Americans were there since the earliest times which credits African Americans as early pioneers in Evanston’s development; however, in the early decades of the 20th century they were not treated this way. 

I came across a detailed article written in the Evanstonian from May 21, 2024, written wonderfully by Alexis Rogers, Isaac Suarez Flint and Eva Sondgeroth about the plight of early African Americans in Evanston who struggled with unequal housing access.  This article sheds light on the goal I attempted to accomplish on my first version of this page, but I didn’t quite land it correctly.  These writers dug up several news articles and cited many word for word to prove this discrimination that eventually brought us to the cause of Evanston street gangs in the later decades of the 20th century.  The past discrimination and confinement to higher risk areas of the community certainly can lead to negative outcomes in later decades, in essence, the past effects the future. 

According to the May 21, 2024, Evanstonian article, the raised issue of increased African Americans in Evanston was called out in the Chicago Tribune on January 22, 1904.  

“The negro population of north shore towns steadily is increasing, and in Evanston the newcomers are deemed especially objectionable by authorities, as there are four times as many cases of assault and larceny, according to police figures.”

The article quoted, and according the Evanstonian writers, the article also stated a proposed plan to place African Americans in an area part of neighboring Skokie.  The city was further put off once a larger African American migration wave began in 1916 that lined up with the entire country as African Americans moving alongside the Great Migration came to Evanston from Abbeville, South Carolina following the lynching murder of Anthony Crawford, a wealthy African American landowner.  The writers of the May 21, 2024, Evanstonian dug up an article from the Evanston News-Index called “Immigration from south, health menace,” dated June 13, 1923, that complained about African Americans moving to the city. 

“The influx of negroes from the South has given the health department considerable trouble in an attempt to cope with the housing conditions and the insanitary manner in which the new comers are living in overcrowded quarters, according to the report of Dr. Clarence T. Roome, health commissioner.”

The article quoted and the Evanstonian writers further read and wrote, “The article described how some homes had as many as twelve families in a ten-room house, while wells that supplied drinking water for three families were built within twenty feet of toilets. The limiting of Black migrants to the Fifth Ward caused overcrowding and unlivable conditions for many families.”  This was the foundation of the decision to steer incoming African Americans to the west side of Evanston.  Evanston’s west side was largely located on a flood plain which separated the west side from downtown.  The west side had many unpaved streets, lack of running water and had many underdeveloped lots.  Ridge Avenue became the cut off for African Americans as they were mostly forbidden from moving east of Ridge Avenue and nowhere north of McCormick Boulevard/Green Bay Road. Rogers, Flint and Sondgeroth of the Evanstonian presented proof of segregation processes.  In the article of Evanston News-Index named, “Negroes Unable to Secure Homes Here,” stated clearly,

“Insanitary conditions are developing in the negro sections here because of the congestion in many homes…[There is an] alleged plan to ‘freeze out’ the negroes from all parts of Evanston except their own neighborhoods.” 

This is clear cut discrimination shown in detail and is clear evidence of racial steering using legal methods (Fact source: https://www.evanstonian.net/reparations/2024/05/21/decades-of-displacement/).  

Evanston was a city built upon luxury housing as several mansions were built over the decades that still stand strong today.  Because of Evanston’s image entering the 20th century it became important to uphold that image more than most Illinois cities and suburbs.  The African American population was viewed as a direct threat to maintaining this image and the writers of the May 21, 2024, Evanstonian laid it out wonderfully.  The writers pointed to the 1922 Chicago Commission on Race Relations’ study on racial relations in Chicago that sought out causes of this conflict.  The study even referenced Evanston and referenced Evanston’s “growing negro colony,” and kept referencing a “negro problem.”  I will also quote exactly what the Evanstonian writers stated, “The Negro in Chicago echoed the already common opinion that African American residency lowered property values.”  This derives from The Negro in Chicago’s statement:

“One difficulty of Negroes in handling their own housing problem is the attitude of real estate mortgage and loan concerns with respect to property tenanted or likely to be tenanted by Negroes. Such property is assumed to be a bad risk, and, as a consequence, Negroes are charged more than whites and find it difficult to secure mortgages to assist in purchasing and are greatly handicapped in their efforts to improve property.” 

This all led up to the hiring of Harland Bartholomew and Associates in 1919 by the city of Evanston to deliberately segregate Evanston to keep African Americans in certain areas only and even make most of Evanston not affordable to African Americans.  Bartholomew was a notorious urban planning consultant who was an expert in zoning to keep cities segregated, his most notorious work was on the city of St. Louis.  During Bartholomew’s planning of Evanston, Evanston areas were given classifications as higher value more desired areas and lower valued housing in areas close to industrialization that was deemed undesirable due to pollution.  This plan was hatched in 1921, and all African Americans were steered into the lower value housing areas only and subject to pollution near the developing factories.  It is a fact that the west side had the highest concentration of industrialization in the whole city and Dodge Avenue was the main vein for trucks and carriages to move material all around the city from the factories and outside of the city (Fact source: https://www.evanstonian.net/reparations/2024/05/21/decades-of-displacement/). This May 21, 2024, Evanstonian piece written by Alexis Rogers, Isaac Suarez Flint and Eva Sondgeroth is an excellent read and has even more examples of housing discrimination in west Evanston and you can find more examples on their page.  Evanston worked very hard to keep blacks confined west of Wesley Avenue/Ridge Avenue and south of Emerson then later Green Bay Road.  Even local Evanston banks refused to lend to African Americans if they applied for loans to build on property in white neighborhoods until this practice was outlawed in 1969.    

West Evanston was chosen in the later 19th century and 1900s decade as the designated area for industrialization.  Many of these jobs at these companies were held by African American unskilled workers from the south.  Beginning in the 1900s-decade Polish immigrants also took up employment in these factories and lived on the west side around Dempster Street on the north to Main Street on the south and from Asbury Avenue on the east to Dodge Avenue on the west.  Many of these Polish immigrants were also only skilled enough for unskilled labor and were paid on the lower end especially since they were just beginning their professional life in the United States.  Both Polish and African Americans worked at the many factories that were constructed between the late 19th century through the 1920s.  The National Brick Company was built prior to 1900 and was considered the “Evanston Plant” but was in modern day Skokie; however, the company employed many west side Evanston residents.  The Illinois Brick Company opened in April of 1900 in Rogers Park at the present-day location of the Winston Towers Condominiums, this brickyard also employed many Evanston west siders.  The Clayton Mark Foundry was built in 1900 at 1900 Dempster St which is presently a shopping strip at the corner of Dodge and Dempster located on the west side.  Clayton Mark was the largest employer in Evanston.  Near the intersection of Chicago Avenue and Mulford Street was once a Chicago & Northwestern Railway rail spur that employed many west siders and was located on the west side.  These are examples of industrial facilities that employed many Evanston residents from the west side. 

The original African American neighborhood was in a triangular area on the upper west side bounded by Green Bay Road/McCormick Boulevard on the north to Church Street on the south and from the tracks in between Green Bay Road and Wesley Avenue on the east to McCormick Boulevard on the west, I will continue to reference this area as “the triangle.”  South of Church Street was heavily vacant when African Americans began coming to Evanston in larger numbers in 1916.  The area was formerly mostly white prior to 1916 and in this triangular area, the west of Dodge Avenue was mostly vacant land.  When whites left this triangular area in the 1920s the area west of Dodge Avenue began to be built with new houses owned by African Americans.  Many African Americans were not of the lower income classes as servant salaries paid enough for these workers to afford to buy homes, however, they were disadvantaged because they could not obtain the loans needed to upkeep properties due to segregation.  African Americans previously lived all over town in the 19th century but beginning in the 1900s decade they were further steered into this triangular area as public services were increasingly cut off for African Americans beginning in the 1900s and escalating in the 1910s.  Even the Evanston YMCA cut off African Americans forcing them to find their own YMCA in 1914 along Emerson Street (demolished in 1980) in the triangle.  Evanston used Jim Crow type laws to forbid blacks from using hospitals, playgrounds, restaurants and made blacks sit in the balcony at movie theaters.  Even the west side area south of Church Street was an all-white area that purposefully formed the West Side Improvement Association that purchased black owned homes for higher dollars if a black family bought it, furthermore, they purchased property that went for sale so fast that African Americans often could not get to it.  Several zoning laws and restrictive racial covenants made it illegal for African Americans to purchase or rent property in zones favored by whites.  Even if an African American purchased vacant land in Evanston zoning did not allow them to develop or build on the land and they were eventually forced to sell the land.  Beginning in the 1920s, Evanston was roaring with the construction of newer homes and all builders blocked African Americans from buying any of the 1,400 homes they built, not even one of these new homes was sold to African Americans.  Even strips of properties that were occupied by African Americans outside of the triangle were zoned for commercial development and African Americans were forcefully evicted while a commercial strip was built over the land. By the 1940 census, 84% of Evanston African Americans were now confined to the triangular area on the west side (https://evanstonroundtable.com/2019/12/05/developing-a-segregated-town-1900-1960/). 

The beginning of the triangular area of the west side’s development west of Dodge Avenue began in 1914 when Hovland’s subdivision was started and by 1920 there were 40 houses.  This subdivision was for immigrants and African Americans for the most part as American born white Evanstonians were disinterested in this area.  Culver’s addition was started in 1923 that added more homes in this half of the triangle until over 400 houses were present in that area by 1930.  To afford these houses in the triangle, African American families moved in several members of their extended family and even rented out rooms, by the year 1940 half of the houses were multifamily which shows a disadvantage.  These issues I have cited are from the reference, “Developing a Segregated Town, 1900-1960” which was wonderfully written by Larry Gavin with the Evanston RoundTable (https://evanstonroundtable.com/2019/12/05/developing-a-segregated-town-1900-1960/).   This triangular area was mostly functional and did not reflect African American neighborhoods in Chicago that were in dire states of poverty.  The biggest reason for this advantage over the south side of Chicago was the occupation many of these households held.  Many of those that owned these homes were servants and Larry Gavin even pointed out that their employers (wealthy homeowners) gave loans to their servants for their houses.  The growing problem was that these households were becoming overcrowded and there was concern from the surrounding white neighborhoods that African Americans would start moving outside of the triangle especially after restrictive racial covenants were deemed illegal in 1948.  Both Gavin and Alexis Rogers, Isaac Suarez Flint and Eva Sondgeroth all showed in their respective pieces they wrote that maps were created in the 1920s and 1930s that gave letter grades to certain neighborhoods in Evanston with “A” being the highest and “D” being the lowest.  Almost the whole “D” section was confined almost exclusively to the triangle which allowed lenders to deny loans to families in that zone and to steer away economic or commercial development.  Zones like this were instead favorable to develop high pollution industry.   

During the World War II years, African American migration from the south intensified as now African American workers were called upon to fill manufacturing and other factory work in the northern U.S.  Several of these migrating workers would arrive in Chicago starting in 1942 and Evanston was no exception.  The triangle was becoming overcrowded, and it was becoming increasingly impossible for African Americans to continue to be confined to this small area of Evanston.  Once racial covenants were outlawed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1948, African Americans in Evanston were not only legally allowed to move outside the triangle; African Americans immediately began seeking property outside of these confines.  Even though the harsh covenants were done away with African Americans in Evanston still used heavy caution when moving outside the confines to avoid violence and retaliation, but they made Evanston compromise by moving south of Church Street but remaining west of Asbury Avenue.  Real estate fought back against African American migration and kept housing listings away from African Americans deliberately, which was easier to accomplish in areas not directly bordering the triangle, this is also how African American migration was only staying south of Church Street to Dempster Street.  Homeowners’ associations joined real estate in a fight against African American migration and this battle would continue for a surprisingly long period of time.  Larry Gavin provided deeper details into this discrimination and showed in his piece that City Council attempted to establish an open housing ordinance to counteract real estate and homeowner’s attempts at segregation in October of 1966 and it passed, but Evanston Mayor John D. Emery vetoed it.  In October of 1967 the council put out a stronger ordinance that passed but it missed covering property owner discrimination, financial institutions and real-estate agencies.  The Fair Housing Act of April 11, 1968, prohibited housing discrimination leading to a fair housing ordinance in 1968 but it still had limitations which led to a stronger ordinance in 1969, but discrimination of housing remained, but it was well hidden for decades.  Gavin pointed out in 1989 the City of Evanston fined eight real estate firms for violating the Fair Housing ordinance by racial steering (Fact source: https://evanstonroundtable.com/2019/12/05/developing-a-segregated-town-1900-1960/).  The African American community expanded as far south as Dempster Street, and this would become a permanent African American community in Evanston and where the majority of African Americans would continue to live.  This area would also become the most impoverished area of Evanston and when considering a history of discrimination, it not much of a wonder.  Much of the damage of Evanston was so severe that Evanston became the only city in history that paid reparations to African Americans in 2019 to those that were affected by discriminatory practices between 1919 and 1969. 

Although the housing discrimination was banished by 1969, the practice continues unofficially into at least the 1990s. This is why the majority of Evanston’s black community became confined to the area of Green Bay Road/McCormick Boulevard on the north to Dempster Street on the south, and from Asbury Avenue on the east to the village limits near McDaniel Avenue on the west. Up to present day, this is where the most African Americans live in Evanston and where the most poverty is concentrated. This area has never been blighted or saturated in large apartment complexes or public housing projects. It is an area of single-family houses that are owned or rented by the black middle-class; however, many lower income African Americans live with extended family or rent from various landlords that had subdivided some of the homes.

On Evanston’s west side, the 1970s brought in more poverty as many families began to struggle further. Even though the west side’s 5^th Ward was not functioning the best it was still a step up for many former Chicagoans looking to escape the city into the suburbs. As the decades progressed the west side became increasingly higher crime and by the late 70s, this area became regarded as a dangerous and high crime area despite the fact it did not appear that way due to strict Evanston building maintenance codes. Evanston had an old history of youths gathering as a gang whole committing crimes together, but nothing ever stood out in history and for the Evanstonians until the mid-70s. The nearby Chicago neighborhood of Rogers Park became increasingly rougher and more dangerous as the decades approached. The Howard Street corridor became especially notorious for apartment living and some crime by the 1950s, but it was not a dangerous area, just a little troubled and almost exclusively at night. Howard Street did not experience heavier crime until the mid-70s and this is when white, African American and Hispanic street gangs ran rampantly engaging in violence along Howard Street from the Juneway Jungle to Pottawatomie Park. It was during this same period that Evanston began to experience gang activity as gangs like the “Saints” of Evanston became active in the mid-70s. Although the “Saints” name was not given, The Center of Urban Affairs and Policy Research of Northwestern University indicated in their July 22, 1983, write up on Evanston gangs that a “white” gang began gathering at the intersection of Main Street and Hineman Avenue in 1976 and in the “900 block” of Noyes Street. According to the Stonegreasers.com website the “Saints” of Evanston hung out since the mid-70s at the Main Street Metra Station which is a block away from Main and Hineman; therefore, the Center of Urban Affairs was talking about the Saints but they refused to identify gang names in their piece in order not to interfere with police work, which is unfortunate to say the least, but I will attempt to do it for them even though their work was from over 40 years ago. Ghost Shadow, the notorious Asian gang that started in Chinatown also existed in Evanston according to the Chicago Tribune August 17, 1981, issue. These Saints may have branched from the 45^th Street Saints from the Back of the Yards Chicago neighborhood. I have heard this from credible sources and hopefully I can verify this later. The Saints were a mostly Polish gang until the 1960s and some of their white members may have moved in the mid-70s to Evanston and started a Saints group on these streets. I am not sure how long the Saints lasted in Evanston but I believe they left in the 80s.

The Center of Urban Affairs did a good job in their 1983 report tracing the exact origins of Evanston gangs to 1974, even though it likely went back further in time. If the Center had not compiled this data back then the info would have been long lost by now. This first gang activity was documented on the west side of Evanston in the triangle outside of the old Bishop Freeman Company building that used to be located at 1600 Foster Street. Bishop Freeman Company was a manufacturer of laundry products and parts that closed I think in the 90s. According to the Center of Urban Affairs, it was reported that starting in 1974:

“Groups of black youths were hanging out in Bishop Freeman parking lot, drinking, using and selling narcotics, gambling, firing gun shots, and committing other acts that were in violation of city or state laws.”

Of course, the writers refused to name the gang hanging out there, but I can say it was either the “Black Mobsters” or the “Stonyhood Playboys.” It may not have been either of those gangs but this was still early gang activity in Evanston, but it was not nearly as pronounced as later gang activity. The Black Mobsters and Stonyhood Playboys were identified by the UPI in their January 15, 1984, article about Evanston gangs and UPI identified them as rivals to each other. Locals called this gang activity the “Bishop Freeman Syndrome” and residents and city officials looked to put a lid on this criminal activity immediately. From 1974-1978 the community and the city homed in on the gang like activity at Bishop Freeman until the process was defunct in 1978 which allowed the situation to worsen. This old factory was located at Foster Street and Ashland Avenue in the triangle. The Black Mobsters and Stonyhood Playboys did not originate in Chicago or anywhere else, they were created in Evanston, but I was not given any information as to exactly where they were located. I theorize both gangs were from the triangle on the west side.

The Center of Urban Affairs quoted in their 1983 piece:

“The report concentrated on the Bishop Freeman parking lot in the 1600 block of Foster Street and the activities, such as selling drugs and gambling, which took place there. There is a general impression from most of the people that we interviewed that the gang problem, which was in an embryonic stage in 1978, grew into a more serious problem between 1979 and 1981.”

This statement jumps out at me as highly significant and highly coincides with my continuous research on gang migration in Chicago land between 1979-1980. I have determined that 1979 especially, was a pivotal year in the spread of Chicago’s major gangs to the untouched Chicago neighborhoods and suburbs as this coincided between newspapers and street stories of factions of Chicago gangs simultaneously developing in new lands in and around Chicago. I was both delighted and not so shocked that the Center of Urban Affairs pointed to that exact period as the beginning of dangerous gangs in Evanston. I was delighted in a sense that I can further push my case that something went wrong sociologically and systematically in the 1979-1980 period and brought gangs to communities that were not used to these groups and for several years officials scrambled with solutions to resolve this issue. Evanston was not unique compared to other suburbs such as North Chicago, Zion, Waukegan, Joliet, Bolingbrook, Cicero, Berwyn, Des Plaines that experienced a surge of Chicago gangs for the first time in 1979-1980. Officials have identified 1981 as the first year for Chicago gang infiltration; however, the Center of Urban Affairs stated in 1983, “However, after a series of incidents, including a gang-related murder in late 1980, the public was informed about the extent of the gang problem.” This proves that heavier gang banging was there in 1980 but Evanston police either didn’t know it yet or were not disclosing their findings publicly yet. From my experience researching early gang activity in the suburbs and parts of the city, I learned that the gangs don’t start killing or trying to kill during their debut year, it usually takes a year of two for those issues to begin and for the gang to fully bloom. Between 1979 and 1980 I had street confirmation of gang existence in these communities that began reporting in 1981 that it dated as far back as 1979, but the gangs were just feeling out the area and had not become recognizable yet. The point I am making is that street knowledge states that Chicago gangs moved into Evanston and started recruiting in 1979 even though the reports of specifics only date back to 1981. The clues that back up the street knowledge are semi-confirmed by the 1983 piece written by the Center of Urban Affairs by them saying it “grew into a more serious problem between 1979 and 1981.” They identified that gang violence grew to a new level in 1979, and this should confirm the street knowledge that Chicago gangs arrived in 1979 on the west side and far south side.

The January 15, 1984, UPI article stated, “The locally bred Stonyhood Playboys and Black Mobsters were primarily engaged in fighting each other.” The Center for Urban Affairs had this to say about the main five gangs in Evanston:

“In 1983, Rosenbaum and Grant identified three Evanston, IL, gangs as “satellites” of major Chicago gangs, but proceeded to emphasize that they are composed largely of Evanston residents, and in a very real sense, are Evanston gangs. They also found that two indigenous gangs, with no outside connection, contributed disproportionately to levels of violence and were, therefore, ‘almost totally responsible for increasing fear of crime in the community and forcing current reactions to the problem’ (Rosenbaum and Grant, 1983:21). In contrast, the Chicago-connected gangs maintained a lower profile and were more profit oriented in their illegal activities, aspiring to be more like organized crime.”

The two “indigenous” gangs they were talking about were the Black Mobsters and Stonyhood Playboys.

One of the Chicago based gangs to arrive in Evanston in 1979 was the notorious EL Rukns. The co-founder and leader of the Black P Stones, Jeff Fort, created the EL Rukns in 1976 after renouncing the Black P Stones. This was a group of former elite Black P Stones that had taken a holy path embracing Islamic beliefs to uplift the black community; however, the EL Rukns had a darkside and were stone cold killers and gangsters. These could be scary guys to say the least and several court documents detailed killing after killing the EL Rukns did on the south side of Chicago. These guys owned many buildings on the south side of the city and according to United States v. Andrews, 754 F. Supp. 1161 (N.D. Ill. 1990) court case.

“The government further contends that narcotics the defendants sold narcotics from numerous El Rukn-controlled buildings and territories throughout the Illinois cities of Chicago, Evanston, Skokie, and Harvey, and also from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.”

According to the January 15, 1984, UPI article, “The El Rukns, considered Chicago’s most vicious gang, controlled drug traffic in Evanston.” According to page 11 of the Chicago Tribune May 7, 1981, article, in the year 1981, the gangs started selling Ts and Blues which are nicknames for synthetic Heroin, those gangs or gang was the EL Rukns they were referring to but they made it sound like all the gangs were selling it. The article also stated, “Some EL Rukns live in Evanston but none of their generals. There are about 20 members and their affiliates in a lesser sense.” EL Rukns were big in the Ts and Blues business and this was documented in many court documents from the 1980s. The Chicago Tribune article was written in 1981, but the UPI article was written in 1983; therefore, I give more credibility to UPI because that was after more gang intelligence was gathered and law enforcement was able to show that the EL Rukns were the primary and almost exclusively gang connected group to sell drugs in Evanston in the early 80s. According to the Chicago Tribune August 17, 1981, article about Evanston gangs “In addition to the EL Rukns, there are other black gangs in Evanston most are confined to the south end of town.” This indicates that the EL Rukns were the only Chicago gang in the triangle as these older gang members moved into houses in this area. I don’t exactly know how long EL Rukns survived in Evanston, but it would have been no later than 1990. EL Rukns endured two waves of F.B.I busts, one in 1986-87, which was the one that took down Jeff Fort and another in 1989-1990 that finished off the gang.

The January 15, 1984, UPI article about Evanston gangs identified the “Disciples” when it was stated, “the Disciples specializing in burglaries.” The UPI identified the “Disciples” as a gang from Chicago and although the UPI did not say which “Disciple” gang they were referring to they were referring to the Black Gangster Disciples. It is a street legend that Black Gangster Disciples (Gangster Disciples) came to Evanston in 1979.

The “Vice Lords” was the third Chicago gang mentioned in the January 15, 1984, UPI article when it was stated, “Two more Chicago gangs — the Disciples specializing in burglaries, and the Vice Lords in muggings, stickups and purse-snatchings — were flourishing.” No articles specify what Vice Lord faction lived in Evanston by 1984, but it was the Conservative Vice Lords, a group that still exists in Evanston.

Between 1979-1981 the triangle area of the west side had its roughness but did not seem to be a very high crime area yet. EL Rukns are a confirmed Chicago gang to have existed on these streets between 1979 and 1981 and at least one of Evanston’s “indigenous” gangs lived in this area. I am not sure if the Stonyhood Playboys and the Black Mobsters came from the triangle, but it is likely at least one of them did and it could have been likely both gangs were from the Triangle. It appears that EL Rukns were the only Chicago gang in the triangle prior to 1982. It is possible the Black Gangster Disciples were in the triangle as far back as 1979, but I cannot confirm that. At first the Black Gangster Disciples on the west side was a small presence on the west side between 1979-1982.

The far south side of Evanston was the main site of Chicago gang activity especially since the legendary Howard Street served as the Chicago/Evanston border. The far southeast side of Evanston became the site of most of Evanston’s gang activity and gang violence in the early 80s years. Beginning in the mid-1970s multiple gangs organized near the Howard Street border mainly on the Chicago side but much of Chicago’s gang influence crossed the border into the apartment buildings and condo buildings that begin as north as the intersection of Custer Avenue and Monroe Street. One block south at Reba Place and Custer Avenue had several gang gatherings and shootings in Reba Park. From Reba Park area west to Ridge Avenue to the railroad tracks just west of Chicago Avenue and south to Howard Street, the abundant apartment and condo buildings in this area housed members of the Conservative Vice Lords which were an extension of the Vice Lord control of much of Howard Street from Ridge to Clark Street on the Chicago side by 1979. These Conservative Vice Lords moved in alongside lower-income former Chicagoans now moving in a large cluster into these buildings, many from Chicago’s west side. This area of Evanston was once a majority white area, and the apartments were mostly white as well. White flight began along the Howard Street corridor as early as the late 60s but soon accelerated by the mid-70s. As whites moved away Hispanics and African Americans settled south of Howard on the Chicago side, north of Howard, in Evanston, African Americans were replacing white renters in this area. Conservative Vice Lords moved in alongside family or through halfway house programs beginning in 1979. 1979 was a big year for prison releases that coincided with the spread of Chicago gangs into the suburbs. It was confirmed that Evanston’s Chicago gangs were born out of ex-convicts by the Center of Urban Affairs in 1983 when it was stated:

“The predominant theory used to explain this rapid transition focuses on the role of ex-convicts. Chicago police gang experts have indicated to us that the Chicago gangs seemed dormant in the 1970s because most of the gang leaders were serving time in prison. In the late 1970s, a number of these leaders were released and began regrouping their forces. Similarly, the Evanston police have traced the history of certain Evanston gangs to the release of prisoners who reside in Evanston.”

In the year 1980, Evanston gang activity became highly visible and this led to shootings, primarily in the apartments and condos on the far southeast side. The first identified gang homicide happened in late 1980 according to the 1983 Center of Urban Affairs and this is what caused Evanston police to begin releasing gang awareness to the community as early as the end of 1980. In 1981 gang issues stood out further in Evanston which prompted gang awareness, and the release of Chicago Tribune articles in August and October of that year.

The gang issue seemed to grow more heated by 1982 as now 8 gangs were identified by internal reports by the Evanston police department according to the Center of Urban Affairs in 1983. The Center also stated, “The police department compiled a list of approximately 300 suspected gang members in September 1982, and 55 of these were juveniles (under 17 years of age). Alliances have recently formed among the five major gangs two on one side and three on the other.” This is a massive increase of activity between the August 17, 1981, Tribune article that simply mentioned the EL Rukns and “other black gangs mainly on the south end of town.” The 1981 article was brief and made it seem like gangs were a minor menace, this mostly coincides with the 1983 report from the Center of Urban Affair, but 1982 was different, now there were over 300 reported gang members which is a high number for a Chicago suburb. In May of 1983, the Center of Urban Affairs conducted a study using Evanston High School students to be interviewed and asked about their perspective on gangs, some of the details are as follows:

“In May, 1983, we asked a representative sample of 507 ETHS students how many gangs there are at the high school. A majority of students (58.3%) agreed on the figure of eight. The second most common estimate was four gangs, but only 11.6 percent gave this number There are two ulocal” gangs that started in Evanston, and three other gangs that are satellites of major Chicago gangs. We wish to emphasize that the satellite gangs, contrary to what many people believe, are composed largely of Evanston residents, and in a very real sense, are Evanston gangs. All five of these gangs are composed largely of black males, with a considerable age range. The local gangs are somewhat younger, ranging from 13 to 29, with an average age of 17-18. Members of the Chicago-connected gangs are more likely to be in their 20s. In March 1983, the police department estimated that there were approximately 400 gang members in Evanston (Since then, we have also heard the number 300 from the Police Department.) Leaving aside all, the problems of accurate measurement, we have no reason to argue with estimates in the 300 to 400 range We estimate that there are between 175 and 200 core gang members across all five main gangs, and at least this many peripheral members. The number of core members per gang ranges from a low of 15 in one group to a high of 60 in another.”

What I find interesting in their assessment that the “Ulocal” or “indigenous” gangs as they called them, were aged 13-29 years old by 1983; these gangs were the Black Mobsters and Stonyhood Playboys with members as old as 29. To put this in perspective, in order to have 29-year-old members by 1983 it would mean that those two groups out date the Center’s findings that the first gang activity was recorded in 1974 in the Bishop Freeman parking lot. The 29-year-old members of those gangs in 1983 would have still been adults in 1974 and would have been aged 20, which makes them highly unlikely to start a gang at that old of an age then recruit the younger kids found in that parking lot at Bishop Freeman, it doesn’t make sense. What makes more sense is that the Stonyhood Playboys and Black Mobsters go further back in time, but original members were not as menacing to the whole community but instead just toward each other prior to the mid-70s. I personally believe the Stonyhood Playboys and Black Mobsters were formed circa 1970 when the 29-year-old members in 83 were just in high school circa 1970. This goes to show that all this gang research by the Center of Urban Affairs, Evanston officials and Evanston police does not trace the true origin of gangs and does not capture the actual original installment of the gangs, this is why the street legends I heard about Chicago gangs in Evanston forming in 1979 is more plausible than the official reports that point to 1981 for the formation of Chicago gangs. I do believe that Chicago gangs were not heavy in the triangle prior to 1982, and it could be accurate that only EL Rukns were in the triangle. It would make sense because EL Rukns were aged in their 20s and 30s and none of them were teens. These men would be more capable of owning and renting single family houses instead of needing apartments. Groups like Vice Lords and Black Gangster Disciples were more about recruiting among the youth; however, the Center’s 1983 reports clearly stated that most members of Chicago gangs were in their 20s which seems to point more toward recent parolees living in apartments on the far south side near Howard Street and they had not yet recruited several kids by 1983.

I theorize that Chicago gangs mainly made their way into the triangle in 1982 because the Evanston police reported 300 gang members in the village that year and the fact that the May 1983 Center for Urban Affairs interviews with Evanston High School students showed data that the students interviewed viewed most of the triangle as unsafe and a haven for gangs. The study asked the students which parts of town they felt were scary or gang infested, and the most popular intersection was Dodge Avenue and Church Street which is the main intersection right outside the school and located in the triangle. The Center found that youths had a negative perception of the area primarily in the triangle as unsafe.

“Of the 507 survey respondents, 275 listed one or more areas they felt were dangerous with respect to gang activity. Table 5 shows the breakdown by streets, parks, transportation, recreation/social and “other” dangerous areas. By far, the most frequently mentioned street or street area is ‘Church and Dodge’ — a finding that is consistent with the police incident data plotted earlier in Figure 1. Somewhat surprisingly, the Howard EL station was the most frequently mentioned transportation spot, but this location is in Chicago, not Evanston. Mason Park topped the list of dangerous parks, and the Fleetwood-Jourdain Center ranked first among the list of dangerous recreation or social areas in Evanston. City services Inadequate city services in certain areas of the city are frequently identified as con­tributing to youth crime and delinquency. In particular, inadequate police protection to deter criminal activity, inadequate recreational alternatives for youths, and inadequate jobs programs are frequently mentioned. The economy Unemployment contributes to boredom, frustration, and a lack of financial resources, thus giving youths both the time and the excuse for crime as well as involvement with gangs. The schools are one of the most commonly mentioned reasons for gang involvement. The hypotheses are quite diverse, but tend to focus on how the school districts are not adequately meeting the educational needs of minority students. Hence, some students develop academic and behavior prob­lems which make school an unpleasant experience. This situation contributes to the chances of dropping out or ending up without an adequate education. Family Inadequate parenting and a difficult family life are frequently mentioned as contributors to the problem. Single-parent families and young parents are two factors commonly mentioned. According to this thinking, for single-parent families the pressures of work and family life are often too great for the parent to spend quality time with the children, keep an eye on their behavior and provide an adequate environment for their development. The absence of a father image (role model) is also mentioned as part of this problem .for many families. The ‘young parent’ problem is largely the problem of teenage pregnancy, and all that it entails. Personal and Social Needs Persons who work with Evanston youths on a daily basis have been quick to point out the personal and social needs of all youths that must be met in one way or another — namely, the need for money, a sense of social belonging, identity, and status. If youths cannot meet these needs through conventional, socially acceptable means, they will do so through socially unacceptable means, such as crime and gang involvement. Of course, the Local Theories. From meetings, interviews, and surveys, we have accumulated a wide range of local theories and hypotheses about what causes youths to become involved in gangs and take on a delinquent lifestyle. We can summarize these ideas as follows: ­ question remains — why are gang members unable to get their needs met in conventional ways? Institutional and Cultural Factors Some argue that the West side residents have been institutionally disenfranchised through the closing of various health, education, and recreation facilities. According to this theory, these events, dictated by a ‘color blind’ philosophy, have deprived the local residents of adequate services, and have reduced the opportunities for cultural identity and personal self-esteem. police response time is much slower in black neighborhoods than in white neighborhoods. when the police do respond, they often don’t do enough about the problem. The complaint about police not taking enough action when they do arrive raises some very difficult issues. First, citizens often forget that it is not a crime to ‘hang out’ or even claim membership in a gang. Such individual rights are carefully protected by the Constitution, which necessarily limits the authority of the police. Granted, the police have a good amount of discretion and have a number of local ordinances to assist them in controlling behavior. But this brings us to our second point — the police are being asked to strike a delicate balance between ‘not enough enforcement’ and ‘too much enforcement.’ History indicates that complaints of ‘police brutality’ are not far off when police begin to ‘crack down’ on specific problems. Confirming the perception of concerned citizens are the perceptions of gang members themselves. Several gang members have indicated that the police are ‘no problem’ on the west side of town. There is some perception among gang members that the police are slow to respond. Some people speculate that the police, like other citizens, are afraid of getting caught in the cross fire or becoming the target of gang hostility. The Human Relations Commission has played a key role in facilitating input into defining the nature of and designing responses to the gang problem in Evanston.”

I quoted such a large part of this piece because it highlights the early gang activity perfectly. The piece shows a map of reported gang activity in Evanston that shows police calls indicated as dots on the map with most of the dots for gang activity happening in the triangle while the second most dots was on the far south side mainly around Reba Park area. Some dots were further south toward Howard and most of the dots stop at Dempster Street on the west side but some dots were between Dempster and Main Street but south of Main Street had far less dots but still had some. These areas were the main areas that had police documented gang incidents in the first months of 1983 from January to May. I theorize Black Gangster Disciples (Gangster Disciples) got large in the triangle and Conservative Vice Lords moved into the triangle in 1982, and it appears the Stonyhood Playboys and Black Mobsters plugged in with the Folk and People alliances but I don’t know which group cliqued with who but reports stated it was three gangs versus two. The Black Gangster Disciples and one of the indigenous gangs were allies while the other indigenous gang was allied with Vice Lords.

In the Center of Urban Affairs 1983 piece, the “Table 5” they mentioned, refers to a chart showing different areas of town the Evanston High School students deemed unsafe and full of gang activity. Most of these places were located by EL train stops and within the triangle. In the triangle “Church and Dodge” and Emerson Street were named as scary places. Recreation centers were named as scary places too like the YWCA at Church Street and Asbury, the Fleetwood-Jourdain Center at Foster Street and Dewey Avenue in the triangle. The Howard Street EL station was the scariest EL stop indicated by 70 students, the South Boulevard EL was named by 27 students which is near Reba Park area. The EL stops all along the west side west of Chicago Avenue were all named as frightening places, and all were on the outer edge of the triangle on the west side. What I found to be puzzling was that 26 students indicated the Robert Crown Center that is located at Dodge Avenue and Lee Street to Main Street was an unsafe rec area. The gang crime map in the same piece shows a few gang related incidents near the center in early 1983. Another location 4 students indicated as a rough area was James Park which is located on the far southwest side at Dodge Avenue and Oakton Street. South of Dempster Street on the west side has mostly been a white and Hispanic area for a long time. Since the 1950s Hispanics have lived in Evanston but their population was very small prior to 1970. In the 1980 census, 1,715 Hispanics resided in Evanston and that number would increase to 2,379 in the 1990 census then in 2000 that number was 4,539 (fact source:https://socds.huduser.gov/Census/race.odb?newmsacitylist=1600.0%2A1700024582%2A1.0&msavar=1&metro=msa). This shows a slight growth through the decades of Hispanics in Evanston, and it seems most have chosen the city’s southwest side near James Park as an ideal community. It is a fact that Hispanic heritage celebrations have been held in James Park over time that celebrate Hispanic heritage (primarily Mexican heritage). This park has also been synonymous with gang activity since at least the 1980s and 4 students interviewed by the Center of Urban Affairs in 1983 indicated that James Park was not safe as was 26 students claiming the nearby Robert Crown Center as unsafe. The Robert Crown Center and James Park are both in a Hispanic and white area of Evanston, so it made me wonder why these two places were not considered safe in 1983 by ETHS students when the Center of Urban Affairs, the Chicago Tribune, the UPI all only talked of African American, Asian and white gangs. The Center only mentioned one white gang and the Tribune only mentioned one Asian gang, Ghost Shadow that seemed to die out in 1979. The UPI only mentioned African American gangs only and the Tribune in 1981 only spoke of the EL Rukns and “other black gangs.” The Center for Urban Affairs mentioned one white gang that ended up being the Saints per street knowledge but only spoke of African American gangs other than that. I found no resources anywhere that point to any early Hispanic gangs. All I found on the whole internet is Reddit posts talking about decade 2000s and later gang activity of the Latin Kings of James Park and the Spanish Gangster Disciples of Dodge Avenue and Lee Street (Robert Crown Center). I saw one person briefly mention that Imperial Gangsters were in Evanston along “Monroe Street” when the subject was about Dodge and Kirk Street Latin Kings. It is confirmed and verified that Latin Kings have maintained a presence at Dodge Avenue and Kirk Street right outside James Park since at least the 2000s but I have no history on if this Latin King group goes back before the 2000s. Spanish Gangster Disciples have been at Dodge and Lee at least since the 2010s and likely since 2000s but no other history is out there. Since the students at ETHS indicated gangs in these areas back in 1983 it is likely there were Hispanic and/or white gangs in that area responsible for the gang crimes indicated on that 1983 map the Center presented; however, I have no idea what gangs they were. I would think if Latin Kings were there they would have been identified, but all articles and data I found from the 70s up to 1984 mentions no Hispanic gangs at all. I came across an elaborate drawing done by a Dodge and Kirk Latin King online and in the drawing, it says “Dodge” which means it is the Dodge and Kirk Latin Kings that drew it. Legend says that Imperial Gangsters settled at Dodge and Monroe Street, and they would have resided in the apartment buildings that can be found right at the intersection. It is possible these were former convicts released into these apartments, but I am not sure. The Imperial Gangsters were opening up several territories in Chicagoland mainly in the western suburbs between 1979 and the early 80s so it is possible Evanston was one of their settlements but I seriously do not know if they go this far back in time, but they were gone by the 2000s decade. It seems as if the territory and influence of the Imperial Gangsters went to the Spanish Gangster Disciples from Dodge and Lee because of how close their hoods were to each other. Dodge and Lee is a corner with several apartment buildings, and it is possible SGDs moved into these apartments, the SGDs are still an active gang in Evanston. The Latin Kings of Dodge and Kirk likely moved into the apartments located at that corner right across from James Park. This whole southwest side area had Hispanic neutron gangs and crews by the 2000s but those groups were eliminated, and SGDs and Latin Kings were all that remained. It still puzzles me and fascinates me about the ETHS students claims of Robert Crown and James Park being unsafe and full of gangs and that 1983 map from the Center showing gang crimes in that area but for now I cannot confirm if Imperial Gangsters and Latin Kings were part of this or not. I can imagine Hispanic youths in the 80s faced many racial challenges from black and white gangs which would lead to the need for groups like Latin Kings and Imperial Gangsters to move into the area but I cannot confirm when Hispanic youths made the choice to join these groups but I theorize it goes back to at least the early 90s and possibly as far back as the early 80s, hopefully I will gain more knowledge of the past in this area as time unfolds, for now this is all the info I have.

The early 80s were tough times in Evanston but mainly because Evanston was transparent about their gang activity but after 1984, they hid it from the public to protect their image. According to the Chicago Tribune October 23, 1983, report there were 400 hardcore members on the Evanston police files by 1983 along with 72 gang related shootings just within the first half of 1983 alone.  During the early 1980s years of 1980-1983 there were 4 gang related killings on the west side of the city (Fact source Chicago tribune Page 3, October 23, 1983). In 1983, an organization was established by a group of African American dads called COEPOPS. These guys would get in a car together and cruise around high crime areas and get out and scold or help youths tied in with gangs committing crimes or hanging out in groups. COEPOPS wanted to not only act as guardian angels for the community they also coached and helped kids that lacked male role models. COEPOPS was later joined by COEMOMS who were the grassroots female group working with youths and this eventually led to COETEENS. All these groups still exist presently and are a positive influence for Evanston’s youths, but the early days of COEPOPS driving around looking for troublemakers is something that one cannot forget and should admire. It was doubted back in 1983 to 1984 that COEPOPS would stand the test of time because of the gasoline costs involved in driving the streets of Evanston at night but here we are in present years and COEPOPS, COEMOMS and COETEENS is still going strong.

For the rest of the 1980s, Evanston’s gang activity was kept from the spotlight for the most part after 1984 leaving little to know what came of Evanston’s gangs, but I can say some groups went extinct while others grew incredibly. The early 80s documents did not get too much into the exploits of the Gangster Disciples, but they eventually became heavy hitters and big time drug dealers. Evanston’s GDs were so influential and powerful that they helped create the Hoffman Estates GDs and commanded them back in the 80s. Hoffman Estates GDs (Black Gangster Disciples) were established in 1985, indicating that the GDs were big enough by then in Evanston. The EL Rukns vanished from the streets entirely by 1990 and may have stayed in Evanston that long. Conservative Vice Lords remain an influence on the west side but their influence on the far southeast side seems to have scaled back heavily over time. I don’t know when the Traveling Vice Lords came to Evanston but now, they are one of the west side gangs.

By the 2000s decade the Black P Stones had taken most of Howard Street in Chicago from Clark Street to Ridge creating an area known as “Stoneville.” The Four Corner Hustlers arrived around the same time and became more of a presence on the Evanston side of Howard Street in the apartments at Custer and Howard Street. The Black P Stones had also spread to Evanston by the early 2000s and became very active on the west side and south side in the apartments. The “Tae Town” Four Corner Hustlers became quite a large group in Evanston. The Black P Stones of Evanston also grew into dominant numbers. Evanston’s Gangster Disciples remain very large up to present years.

I have presented all the information I have on Evanston gangs, and I hope to get more detailed info as time passes. I especially am seeking exact years each gang formed and what blocks each gang controls. Evanston is now broken up by many different money-making cliques that are hard to decipher, one of them is a combo of Four Corner Hustlers and GDs that shoot at other Four Corner Hustlers and GDs. The money-making cliques are difficult to understand, and this trend seemed to begin in the late 2000s and definitely by the early 2010s. As I have looked at gang shooting maps and crime maps online most all of it is concentrated in the Howard Street/Reba Park area and in the triangle on the west side. These are very small areas of Evanston; therefore, the reputation that Evanston is dangerous, and gang infested is a farce and should only be taken seriously when considering these very small parts of town. The area where Latin Kings and SGDs are on the southwest side is hardly dangerous and crime ridden and only small caution is needed for gang awareness. Along Howard Street much has been gentrified and the price of everything has been going up since the early 2000s when renovations first began. Even the apartments that once housed most of Evanston’s gang activity have succumb to much gentrification and this area is not highly dangerous but is still an area with gangs and shootings at times and Four Corner Hustlers and Black P Stones are still strong but not visible like previous years. Raising children in this area poses some risk because of gangs but this is a small area. The triangle continues to be higher crime with active gangs but most of it is single family houses which are generally safer neighborhoods, and many homeowners live here and watch the community closely; therefore, it isn’t horrible living. Evanston is a beautiful city and full of great places to visit. The reputation for gangs and crime needs to not be attached to the city as whole but only to designated areas and even in those areas it needs to be understood there are many good people there that far outnumber gangs. On the other hand, we also cannot hide from the fact that Evanston has had some serious gangs and serious gangsters since the 70s and there still is substantial risk in these small areas but not enough to justify redlining and drops in home values or sarcastic ridicule.