| Settled by | Provide info |
|---|---|
| Year infiltrated | 1988 |
| Crime impact | Part |
| Worst areas | McKool Avenue. Oaks condos |
Before I proceed on the story of Streamwood gang life, I want to clarify some issues first. Streamwood has had a bad reputation over the years that the village can’t seem to shake off. I have seen it myself on chat forums etc…about crime and gangs being a problem. I also have seen people of Streamwood act like there is no problem and that everyone is crazy…well that’s not so accurate either but neither is the claims that Streamwood is so horrible…at least not anymore. If someone was to ask me if Streamwood is a good community to live in I would say, yes, it is but watch a certain part of town; however, only be slightly cautious in that part of town because most of the crime and gangbanging is something of the past…and I mean deep in the past. Now let’s get to know Streamwood and clarify the issues this community once had.
I couldn’t find much about the earliest history of the Streamwood area other than it was a dairy farming area as far back as the 1830s. The area remained highly rural for over 120 years as only farms made up the populace of the area. I don’t know exactly when, but the area was named “Hoosier Grove” at some point. As of the 1950 census, Hoosierville only had a population around 800 people and it was still just scattered farms with no subdivisions and unincorporated (Fact source: https://www.streamwood.org).
Finally, in 1956, L.H. Builders preassembled 21 houses on concrete slabs. Maxon Construction Company assembled the houses and placed them in a subdivision near Schaumburg Road and Bartlett Road, these are the village’s oldest houses for the most part. The Maxon company decided to make this an officially incorporated village by 1957 as the employees moved into that subdivision and one street is even named after the company, Maxon Lane. Young families became attracted to the area partially because of the option to rent to buy the houses and because they came from the same Chicago neighborhood as the Maxon builders. These couples were skilled tradesmen and salesmen. It took no time for new residents to become upset with Maxon due to insufficient well systems and muddy driveways which gave way to the village nickname as “Mudville.” (Fact source: https://www.streamwood.org). Maxon targeted returning World War II and Korean War veterans to take up residence but seemed to not accommodate the village, especially when Woodland Heights School was opened in 1958 that quickly became overcrowded and children needed to attend school in shifts. Unpaved streets, few municipal services led to homeowners’ associations that protested in the village until they were arrested. Maxon raised the water bills and sewage despite the inadequate systems. Residents were also upset with garbage services and opted to take their garbage outside of the area to pay lower rates. This all didn’t sit well because these residents came here looking for affordable houses and ended up paying a dear price. This led to a four-year fight for the residents to take over control from Maxon. The “Marching Mothers” was a group that protested outside the school and the Maxon’s building trailers about the inadequate schools and Maxon had them arrested for disorderly conduct. Finally, in 1962, the community flushed Maxon out and Nick Kosan became the first village president (Fact source: https://www.streamwood.org). This was the beginning a new era and the town soon began heavy construction until it became the full-sized town it is today after a rough start in history.
In the year 1969, the Robbinswood condominium complex began construction right off Lake Street just a few steps from the border with the suburb of Bartlett. This construction continued through 1970 as many condos were built in both two mid-rise buildings and several row house style condos. These were designed to be simple and for families on a budget. These were also placed near business parks possibly for residents to walk to their nearby jobs at the businesses in the business park. This is an ideal setup for low-income families…this is if the warehouses next door is hiring or pay enough or if they stay in business and do not lay off.
In the year 1971, Streamwood added to their condominium buildups when the Woodland Heights East condominium complex which is mostly located along McKool Avenue at the village’s border with Hanover Park. These were built between 1971 and 1972 and were designed for lower income families on tighter budgets. These condos were built within the main community area and were not isolated like Robbinswood; therefore, the expectation was for these residents to blend in well with the community and not stand out as an impoverished populace.
Streamwood was built to be simple from the beginning and housed many working-class families for generations, unfortunately, lower income or budget friendly communities tend to breed poverty and crime. When a community has a lower tax base amenities like more plentiful police presence and recreation tend to lack and this happened in Streamwood and this led to a temporary crisis in the village that ended up becoming legendary, hence, the reputation. I want you, as the reader, to understand that just because parts of a community are low income does not mean crime breeds automatically; however, such communities need more effort and more watch to prevent crime from consuming these areas. Streamwood is no different from the many other Chicago area suburbs that fell into high crime and gangs in decades past. In the city of Chicago, a massive buildup of intense poverty and a well-pronounced gang culture developed that became an unstoppable machine. The only way to stop this machine is to pronounce heavy community involvement. This is something that works and it worked here in Streamwood. Gangs, in general, are not completely evil; however, many bad apples gravitate to the gangs and commit the terrible crimes that make the newspaper but the organizations themselves were not built upon community destruction. Gang members often move to the suburbs to start a new life but find the new suburb they moved to rejects them and their children right away and this leads to a call for the gang to organize in the community because Chicago gangs fill voids even when they are not asked to fill any voids. Gangs cannot be stopped but they can be assimilated to the point where they are highly unnoticed and that is now the case in not only Streamwood but all suburbs in Chicagoland because suburbs got tough on crime while helping certain areas of town where poverty breeds and that make happier and safer communities. Gangs remain in villages like Streamwood but mainly just quietly deal drugs and lay low, this is the best outcome to an unstoppable issue.
By the year 1985, Streamwood was surrounded by a Chicago gang presence that had moved into the neighboring towns of Elgin, Hanover Park and Hoffman Estates. A hardcore gang element was breeding in these neighboring communities, and it was just a matter of time before it would infiltrate Streamwood as Streamwood youths were battling and being influenced by gangs from these neighboring towns in schools and through cliques of friends. Streamwood was sandwiched between this gang activity but did not have the impoverished elements as more hardened suburbs like Elgin. Elgin had Chicago gangs since at least 1979, and it is possible Hanover Park and Hoffman Estates Chicago gangs go that far back but it wasn’t until 1985 when it became large.
Streamwood Chicago gang activity arrived alongside Hispanic and African American migration to the village in the 1980s. Streamwood did not report a Hispanic population in 1980 but did report over 2,295 Hispanic residents and 540 African Americans in 1990. Many white residents achieved upward mobility or simply grew tired of their condos in Robbinswood and Woodland Heights by the later 1980s and left the village or relocated into single family homes in the area. This tends to happen when buildings age, they become outdated and less desirable to higher income families. When this happens landlords need to drop prices to fill the vacancies are accept section 8 vouchers, and this is likely what happened in Robbinswood and Woodland Heights. They were older complexes with simple amenities which was not appealing to thousands of higher income families but to a family from Chicago living in a bad neighborhood it was perfect. There were also section 8 vouchers now being honored in these complexes in the late 1980s. Before you pass judgement and blame section 8, please understand most section 8 families are not ghetto and/or criminals, many are hardworking and law abiding, the hardworking ones just aren’t loud and noticeable because they work too hard and they hate crime in their communities too. The true flaw with section 8- and lower-income landlords is loopholes in tenant screening process or someone knows someone that works in government section 8 programs and can let felons and gang members slip into villages. If you don’t think those government agencies didn’t have some corrupt and irresponsible staff…think again, because it’s facts, just not newspaper facts, just ask around. It isn’t all due to lack of screening of tenants because many gang members and criminals will move in with a legitimate candidate for section 8 that has no criminal record, this was heavily documented with public housing projects in Chicago, and it happened in the suburbs.
Within African American and Hispanic communities in Chicago gangs were prevalent but when most of these families moved to suburbs like Streamwood, they did not expect gangs or crime to follow and many were upset when they did, therefore, the gang element is not a racial issue it is city of Chicago issue that drifted into the suburbs and that city issue was a racial issue that caused those gangs to form in the first place in the 1950s and 1960s.
The year was 1988 and in the nearby suburb of Palatine the Latin Kings were growing strong very quickly and now were spreading into multiple suburbs including Streamwood. These were cousins and friends of Palatine or “P-Town” Latin Kings that lived in Streamwood. These family members and friends of P-Town Latin Kings were moving into Robbinswood condos and were colonizing the Bartlett Lakes subdivision within walking distance. I will not be covering Bartlett Lakes because it is technically in the village of Bartlett, and I don’t plan on making a Bartlett page because there was not enough gangbanging in that town that I know of and/or not enough variety of gangs to report on. Bartlett Lakes Latin Kings teamed up with Robbinswood Latin Kings to handle business in Streamwood. P-Town Latin King influence was so pronounced in Robbinswood it made for one very large gang element to develop and these Latin Kings clashed with Hanover Park gangs heavily and this is when Robbinswood started to have higher crime and heavier gangbanging. The earliest mention of Streamwood gangs that I found was published in the Arlington Heights Daily Herald on August 1, 1990. The “Mothers Against Gangs” group was very concerned about this gang activity. Streamwood resident Debbie Kidd reported that she wouldn’t allow her children to play in a nearby park after dark as of “last year,” which officially confirms gang activity in the village was around in 1989. She said, “torn-up playground equipment, drug paraphernalia and gang symbols-remain even in the daylight.” Too bad the article did not state which park that was in. Later in the article Rose Bender says she saw gang fights at the intersection of Lake Street and Oak (Fact source: Arlington Heights Daily Herald August 1, 1990). Taking from street knowledge, what Rose bender saw was Latin Kings fighting with rival gangs that likely came over there to start a fight. Street legends along with this article tie together to prove Latin Kings were in Robbinswood (The Oaks) during this period. The Latin Kings would rise to become the village’s largest gang and most permanent gang as Latin Kings are still in the Oaks (formerly Robbinswood).
In the same 1988-year, Woodland Heights condos along McKool Avenue experienced Chicago gang infiltration from a very hard-core element. One condo became a hot spot at 1517 McKool Avenue. According to real estate records I found online the condo was purchased in 1988 then not sold until 2016. This says to me the condo was bought by legit family that allowed gang members to move in and the family stayed after the gang members were gone until 2016. The gang was the Conservative Vice Lords. Street legends confirm that Vice Lords and Black P Stones once walked McKool Avenue, and this house was the hub of the Vice Lords and the possible leader among them was Olion Mannie that is likely retired by now and removed from the life but back then he was active and was 26 years old. I am not positive if he was running things for the Vice Lords or if he was a major player, but he was in a gang and was mentioned and pictured in the Arlington Heights Daily Herald August 5, 1996, issue where it shows him being led in handcuffs by police during a “gang sweep.” I believe he was a big player for the CVLs in Streamwood because public records show he had resided in an area of Hanover Park that was just blocks from CVL territory and he lived in Glendale Heights which within a CVL territory. Mannie also resided on 46th Street in Kenwood, another CVL area. Four men were arrested that day at 1517 McKool Ave including Mannie and Darl Smith who was from Duxbury Lane which is in Robbinswood. The Gangster Disciples also moved into Streamwood in the Woodland Heights subdivision likely in the same 1988 year. Street knowledge confirms Black P Stones and Vice Lords were here in the 80s but not that Gangster Disciples go that far back; however, I can say the GDs were probably here during the 1988 debut year especially since they were deep in Hanover Park, Elgin and Hoffman Estates well before 1988. Although there was an African American gang presence in Robbinswood and McKool Avenue it was not as strong as the Latin Kings or any Hispanic gang presence. McKool was dominated by Black P Stones and CVLs according to street legends at this time which leads me to believe African Americans may have had a stronger presence in this area in the late 80s until the mid-90s than Hispanics.
Robbinswood for sure did not just have Latin Kings in the late 80s and earlier 1990s but even since it became the Oaks it is pretty much just Latin Kings. The Latin Kings were always the biggest gang in Robbinswood but there were likely multiple African American groups like CVLs, Black P Stones and Gangster Disciples in that complex too. Latin Kings fought with whoever else was here and the results were devastating with multiple shooting and drive-bys.
The Maniac Latin Disciples were one gang that represented Hispanic youths moving onto McKool Avenue as they gathered at the storied intersection of McKool and Miller. McKool and Miller Avenue was a gang hotspot with too many gangs in one area resulting in many gang fights. I am not sure where the Maniac Latin Disciples branched from, but they seemed to fight all the other gangs in the area accept maybe Gangster Disciples. Maniac Latin Disciples were also gathering in Kollar Park at the intersection of Irving Park Road and Vine Street and maybe Vine Park. These MLDs likely resided in the single-family houses.
One of the most pronounced old presences was that of the Future Stones. The Future Stones were a ruthless gang from the hardened streets of Albany Park and as of now, I only know of them having suburban presences in Des Plaines and Streamwood in the past and were gone by 1995. I don’t know the complete story but from my understanding either “Bay” and his brothers brought the Future Stones to Streamwood, or it was the “Red” brothers. The Red brothers moved from the city, but I am not sure about “Bay,” then again Bay and his brothers and the Red brothers might be the same people for all I know. All I can say is the Future Stones were brought here from Albany Park by one main member and his brothers. Streamwood Lanes bowling alley (Streamwood Bowl) was a hangout for Future Stones between 1988 and 1990. Streamwood Bowl is located very close to McKool Avenue making it easy for teens to walk there. The Future Stones of Streamwood were a force to reckon with for rival gangs and the police and they were big time cocaine dealers. I have heard that Future Stones claimed McKool and Miller and I heard they claimed McKool and Lacy but in either case they had a strong presence on McKool. When the Future Stones first arrived, they were tight with Latin Kings, Vice Lords and Black P Stones as they mainly fought against Hanover Park and Elgin gangs, Maniac Latin Disciples and other Folks. Some original Future Stones were Johnny Moe, Wally J, Project Pat and Luna and of course “Red” or “Bay” and brothers. From the beginning, Future Stones had a lot of issues with Streamwood police and may have had the most issues with the cops especially since they were such big cocaine dealers and used heavy violence on rivals. Future Stones brought a lot of heat to McKool Avenue back in these days.
The Satan Disciples may have moved into Streamwood at the same time as the other groups, but I don’t know where they were located or very much about them. Street legends were blunt and just said they were here and that’s it. It is possible they may not have arrived until later in the 1990s though. I have also heard of Two Six in Streamwood but I also heard of them in Hanover Park but there is no evidence or stories behind it besides a quick mention. I think that legend is mixed up with he well-known Two Sixs of Schaumburg, those guys were big time and practically ran Schaumburg at one time…but Hanover Park and Streamwood I can’t confirm, and I have doubts.
Another group to come to Streamwood was La Raza but I do not know where they were in town. They called their hood “Spook Town” and were here at least by 2000. I remember net banging forums in the early 2000s where these guys were battling Familia Stones so I know they were here, but I am not sure if their presence goes back to the late 80s or not.
In the early 1990s, Streamwood was amid a major gang crisis as McKool and Robbinswood were completely crazy with shootings galore and fights constantly. In 1992 Streamwood authorities and village authorities felt they needed to step up their enforcement which prompted community gang education for adults to identify gangs. In a July 4, 1992, article of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald a workshop was created called “Managing Gang Presence.” One quote from this newspaper made by Streamwood police officer Craig Essick sticks out heavily with me, “I’ve always said a bored teen-ager is a dangerous teen-ager.” This couldn’t be truer because much of the foundation of the Vice Lord nation, for example, in Chicago in the late 1950s is contributed by teen boredom. Although Vice Lords in Streamwood and other gangs compared to Vice Lords from North Lawndale in Chicago is a different animal but there is similarity. In North Lawndale recreation severely lacked and with poverty blended in it was a recipe for disaster leading young Vice Lords to terrorize the west side in the late 50s and early 60s until they burnt themselves out, were killed or ended up in prison. The burnt-out ones realized the hell they caused and worked to rebuild the neighborhood and keep teens busy with positive activity. This is what Essick pointed out, although Streamwood does not have the same big city problems, Streamwood still had scores of bored teens. The town was simple and lacked many amenities; this combined with discrimination toward Hispanic and African American youths and discrimination toward many white kids that didn’t fit in with other kids (loners) was fertile breeding ground for Chicago gangs. In this same article Streamwood police officer James Gremo held up a baseball bat police had confiscated from a gang member that made trustees gasp because of the 74 tally marks carved into the side of the bat. Gremo said the etchings meant how many times that bat was used to beat someone up in a gang fight. Put that in perspective, getting into 74 gang fights in the suburbs! I grew up in the suburbs and I couldn’t imagine getting into 74 gang fights, this shows how hardcore the gang element was in Streamwood. I wish the image of the bat in the article was in color, that would be a site to see. When trustees asked officer David Trupp what type of gang activity has been noticed he listed off property damage, auto burglaries and “minor drug dealing.” I am not sure if he downplayed the drug dealing to ease panic or Streamwood police really had no idea of the magnitude of the drug dealing but they would sure find out a few years later if they didn’t know at the time. Trupp and other officers helped create the “Tri-Village Tactical Unit” that was a cooperative between Hanover Park police, Streamwood police and Bartlett police which was two officers from each town. This unit put pressure on the gangs and began filming gang activity to show judges. Trupp also admitted Streamwood police had no idea how to handle gangs two years prior (1990) which can explain how gangs built themselves up strong in this town (Fact source: Arlington Heights Daily Herald July 4, 1992).
In 1992, the gang issues were escalating and were becoming increasingly explosive in the early 1990s. Streamwood started an annual Chamber of Commerce Spring Carnival in April of each year starting in 1990. Since it started gang fights became a major problem, but police did not know how to handle it during the first two events. In the April 28, 1992, Arlington Heights Daily Herald, Schaumburg police, Streamwood police and Hanover Park police along with the Gang Crimes Unit of the Cook County Sheriff’s Department began heavy patrols of the carnival looking for gang activity and stopping gang fights during the 1992 event. The estimate was that there were four gangs active at the carnival among an estimated 200 gang members from the tri-village area. The police made several arrests, 14 at the time of the article. Despite all the arrests the police had to shut the carnival down two hours early on a Friday night as they arrested gang members for disorderly conduct, battery and mob action as they confiscated weapons including a handgun. It seemed like gangs were involved in a massive fight and nearly tearing the whole place down from what I gather, c’mon, you don’t close a whole money-making carnival unless there are major riot-style fights (Fact source: Arlington Heights Daily Herald April 28, 1992).
The gang issue either worsened by the mid-1990s or was even keel as Streamwood police realized they were dealing with something very powerful in their town. The Latin Kings were big time in Robbinswood (I will now begin referring to this as the Oaks because name change may have happened by then). Future Stones converted into the “Familia Stones” in 1995 after the Puerto Rican Stones, Future Stones and Familia Stones decided to become “Familia” to each other and shed the “Puerto Rican” part of their name. Familia Stones got rid of their founder in 1995 which brought better relations with Future Stones and many Future Stones assimilated into the Familia Stones in 1995. All the Streamwood Future Stones became Familia Stones in 1995. This changeup may have been handed down from Montrose and Francisco in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood. The Future Stones were already ruthless and hard to deal with for police enough but once the Familia Stone change happened this force became even more pronounced. Future Stones were at war with Latin Kings by 1995 and that war was handed down to the Familia Stones to carry out in Streamwood and it became a vicious war indeed. Most of the conflict was between Familia Stones and Hanover Park Latin Kings and it was to the point were Familia Stones focused mostly on Latin Kings above their other enemies.
The Familia Stone and Latin King war was the most violent gang war the village had seen by the mid-90s, and this prompted Streamwood police to take it to another level in 1996 following a violent summer. Let’s pause for a moment before some of you might think I am off my rocker for “embellishing” the gang violence in the village. I am mainly going on street knowledge about what I heard about Streamwood from older guys who were teens in the 90s and lived it. They recalled many shootings, some deaths and several fights. What needs to be understood is when it comes to the suburbs, police and citizens have liked to cover most of it up in the past. So many gang crimes went unreported either because citizens were too scared to call police or police would happen upon dead bodies or injured gang members and simply clean up the scene. I don’t know how many times I have heard about certain persons that were killed in the city and suburbs and I can’t find a single article about it anywhere. The stabbing death of the Maniac Latin Disciple leader in 1972 never made the paper when he was killed in Chicago so murders can vanish. I’m not saying the police ignored the crimes; all I am saying is they kept it out of the press and kept the violence away from citizens to protect to village’s reputation. When an injured or deceased gang member is found, especially an adult member or a member from another community that will not be publicly missed it can be easier to clean up the scene while pursuing arrest quietly without village involvement and without reporting the stats to federal government. I am not accusing Streamwood police of such a thing but instead I am explaining that this happens in almost all suburbs and in the city or at least did in the past. The claims of news articles and Streamwood police that the activity was minor is embellished on their part, but it is warranted to prevent people from fleeing the town and it is becoming another suburban ghetto after the tax paying base is drained. From what I heard about those that banged on these streets it was crazy with many shootings. Even gang members from the city sometimes were left speechless from the violent nature of Streamwood gangs, especially McKool Avenue was legendary. Whenever innocent people are killed by gangs or if some young gang member has an upset parent that is talking to everyone about it, those murders end up in the news and reported publicly but not some hard-core gangbanger from a family that doesn’t talk to police, those murders are easier to conceal. By the summer of 1996, it became make or break for gangs and the police and the police ended up winning. Landlords and neighbors fought back during and after that fateful summer. Streamwood could have gone in one of two directions that summer and after three drive by shootings in a row that summer with one that injured a teenager, police began taking harsh action. As I began to mention in the August 5, 1996, Arlington Heights Daily Herald article police did a “drug, gang sweep” that irradicated many of the big players including Olion Mannie and Darl Smith. That sweep single-handedly pushed the Vice Lords and Black P Stones completely out of Streamwood permanently. These sweeps also forced the rest of the gangs to dull down their gang activity. In October of 1996, Hanover Park and Streamwood split a nearly $20,000 bill to build a fence between McKool and the legendary Astor Avenue apartments in Hanover Park to stop criminals and gang members from committing crimes in one town then walking a few steps out of the jurisdiction into the other town while basically saying “na na na na boo boo you can’t catch me, I’m not in your jurisdiction anymore!” The fence efforts were described in the Arlington Heights Daily Herald October 18, 1996, issue where they were installing 6-foot-high fences to separate the towns and slow down fleeing gang members. By the end of 1996 the gangbanging landscape of Streamwood began to change.
Between 2000 and 2005 Streamwood experienced their final days of active gangbanging. Although not nearly as crazy as the 1990s the earlier 2000s were quite wild as more shootings and violence was carried out and especially drug trafficking and the arrival of some new gangs. Streamwood police continued their suppression of the gangs as the troubled southeast side continued to calm down more and more. By the late 2000s gang activity slowed even more until it mostly stopped by 2010. The community’s wildest gang the Familia Stones mostly left the area by 2010 and only Latin Kings mainly remained active in the Oaks. Gangster Disciples, Satan Disciples and Maniac Latin Disciples left the area as the Los Angeles based gang the Surenos moved into the McKool Avenue area. Surenos arrived by 2000 at latest and maybe even later 90s. Spanish Gangster Disciples was another group that arrived much later but both gangs have been low-key since their arrival because Streamwood police are now tough on gangs.
Before you may say that you are from Streamwood and never heard any gunshots ever or heard of gang activity, that is very possible. The side of town effected by all this violence was all east of Bartlett Road and south or Irving Park Road; therefore, residents west and north of this area of town may have never heard a single gun shot or seen a single gang member ever during this period. As I stated before, the gang activity and crime was an issue in a certain area of town only,
The current gang situation in Streamwood is described by the streets as “dead” or “nobody’s out anymore.” This translates to the former troubled southeast side as quiet and safe now. There are still gangs like Latin Kings, Surenos and Spanish Gangster Disciples and maybe Maniac Latin Disciples but it is hard to find gang activity or gang members. You can drive around all day and night along McKool Avenue or in the Oaks and you likely will find nothing going on. It is as the streets say, “dead” and there is truly nobody out. There are still shootings at times, but they are scarce. Older gang members sell drugs privately at worst and young gang members are often misguided kids that don’t roam around like they did in the 90s decked out in colors with gang symbols drawn under the brims of their hats. This is a new era all over Chicagoland where gangbanging is mostly dead and Streamwood is another “dead” hood, not much to worry about here so if you find cheaper property to rent or buy, do it!