| Settled by | Provide info |
|---|---|
| Year infiltrated | 1982 |
| Crime impact | Part |
| Worst areas | Far east side south of Palatine Road, North of Willow Road and East of Wolf Road |
Ah yes, the village of Prospect Heights that is often mistaken for Mount Prospect because Mount Prospect is a much larger and more recognized community. This small village houses around 15,000 residents and is a mostly middle-class community with low crime, gang free and very quiet. It took me years to find out there was any significant gang activity in Prospect Heights but once I did my homework on it, I was surprised at a lot of what I found and how far back in time the gang activity goes. I will come out and say right away that any of the town west of Wolf Road and south of Willow Road is almost completely devoid of gang activity. The gang and crime element are almost exclusively in the far eastern area of the village bordering a wooded nature area that separates Prospect Heights from the suburb of Northbrook. Now let’s delve into some history of this village and clear up details where gangs and crime are so overblown and downplayed rumors can be straightened out. I will say there isn’t much overblown besides stating the whole town is bad…that is all that is overblown.
Prospect Heights was barren land for a long time in history. Settlement of this area is not rich with history. There weren’t even any scattered farms on this land besides the homestead of Hiram L. Kennicott who acquired 1000 acres of land around Elmhurst Road and Willow Road. On this land Kennicott had 200 cows that supplied milk and butter to Chicago. Kennicott’s homestead was named “The Folly.” It took until 1935 for anyone else to build a house and call this barren area home. Developers Carlton Smith and Allen Dawson started a subdivision along Elmhurst Road around Elmhurst Road to Camp McDonald Road up to Palatine Road which was where Kennicott had his home. A building was built at Camp McDonald and Elmhurst that had multiple functions as an office for selling homes in the subdivision, a general store, post office and a meeting place. The early homes were low-cost housing during the Great Depression era. The first residents moved in, in January of 1936. A strip mall was built in 1937 at Camp McDonald and Elmhurst which would advertise as the Midwest’s first drive-in shopping center. This intersection became the hub of the town and shopping was built at this four-corner intersection which it still there today. This new community had no government, so the village put together the Prospect Heights Improvement Association in 1938 which was not even legal, but the little village had no other option and was far from incorporation as a Cook County suburb (Fact Sources: www.Encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org, Https://www.prospect-heights.il.us).
During the 1940s and 1950s more houses were built as this area remained a mostly rural area with just houses. I couldn’t find any U.S. census results until 1970 when there were over 13,000 residents. Most of the town’s construction took place in the 1960s as the area became very attractive to new home buyers despite that Prospect Heights had no legal government and was unincorporated. It took until the year 1976 for the town to officially incorporate as the burden of a growing community was too much for the Prospect Heights Improvement Association to handle (Fact Sources: www.Encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org, Https://www.prospect-heights.il.us).
In the year 1969, more affordable housing arrived in Prospect Height’s far east side near U.S. 45/Des Plaines River Road. This was the Willow Woods Condominiums that were built at the intersection of U.S. 45 and East Old Willow Road.
In the year 1970, another condo subdivision came to the village just north of Willow Woods condos. These are in the area just west of the intersection of Milwaukee Avenue and Apple Drive. These are the River Trails Condominiums. These affordable condos were named after nature and that was their appeal. This was the second lower income complex the village would experience.
Beginning in 1972 and continuing through 1973, the Country Pines Estates Apartments were built from Palatine Road on the north to Apple Drive on the south, from Burning Bush Lane on the west to Plaza Drive on the east. These are affordable apartments for lower income residents.
In the year 1972, the Old Willow Falls Condominiums began construction which would continue through 1976. These are just west of Willow Woods condos and are located around Old Willow Road and Burning Bush Lane.
I am not totally positive about any crime or any craziness in these complexes in the 1970s or even if any of them took in section 8 back then, but I sure haven’t heard anything. I highly doubt anything happened in these complexes in the 70s, especially in the condos because those were brand new as was the apartments. Early residents of the condos and apartments were likely buyers and renters not on government assistance. I could be wrong because the foundation of Prospect Heights in the 1930s was built upon federal housing assistance; however, I am certain if there was gang history that far back, I sure would have heard at least a little something about it from the 70s. It is likely these complexes were settled by younger residents and younger couples looking for an affordable starter condo or apartment.
The beginning of section 8 likely began with the construction of the Wimbledon Lakes Estates that began construction in 1979 until 1980. This complex was just west of Burning Bush Lane and was supposed to be built much further down the road, but the building company North Barrington Development Company ceased construction. Construction stopped amid legal scandals with the company. The Village of Prospect Heights began legal pursuit of this company, but they had to get in line. According to North Barrington Development Inc V. Fanslow, the city of Skokie was also suing this company for fraud. Barrington didn’t even pay the settlement suit, and it was back in court in 1980. In a July 14, 1981, Arlington Heights Daily Herald article, the paper reported a major flood in Wimbledon’s complex in the parking lot. The article mentioned that the village was taking the builder to court because the complex was “half built.” Power outages aggravated the flooding by knocking out retention pond pumps according to the article. The article described the woes of who was responsible for the maintenance since the builder was not in sight. The article also described flooding affected residents on the west side, but the storm waters receded which shows that with the right equipment the issue can solve itself. This was the beginning of the dark side of Wimbledon Lakes.
In the year 1982, Chicago gangs were confirmed to have touched down in the nearby suburbs of Wheeling, Mount Prospect and Rolling Meadows from what I have pieced together alongside street stories and Arlington Heights Daily Herald articles and the Chicago Tribune. I don’t have any proof that the gangs arrived in Prospect Heights in 1982, but I am almost certain they did. I do have proof that the gangs were there by 1985 that can be found on my Ashland Vikings page of a 1985 photo of Vikings gathered on Piper Lane right outside the apartments. I have heard multiple stories that gangs were in this area around Piper Lane specifically in the “80s” as they say. No one specifies the exact year but when story tellers in Chicagoland tell their stories, “80s” always refers to a period before 1987 or they would state “late 80s” or they would just say “90s” if a gang arrived in 88-89. Most time they even include 1986 with “late 80s.” The photo of the Ashland Vikings screams of 1985 fashion and the one who sent the photo in says it was from 1985. The buildings in the back are clearly in Country Pines Estates Apartments on Piper Lane, the bricks and design of the buildings matches exactly. I personally believe the gangs were here in 1982 at latest. According to multiple articles from the Arlington Herald, Wheeling police stated gangs were hanging out in the Pottawattamie Woods in 1982. Also in 1982, a March 1983 article about Mount Prospect Latin King graffiti in the Boxwood condos was found late in 1982. In all articles police in these town doubted the gangs had formed in those villages, but street legends confirmed Latin Kings were in Mount Prospect and Wheeling in 1982. The March 1983 article even had a big Latin King tag shown on a Wheeling house near Milwaukee Avenue. You can easily jump onto U.S. 45 and drive to and from Wheeling to Mount Prospect easily and it extends into Mount Prospect. Spanish Cobras are an old school group to settle Wheeling in the 80s so I wouldn’t doubt they were in Prospect Heights first. Wheeling Spanish Cobras were well-known but not real pronounced but in Prospect Heights they were the biggest gang in Wimbledon and Country Pines which is along the Piper Lane corridor. Gangs and many residents just refer to Wimbledon and Country Pines as “Piper Lane.”
It appears Chicago residents of the Humboldt Park and West Town areas were settling on Piper Lane in the early 80s as the earliest gangs to arrive originate from those parts of the city. Spanish Cobras settled on Piper Lane and became very popular with Piper Lane youths. Ashland Vikings have always been a strong ally of the Spanish Cobras and are “Insane Folks” allies. The Insane Dragons moved onto Piper Lane as well and are also allies with Vikings and Cobras and Insane Folks. Dragons could be seen playing basketball at Willow Trails Park and had a strong presence in the 80s. Maniac Latin Disciples moved into the area but settled either in Willow Falls Condos or Willow Woods. Maniac Latin Disciples are Folks too but are” Maniac Folks” instead of “Insane Folks.” Back in the 80s Maniac Folks and Insane Folks were allies. Latin Kings settled as soon as the first gangs arrived like most suburbs in the area and started on Piper Lane but mostly were bigger in either Willow Falls or Willow Woods. The Latin Kings were opposed by all the Folks gangs as the Latin Kings are “People” alliance. The other People gang to move onto Piper Lane was the Spanish Lords who viciously fought with the Folk gangs on Piper Lane. Piper Lane also developed a home-made gang/crew called the “Piper Lane Lovers,” founded and led by “Rata,” that battled Latin Kings and Spanish Lords, they especially hate Spanish Lords. Piper Lane Lovers were friendly with the Folk gangs, and I believe they became Folks. This was the beginning of the oldest era of gangs in Prospect Heights and only two of those gangs would mostly last beyond the early 1990s.
Prospect Heights completely lacked a police force prior to the 1990s and the village relied on the Cook County Sheriffs to police the community…or at least when they could. This made the area around Piper Lane more of a free-for-all for street gangs and is likely the reason there were so much variety of different gangs, and they all had significant numbers in the 1980s. The Mount Prospect police department was not established until October 1, 1990, with 1 Chief, 1 Records Clerk, 1 Secretary, 3 Sergeants and 14 Patrol Officers (Fact source: https://www.prospect-heights.il.us). When Prospect Heights police first took action in the fall of 1990, they had a lot of work to do that was long backed up. These police had to take on a large and violent gang force in these low-income buildings, the most active building was on the 500 block of Piper Lane in the Wimbledon Estates Apartments. I am not sure which buildings belonged to who in Wimbledon and Country Pines, but I do know the Ashland Vikings were in Country Pines and Piper Lane Lovers were in the 500s buildings. Since the Spanish Cobras were the biggest gang, they were likely in both complexes along Piper Lane. The Spanish Lords and Latin Kings may have been in the 500s with Piper Lane Lovers; hence, the rivalry. I don’t think the Maniac Latin Disciples were ever on Piper Lane, from my understanding they were in the Willow condos either Old Willow or Willow Falls, most likely Willow Falls. Latin Kings were in one of the Willow condos too and they were stronger in the condos than Piper Lane. Ashland Vikings were located east of Burning Bush in the Country Pines Estates Apartments,
From what I heard from people that lived on Piper Lane in the 80s was it was very hard for someone to pass in and out of that neighborhood without gang harassment unless someone knew you and could vouch for you coming in off Wolf Road or if you were a recognized resident. This was a one way in and one way out to Wolf Road area along with no police force which allowed for gangs to be this strong. From what else I heard there was shootings every weekend in the area which contradicts an Arlington Heights Daily Herald article from November 12, 1989, that the first shooting was in the Spring of ’89. I don’t know if it was in the 90s or the 2000s but the village installed blue light cameras on Piper Lane outside the 500 block and in the Willow Trails Park due to the heavy gang activity in that park. The east side of Prospect Heights was not a soft hood, it was a tough and dangerous area many times.
The second wave of gangs came in 1993. The Spanish Cobras likely were the target of law enforcement because in 1992 they were mentioned in the Chicago Tribune by a 10-year-old boy who said the Cobras dominate but by 1993 rumor has it they were 100% gone and forgotten already. Another piece of evidence of Cobra existence was featured in the November 12, 1989 Arlington Heights Daily Herald when it was said there was graffiti of Spanish Cobra “turf markings” were spray painted and that these “Prospect Heights” Spanish Cobras were warring with Rolling Meadows Latin Kings and this led to a drive-by-shooting in the Spring of 1989 which was documented as the first supposed shooting in Prospect Heights but I highly doubt that was the actual first, probably just the first reported. The same article interviewed a “Disciple” named Juan who was 15 years old. Juan denied being a gang member, but his friends said he was, and his counselor said so too. Juan also knew a lot about gang banging and had been arrested previously for beating up a rival gang member. In the article is a black and white picture of a pitchfork spray painted on a door in Prospect Heights. Even though the article only says “Disciples” they mean Maniac Latin Disciples and Juan was a member. This 1989 article proves the existence of Spanish Cobras and Maniac Latin Disciples in Prospect Heights. All the gangs I list from the first generation are fully confirmed to exist and there is evidence of Ashland Vikings, Spanish Cobras and Maniac Latin Disciples. Very credible stories from multiple good sources confirm the existence of Piper Lane Lovers, Spanish Lords, Latin Kings and Insane Dragons. The only thing I might be wrong about from this first generation of Prospect Heights gangs is there could have been more mobs out there in the 80s I didn’t list, but these seven gangs are confirmed.
Maniac Latin Disciples and Latin Kings would survive the first wave of gangs by 1993. Piper Lane Lovers mostly moved out of the area and into the suburb of Wheeling and joined the Spanish Gangster Disciples of Wheeling in the “Lolipop” faction. Dragons and Viking just vanished…I don’t know what happened to them. Spanish Cobras were big time in 1992 but in 1993 they were gone without a trace. I suspect the Prospect Heights police nabbed the Cobras because Cobras in these old days made a lot of noise in the suburbs and were violent which led to several incarcerations, this is the likely case on Piper Lane in 1993. Vikings, Cobras and Dragons are all Insane Folks and now there were no more Insanes.
Straight from the hardened streets of Los Angeles came the notorious Surenos 13 gang that moved right onto Piper Lane and perhaps conquered the 500s buildings in Wimbledon which was the building the Piper Lane Lovers used to control. Now that most of the Piper Lane Lovers left the Surenos were able to secure these buildings and engage in war with Latin Kings. Spanish Lords barely survived the first wave and had a few years in the second wave as they battled with Surenos and what was left of the Piper Lane Lovers. All that was mainly left of the Lovers was young kids trying to hold it down, but these kids battled Surenos, Spanish Lords and Latin Kings ferociously, especially Surenos. Maniac Latin Disciples also remained in the village and likely kept an alliance with Piper Lane Lovers as they were now the only Folks left in the mid-1990s.
In the year 1996, a legendary event happened when “Sin” of the Spanish Gangster Disciples came to the 500s buildings on Piper Lane and asked those young Piper Lane Lovers if they wanted to become SGD and the youths obliged. This was the birth of the notorious “Piper Lane” Spanish Gangster Disciples of Prospect Heights. These SGDs were gunners and were quick to violently put down rivals. Soon after formation in 1996, “Sin” of the SGDs killed a Spanish Lord and got put in prison, this ended the Prospect Heights Spanish Lords. Shortly after the SGDs of Piper Lane shot that Spanish Lord, the young members gunned down the big-time leader of the Surenos so badly it left him a quadriplegic. The younger SGDs shot up more of the much older Surenos and pushed them out of the buildings, the Surenos did not make it into the 2000s in Prospect Heights. When the second wave 2000s decade arrived Maniac Latin Disciples, Latin Kings and Spanish Gangster Disciples is all that remained. Maniac Latin Disciples and Spanish Gangster Disciples began to have friction so there was no unity among the three gangs in the village. By the 2000s the Spanish Gangster Disciples became Prospect Height’s biggest gang, and they ran not only the Wimbledon 500s they ran the Country Lakes apartments too and were likely in the River Trails Condominiums. SGDs watched their hood day and night and were always seen out. More top management in the SGDs moved onto Piper Lane in the 2000s that strengthened their forces.
The end of the second wave came in 2012 when the top management of the SGDs moved out. This doesn’t mean SGDs went extinct, it just means they would not be as powerful or as visible or as active. This came in wake of heavier police crackdowns and retirement of older members. Maniac Latin Disciples and Latin Kings followed suit and began retiring and moving out. The third and final wave of gangs remains SGDs, MLDs and Kings but they are not nearly as active or visible as before. You can still see stained walls on the buildings on Piper Lane from past and present where graffiti is washed out by cover ups. The gangs are still in this area but not like before and Willow Falls and Old Willow are even more cleaned up than Piper Lane. This community overcame most of the crime and gang issues. Piper Lane area is a lot safer, but you still need to visit there or live there with caution, especially at night.