Insane Deuces

This history was updated 3/2/26

The Lathrop projects

The Julia C. Lathrop projects was one of the first project buildings built in the city of Chicago beginning in 1936 until the doors opened in 1938. This project was built on the border of the North Center and Lincoln Park communities on Chicago’s north side. This project was originally a project that was almost all-white, as it was built for white families that were down on their luck during the Great Depression era. The neighborhood was favorable and low crime which was a preference city officials wanted to give to these white families when the placement of the projects was determined starting in 1934.

The first residents of the projects were impoverished white families that lived in these buildings from the late 30s until the later 40s until they could afford to move out, these residents were often very temporary…no gangs existed. Beginning in the mid-40s veterans of World War II moved into these projects for temporary housing before they were placed in single family homes that were under construction, again, these were very short lived project dwellers.

In the year 1949, the Lathrop projects became taken over by the city and now become projects for struggling families again. When this era began, the first Puerto Rican families moved into these buildings. The projects remained very safe and a well-maintained happy place through the 50s; however, the first gang activity developed in the later 50s likely as a response to the growing number of vicious white and Puerto Rican gangs to the south and the east of the projects.

I once was in possession of a news article from 1957 about a gang fight involving a gang called the “Black Hawk Hoyne Outlaws” that were involved in a rumble near the Lathrop projects. I have since lost this article but what I read about has been backed by people that once lived in those projects in the late 50s and knew the Black Hawks well. The Black Hawks were the first major gang in the projects that started in the later 50s by John Conley, John Conley’s brother, Gilbert, Gary, the Novak boys, Vito and his brother Frank, A. Hernandez and others. The newspapers called them “Black Hawk Hoyne Oulaws” but I never heard of anyone refer to them other than just as the “Black Hawks.” It is a fact that the original Black Hawks mainly resided north of Diversey Parkway in the northern buildings on the North Center side instead of in the “shoehorn” end of the projects which is technically in Lincoln Park On Hoyne Avenue and Leavitt Street. The part of the name with “Hoyne” makes it seem like the Black Hawks came from Hoyne Avenue in the shoehorn. I could be wrong on all this but it seems like the newspapers were wrong, perhaps there was another gang called the “Hoyne Outlaws” in the shoehorn. The Black Hawks were well-known in the late 50s. Vito eventually took over the Black Hawks until 1960 then the gang was headed by A. Hernandez for some time. When the original Black Hawks retired from gang life and moved away the club mostly broke up but their legacy was not forgotten.

In the mid-1960s, a new group took over the northern part of the projects called the “Barons.” Gilbert Sanchez was the leader of the Barons and was possibly the founder. Sam and Gino Arnoni were other original Barons that stuck around in the projects for a long time. The Barons were the first group to tag in the projects with their graffiti that was mostly found in the tunnel-like basements with upside down swastikas and peace signs. Barons were big shots in the projects and even got involved in many positive activities like providing services for the youths in the community. The Barons were no angels and had their fair share of trouble. Many different gang groups tried to form in the projects in the later 60s like the Young Lords and Harrison Gents but the Barons fought hard to keep these other groups out of the buildings. The Barons took over the old hood of the Black Hawks and were strongest on Clybourn Avenue and the Barons took over the old Black Hawk’s hood. The Barons were teenagers when they started the group then grew into their twenty’s by the late 60s.

The Black Hawks still were hanging around the north side of the projects in the early to mid-60s but by then the older guys had retired leaving younger Black Hawks to themselves. The young Black Hawks began hanging around with the Barons then the younger Black Hawks became the “Junior Barons” or younger members of the Barons.

The Barons garnered a lot of respect in the projects but the Chicago Housing Authority appointed security officers that had a problem with Gilbert Hernandez, especially one officer in particular that decided to chase Hernandez through the projects one July 27^th, 1968 day. The officer shot Hernandez to death claiming Hernandez was reaching in his back pocket for a weapon but no weapon was found on Hernandez’ body upon death. Sanchez’ family was outraged as was most of the Lathrop community leading to the dismissal of the security team (Source: Policing the Project: Crime, Car oject: Crime, Centrality, and Chicago Public and Chicago Public Housing, Madeleine Rose Hamlin, Syracuse University). Hernandez’ death badly shook the Barons after their 20 year old leader was killed especially now that their leader was killed. As far as a I know, no new leader filled Gilbert’s shoes which led to their decline.

The North Side Deuces

By the year 1971, the Barons were now at retirement age as this was the process smaller gangs went through prior to the later 70s. The life cycle of a gang member was to be in it for roughly 5 years maximum then retire to a life a legitimacy, the Barons were no different. The spirit of the Black Hawks never died by the earlier 70s and now the Baron’s Legacy was even less poised to die out.

In the year 1971, a kid from the Pilsen or Little Village area named “Little Rich” moved to the Lathrop Projects and Little Rich was a member of the Morgan Deuces. Little Rich made friends in the northern Lathrop projects which made up a group of about 12 kids. Either Little Rich had no interest or was not allowed to start the Morgan Deuces in the projects but instead he got his group of a dozen friends interested in Deuce life. It is more than likely that the reason the Morgan Deuces couldn’t be started in the projects is likely because the Barons and retired Black Hawks would not allow it, that is just my theory so don’t quite take it as facts until I get verification. In either case, Little Richie and his new friends, Wink D, Baby D, Doc, Keg, Humphries and others were interested in forming their own club in the projects. The name they chose was the “North Side Deuces” which paid tribute to the Morgan Deuces and the “Deuces” also referred to the two previous clubs that once ran the projects, the Black Hawks and Barons who were the two group or deuce groups…if you catch my drift. The North Side Deuces were not a spin off of the Morgan Deuces, Barons or Black Hawks, they were a club that paid tribute to the clubs that taught them all about gang life. The Barons were a little reluctant to give up the projects to the Deuces but since the Deuces were paying tribute to them it was approved and the Barons knew if they said no to the Deuces they would likely need to go to war which was too taxing for these older guys. The reason for the “North Side” in the name was part of the paying of tribute to the Morgan Deuces because they were the Deuces of the north side, not only that the Deuces ran the north side of the projects north of Diversey Parkway. There would be the “Clybourn Deuces” from Clybourn Street and the “Leavitt Deuces” from Leavitt Street.

At first, Deuces were also located in the “Shoehorn” area of the projects which is along Hoyne Avenue and along Leavitt south of Diversey Parkway.

War with Simon City Royals

In the early days Insane Deuces rumbled with gangs on occasions like Taylor Jousters, Insane Popes, Orquestra Albany, C-Notes, Gaylords and even Latin Kings but never any serious wars except with the projects’ worst enemies, the Aristocrats. The Aristocrats were the overall enemy of the youths from the projects in general. In the 1960s Aristocrats battled the Barons and possibly the Black Hawks along with several different groups of kids from the Lathrop projects, it is as if the Aristocrats just hated the projects in general for several years. While the original North Side Deuces were coming together in 1971 they inherited a war with the Aristocrats. It is a fact that several Aristocrats flipped to Simon City Royals when the Royals first formed at the end of 1971. These Aristocrats had beef with the Deuces and brought that conflict into the Simon City Royals when they flipped and this is what started the fights between Deuces and Royals. In the early 70s, the original Deuce’s only arch enemy was the Simon City Royals and would become their first arch enemy since the Royals first formed in 1971.

The Young Deuces of Hamlin Park

As the weather was changing from bitter cold winter to warmer spring weather in 1972, “Joker” and “Lurch,” two brothers, invited their friends over to hang out in their garage. These kids were younger than the original North Side Deuces but they wanted into the Deuces even though they were not project kids. On that day Lurch and Joker were authorized to become the second Deuce branch in history and were the founders of the name “Young Deuces” that would eventually be inherited by the whole nation for younger members but these guys were the original Young Deuces. “Shorty” was nominated as President of the Young Deuces while Lurch assumed the Vice President role, Joker was the founder but not a leader. Other originals were: Coon, Duck, Psycho, B-Baker, Hugo, Lil Man, Maniac, Lucky, P-P, Clip, Godfather, Shark, Stick Pin, Miff, Babe, Polock, Roger, Bench and Plow. These names are featured on a photo of an original Young Deuce card found on the Stone Greaser website, the same site I got some of the Deuce history from and got that verified as having a decent amount of authenticity (https://www.stonegreasers.com/greaser/insane_deuces.html).

Since at least the 1960s, Hamlin Park was highly coveted by neighborhood youths in North Center and in West Lake View. Football was a big sport at Hamlin Park as was a large youth hangout daily. There was once a shelter that kids hung out in that no longer stands. Football was the biggest at Hamlin Park and Hamlin Park even had their own football team with colors black and green just like the Deuces. Jahn School’s football team played at Hamlin Park as did Burley School’s football team. The football matches were talked about in the Rising Up Angry newspapers since 1969 and since 1969, the paper talked about the “Paulina Barry Community” which was a group of hippies that hung out in the park. Paulina Barry Community played football in the park since the mid-60s when they were kids and now and again the PBCs would slug it out with the Hamlin Park team but then they were friends again.

The Young Deuces began hanging out in Hamlin Park in 1972 and declared Damen Avenue and Wellington Avenue their section. This is the beginning of how the Deuces began to take over Hamlin Park and by 1972 the Paulina Barry Community first generation began crumbling after a prominent member died of a heroin overdose. The older PBCs were also growing older and the hippie era was fading which caused these older PBCs to begin to pull back from Hamlin Park.

The Young Deuces were almost all white members because of the racial makeup of the North Center neighborhood minus the Lathrop projects.

The Jahn Deuces and Hamlin Park

Some founding members of the Young Deuces went back to school during the 1972-1973 school year after the summer was over at Friedrich L Jahn Public School at Wolcott Avenue and Fletcher Street. These Young Deuces quickly encountered conflict with the Simon City Royals and some young members of the Paulina Barry Community. These Young Deuces formed the “Jahn Deuces” named after the school but they hung out in Hamlin Park regularly. The Jahn Deuces had some of the same founders as Young Deuces like: Lil Man, Shorty, Psycho, Maniac, Polock and Joker. The Jahn Deuces wanted to be mainly a white group of Deuces and fell in line with more of the greaser ways while the Deuces in the projects were white, Hispanic and African American. Once the Jahn Deuces started hanging out in Hamlin Park by 1973, the park became even stronger of a Deuce stronghold. The Hamlin Park football team flipped to Jahn Deuces in the later part of 1973. The Jahn Deuces and Young Deuces would eventually gather outside a corner store at Barry and Hoyne a 2100 N. Barry at a store I think was called Z&G Foods.

The Insane Deuces

In the year 1973, the Deuces made a decision to unite the different branches of Deuces to likely prevent too much independence. Granted, each Deuce group had lots of independence but they did not want each branch to stray from the overall nation especially since there was some racial differences among the three main groups. Young Deuces and Jahn Deuces were mostly white while the North Side Deuces were mixed race. The North Side Deuces in the projects even had sub groups like Leavitt Deuces and Clybourn Deuces. This is when the “Insane” was established for the nation and the project Deuces would became “Insane North Side Deuces.” Young Deuces were now known as “Insane Young Deuces” while Jahn Deuces were “Insane Jahn Deuces.” The overall nation of “Insane Deuces was official in 1973.

The murder of Arab

The Simon City Royals and Insane Deuces went to war once the Royals formed at the end of 1971 and during all of the earlier 70s years Rashad “Arab” Zayad was the leader of the Simon City Royals and was the main founder. Arab was a ladies man and charismatic but his love for women was a weakness for him that Insane Deuces took advantage of one July 10, 1974 night. Since the early to mid-70s, Rising Up Angry and other social groups tried to unite the two gangs and for certain periods it worked as Royals and Deuces could be seen hanging out at times during times of the “Deuce Truce.”

On this fateful July day, the Jahn Deuces were especially upset with the fact that Arab was going into Deuce neighborhood to see a girl that was a girlfriend of one of the Jahn Deuces. When the girl lured Arab to her house into the garage a pair of armed Deuces ran into the garage and shot Zayed to death. The Deuces then took Arab’s body and stuffed it into a car then drove the body to Damen and Montrose in front of Man-Jo-Vin’s restaurant at 3224 N. Damen, the Deuces dumped the body outside of the restaurant.

The murder of Arab became completely unforgivable for the Simon City Royals and the two gangs became sworn arch enemies for life after the murder and the hatred is still deep all these decades later, the Royals never forgot about Arab.

The knight helmet, ax, sword and the shield

When the Deuces first formed in the earlier 70s, a couple of original symbols were the Knight helmet on top of a shield with an ax and sword going through the shield as was the typical playing cards showing only twos. Deuces also had four playing cards that showed a spade, hearts, diamond and club. In about 1975, the shield, helmet, sword, ax and four playing cards showing each suit were removed and replaced by a large spade with two dots. The four 2s on playing cards would remain.

The Latin Kings of The Shoe Horn

I have not heard any stories about relations between Latin Kings and Insane Deuces prior to 1975 accept that they had some minor rumbles now and again. There were not really any Latin Kings groups near Deuce hoods; therefore, clashing was not a common thing unless there were fights started in school. In the year 1975 the Latin Kings and Insane Deuces somehow became real tight, possibly because a small group of Latin Kings moved into the Lathrop projects in the area south of Diversey Parkway known as the “Shoe Horn” or “Horse Shoe.” Since the Deuces were the most posted up north of Diversey the Deuces didn’t mind sharing the projects south of Diversey with the Latin Kings. This brought about the establishment of the “Project Kings” starting in 1975 and the Latin Kings grew very fast in these projects.

The Latin Kings and Insane Deuces in the projects became so tight they were like brothers and I have heard countless stories of how tight the two gangs were with each other. The two groups stood side by side against the Simon City Royals and Paulina Barry Community, especially when Royals and PBCs teamed up against them many of times. This Latin King and Deuce friendship would be air tight for over a decade and lasted an overall near decade and half.

War with the Paulina Barry Community

Tom Roy was born around 1957 and was just a young teen when the Deuces started up. When Tom was 15 years old he became one of the co-founders of the Young Deuces and his nickname “Psycho” on those old cards is proof of that. Tom Roy eventually graduated to becoming a Jahn Deuce and became very familiar with Hamlin Park. Roy was even featured on old Jahn Deuce gang cards as well as Young Deuce cards. One can easily say that Tom Roy was a main founder of all Hamlin Park Insane Deuce operations in the earliest years. In an October 1974 newspaper Tom Roy was said to be 17 at the time and was interviewed by the paper about how he felt about Simon City Royals. This article came out months after the Deuces killed Arab.

Tom Roy did not like Chi-West gang members and if Chi-West attended Lane Tech high school Tom Roy picked on them and always gave them a hard time for attending his school. On one occasion in 1975 or 1976 Chi West had enough of Roy and started a big fight with him and his Deuce friends outside of Lane Tech one day. In the heat of the fight a Chi-West named Brad pulled a gun out on Roy and demanded Roy give up his sweater, Tom Roy had to give up the sweater or die but he called the police afterward to get it back. The Chi-West guys were arrested and charged with strong armed robbery. The arrests did not satisfy Roy so he brought a large group of several Deuces to Lennies which was a known greaser hang out for C-Notes, Gaylords, Chi-West and many other greaser groups. When the Deuces arrived all the greasers from Lennies poured out of the building and large gang fight ensued. Tom Roy and his friends ended up beating up several Gaylords and took four sweaters that day from the Gaylords and two of those sweaters were taken by beating two Gaylords savagely.

Sometime in the later 70s, likely in 1976, Tom Roy was shot to death by the Paulina Barry Community outside of a Jack N The Box fast food restaurant. Tom Roy’s murder is what caused the war between PBCs and Deuces to grow as severe as the Deuce and Simon City Royal war. PBCs and Deuces then became enemies for life.

The making of Hamlin Park Deuces

Hamlin Park Insane Deuce presence was started by the Young Deuces and further developed by Jahn Deuces in the 70s. Those were the two main names of the early 70s and mid-70s but many more younger Deuces wanted to form their own sections in the later 70s all around the park.

Just a few blocks north of Hamlin Park sits the much smaller Fellger Park at the intersection of Belmont Avenue and Damen Avenue. This more simple and smaller park soon became hopping with Deuces at all times until they created their own section becoming the “Fellger Park Insane Deuces.” The Fellger Park Deuces formed sometime in the later half of the 70s. Original Fellger Park Deuces were: Ozzy, Wee Gee, Shorty, Munchkin, Sleepy, Speedy, Lil Guy, Weasel, Sticks, and Lil Flash. The Fellger Park Insane Deuces would carry on until the 2000s decade. I don’t have much more history on the Fellger Park Deuces, hopefully, I will in time.

Deuces would form at Wellington & Wolcott (W/W) and Fletcher & Wolcott in the 70s which were two sections within a block or two of Hamlin Park. The Young Deuces started Wellington & Wolcott.

At the corner of Fletcher Street & Leavitt Street Several young kids gathered night and day until they started forming their own cliques like the “Leavitt Party People” and these boys joined the Deuces and became Pee Wee Deuces. Another group formed at Leavitt and Fletcher that was older teens that called themselves the “Stoned Freaks.” The Stoned Freaks were part of the Deuces but they wore black and red sweaters and acted independently. The Freaks may have started as early as 1975 and as late as 1978. The founders of the Stoned Freaks were: Jimmy G, Jim, Willie, Porky, Tiny, Johnny, Mike and Timmy. In 1979, the Stoned Freaks had conflict with another group of Deuces which led to one of the Freaks being beaten with a hammer, the Freaks then just repped Deuces after this. At Leavitt & Barry, just one block from Leavit & Fletcher there was a house painted in black and green colors that was home to Deuces. I am not sure how long Leavitt & Fletcher lasted.

As these many groups of Deuces popped up all around Hamlin Park they eventually all became part of the “Hamlin Park Insane Deuces” which was a name that appeared around 1980. Hamlin Park Deuces are often referred to as “H.P. Deuces.” The Hamlin Park Insane Deuces are still active today even though the area is highly gentrified; this just does not mean Deuces are walking these streets day and night like they did before. This is a strong legacy of Insane Deuces in Hamlin Park and this section may never fully close.

A-Town

Deep in the cornfields of Kane County is two mid-sized cities surrounded by many small rural towns. At one time Kane County was considered a very far drive from Chicago and the counties’ fine cities of Aurora and Elgin were not familiar to Chicagoans. Since the early 70s, groups of adult men sold drugs in the downtown areas of Aurora and Elgin, many of these dealers were attached to the Mexican drug cartels and ran cocaine and heroin from Chicago to Milwaukee while serving Elgin and Aurora’s downtown nightlife and the casinos. By the early 70s both cities began to experience wild youth gangs and higher crime as the local economies began to collapse. This economic collapse caused many long time white residents to pack up and leave these Kane county suburbs seeking work closer to Chicago or in other states. Property values took a downward slide, especially in Aurora as long time white residents were replaced by impoverished whites from Chicago or impoverished Hispanic families from Chicago looking to either escape crime or seeking new section 8 housing which white, Hispanic and African American families once all used in the 70s and 80s. Aurora also had public housing projects that were mainly occupied by African Americans.

In the year 1976, Angel “Doc” Luciano, who was about 25 years old and moved to Aurora’s east side with his family that included his 3 year old son Michael and his older son who was known as “Rican” who was an Insane Deuce. Angel Luciano is an original pee wee Latin King from the mid-60s that had now become heavily connected with drug trafficking by the time he moved to Aurora. The Luciano’s were part of a Hispanic migration wave to the east side of Aurora. A few years later Doc would assemble the original Aurora Latin Kings but his son, Rican, requesting the Deuces form in Aurora too. I once had heard of an “Iceman” of the Insane Deuces that also moved to Aurora and became the leader but in recent decades I haven’t found anything else about Iceman or seen him talked about in social media so I’m not sure if that is accurate about Iceman or not. One of the original Young Deuces and an original project Deuce was “Lil Man.” Lil Man was a big facilitator of forming the Aurora Deuces. I am not positive if Lil Man moved to Aurora or not but he was at least a Deuce that traveled between Aurora and Chicago in the 80s. Perhaps Iceman was not the founder of the Aurora Deuces maybe it was Lil Man or Rican? Hopefully I will find out eventually.

In the year 1979, Chicago gangs hatched in the cornfields of Aurora both figuratively and literally as gangs sometimes held meetings and fist fights in those fields. Gangster Disciples, Conservative Vice Lords, Latin Kings and Insane Deuces all started original sections in 1979. Latin Kings and Insane Deuces started at the corner of Claim Street and Union Street where a laundromat once stood at the corner and the corner store called “Supermercado Juarez” at the same corner. Right at the same northeast corner as the laundromat was an apartment building where many lower income Chicago families lived and many of the kids in this apartment building were recruited into Latin Kings and Insane Deuces. Supermercado Juarez would eventually sell pagers, street mix tapes and many other things. The laundromat and the Juarez store were heavily tagged up with graffiti. Latin Kings and Insane Deuces hung out at Union and Claim for several years throughout most of the 1980s. Deuces and Latin Kings worked together to protect Aurora youths from racism from mostly white crews that didn’t like city people and Hispanics moving into their neighborhood. Deuces and Kings especially protected kids going to and from Brady School at Union and Columbia that were disadvantaged because of their race or their income level.

When the Insane Deuces first recruited in Aurora: Cuevas, Smurf, Grease Ball, Chatti, Psycho, Duke, Bam Bam, Coco, Bugsy, Rican, Gator, Shorty D and Ghost became original recruits. Albert “Psycho” Gonzalez was the most prominent of these new shorty members. Albert Gonzalez was born in 1966 and was 13 at the time of joining the Deuces, eventually, Gonzalez became the leader of the Aurora Deuces, but I am not sure what year he took over. The Deuces and Latin Kings shared the northern part of the east side from Farnsworth to Broadway. Aurora Insane Deuces and Latin Kings would eventually grow to becoming the largest gangs in Aurora and in the 80s they ruled side by side. Even in the 90s when both gangs were at war they still ruled Aurora until the 2000s decade. The Insane Deuces have always had a strong mob in Aurora that has deep ties. The Deuces are still in Aurora presently, although reduced in number, they are still there. The first major enemy of the Insane Deuces of Aurora was the Black Gangster Disciples (Gangster Disciples) then Maniac Latin Disciples.

Insane Deuces first ran the north side of the east side alongside Latin Kings but once war broke out in the 90s Deuces moved more into one of their big 80s hangouts at Union-Flagg Park at the corner of Union and Flagg Street, this was known as “Deuce Park.” The Deuces then had their territory south of Claim Street, making Claim Street the southern border between the two gangs. Deuces eventually moved east to Grand Boulevard and Loucks Street and along Ohio Street between Kane Street and Century Lane. At Ohio and Century is a townhouse complex for impoverished families where many Deuces have lived in. The Deuces have also resided in an apartment building at Lincoln Avenue and Center Avenue.

For many years, since the 80s, Chicago Deuces would often flee to Aurora to hang out with A-Town Deuces for a few days or a few weeks until heat from Chicago police would die down.

People Deuces

Since at least 1975, Insane Deuces were very tight with Latin Kings and also had a good relationship with Vice Lords, especially Imperial Insane Vice Lords. Insane Deuces and Latin Kings dominated the Lathrop projects in the later half of the 70s but there were small groups of Vice Lords and Mickey Cobras dwelling in these same buildings. Cobras and Vice Lords never dominated any buildings in the 70s, 80s and most of the 90s but there were always members hanging out with Latin Kings and Deuces regularly. Some of the biggest heavy hitters of the Imperial Insane Vice Lords lived in the Lathrop projects for awhile like “China” Joe Lofton. Night after night, Deuces hung with Vice Lords, Mickey Cobras and Latin Kings in these projects with almost no conflict. Then, in came the Insane Unknowns into the projects that were some heavy hitting members. The Unknowns never took over any buildings but they worked with the Deuces and the Kings to establish meetings in at least one of the buildings. In the basements of the Lathrop projects there are scores of graffiti from Latin Kings, Insane Deuces and Insane Unknowns showing their unity.

In the year 1981, a meeting was held at the notorious EL Rukns hangout called “The Fort” which was once located near Bronzeville at the edge of the Oakland Neighborhood. The EL Rukns invited Black P Stones, Vice Lords and Latin Kings to this meeting to discuss an alliance of peace and love that would also be a counter alliance to the Folk alliance already in development. At the meeting the “People” alliance was established and the EL Rukns donated their 5 point star symbol as a symbol for all People allies. The Latin Kings were then tasked with reaching out to many of their allies and potential allies and induct them into the People alliance. The Insane Deuces would be one of the first on the list. The Gaylords were also chosen to join People and legend has it that Insane Deuces, Latin Kings and Gaylords all attended a meeting on the streets to induct Gaylords and Insane Deuces into the People alliance. Any beef Deuces and Latin Kings had with Gaylords was squashed and the Insane Deuces were with the People alliance as of 1981.

In the early 80s and mid-80s the Insane Deuces were very strong People allies and repped it heavily on the streets with most of their graffiti covered in 5 point stars and members walked the streets with their hats tilted to the left constantly.

The Oakdale Boys and the “Mansion”

In the year 1982, in the streets between the Lathrop projects and Hamlin Park, kids were gathering together and hanging out at Oakdale Avenue and Wolcott Avenue especially in front of a building called “The Mansion.” The kids joined the Insane Deuces and were Pee Wee Deuces as they aged from 10-13 years old. These Pee Wee Deuces wanted their own independence that started off rather unofficial as they called themselves the “Oakdale Boys.” The Oakdale Boys had their own colors of red and blue. As the boys aged a little more they changed their colors to white and green then to black and green as they fully assimilated with the Insane Deuces, especially Hamlin Park Insane Deuces. After this assimilation Deuces from all over the city would come to the Mansion and hang out. The Oakdale Boys’ independence lasted from 1982-1985 before becoming full on Insane Deuces.

Melrose & Oakley

In 1980, Insane Deuces began to form at the intersection of Belmont Avenue and Oakley Avenue. In 1982, a group of Pee Wees joined Belmont and Oakley Deuces and became prominent and respected members. Belmont and Oakley Deuces had drive to pave their way north as far as the Lincoln Square neighborhood but these Deuces aged out of it and left it to the Pee Wees in 1984. These Pee Wees began gathering at the border of Lincoln Square and North Center at the intersection of Montrose Avenue and Oakley Avenue in Welles (Gideon) Park. With a blessing, these former Belmont and Oakley Deuces became the Melrose Street and Oakley Avenue (M/O) Insane Deuces. Many of these Deuces lived at a corner apartment building at 3234 N. Oakley and 3236 N. Oakley Avenue right at the corner of Melrose and Oakley. Deuces heavily gathered in this building and threw wild parties in this building. This was a strong Deuce section until it closed in 1992 after the Deuces left the People alliance.

From MBst to MMst to Dickinson Park

In the year 1984, a Greek Morgan Deuce by the name of Pete A.K.A “Magic” moved to the far northwest side streets of Jefferson Park and befriended kids in the neighborhood who had problems with the Insane Popes from Olypia Park (from Edison Park), the Simon City Royals from Norwood Park School in Norwood Park, the Montrose & Austin Freaks from Portage Park and the Jefferson Park (J/P) C-Notes. The Morgan Deuces were a dying breed that went extinct in the early 80s. Magic connected with the Insane Deuces and became an Insane Deuce then started a chapter of the Deuces at the intersection of Milwaukee Avenue & Bryn Mawr Avenue in 1984. Magic incorporated the top hat symbol from the Morgan Deuces and added two crossed canes with two dots above each cane through the hat for this section’s symbols. These Deuces established themselves in a triangular hood between Montrose, Northwest Highway, and Menard Avenue. Jefferson Park, Portage Park, Norwood Park areas were all part of a sacred land for the white man known as “White Wonderland.” These hoods were low crime, safe streets that white flighters used to flock to when their neighborhoods in the inner city racially changed. It was because they fled to these streets that each gang in the area became pissed off when other gangs formed in their area even though the other gangs were white like them. Rumors circulated that the Deuces were a Puerto Rican gang and this led to a witch hunt from the other gangs of the northwest side to hunt them down, even though the MB Street Deuces were pretty much all-white. During this era MB Street Deuces would venture south into Portage Park to Dickinson Park where several teens and young adults would gather for hidden kegger parties in the woods. Dickinson Park was controlled by the MA Freaks but the Deuces had to cooperate with the Freaks in order to party hard, this was the Deuces’ first taste of Dickinson Park. These Deuces did get some support from the Gaylords due to their People alliance unity. Popes and Royals were Folks while Freaks and C-Notes were part of no alliance. These Deuces had a good run until 1988 when Magic won the lottery then vanished from the hood without a trace, the M/B deuces then broke up.

In the year 1988, Hamlin Park Insane Deuces “Monk,” “Lucifer,” and “Poloco” moved to the Portage Park neighborhood. Monk was a legendary member of the Insane Deuces and was the one who started Insane Deuces at Milwaukee & Montrose (M-Street). These Deuces went on for four years and they fell in love with Dickinson Park as much as or more than the MB Deuces. When M-Street dissolved many of them flipped to become Stoned Freaks after a high ranking Deuce flipped to the Freaks to lead the Milwaukee & Austin Freaks, his nickname was “Wazoo” and he became the leader of the Freaks.

In the year 1992, Monk moved the M-Street Deuces to Dickinson Park as they were now claiming Milwaukee Avenue and Berteau Avenue and the Deuces at last were running Dickinson Park for many years. The Deuces may still be active in Dickinson Park. These Deuces continued to fight Simon City Royals through the years and since the 1990s they began clashing with gangs like Four Corner Hustlers, Latin Kings, Spanish Gangster Disciples and Maniac Latin Disciples.

The murder of Spooky

I do not know the exact year that it happened but the Insane Deuces carried out a major murder that made the Simon City Royals hate the Deuces more. Sometime in the early-mid 80s the Insane Deuces pulled off a bloody murder against the Simon City Royals that was rather gruesome. One day the Insane Deuces packed into a silver colored van with black spade shaped bubble windows on the back sides. These Deuces boldly went into the heart of Simon City Royal hood creeping near Theodore Roosevelt High School looking for Deuces. Some old school Royals recalled seeing the van approach as several Deuces jumped out of the back holding baseball bats, chains, metal pipes, chair legs with nails and machetes at St. Louis and Wilson. When the Deuces spotted a group of Royals they jumped out at them and caused them to run away but the first set of Royals escaped. When the Deuces crept to St. Louis Avenue and Leland Avenue they spotted a well-known Royal by the nickname of “Sir Spooky” when they entered an apartment building at the corner as Spooky was trying to get into an apartment especially when he spotted the Deuces invading the building. The Deuces began attacking Spooky as he tried to flee but the Deuces ended up dragging him into the nearby alley. The Deuces began driving the chair legs with the nails into him and hacking him with the machete in the alley. Spooky suffered a total of 87 stab wounds and died at the scene. This was another murder the Royals never forgave the Deuces for.

Diversey & Kilbourn

Since the 1980s, the Hermosa neighborhood has become an intense gang war zone as just about every major north side gang either has or once had territory in this neighborhood. This hood was once a coveted white neighborhood but by the mid-80s Maniac Latin Disciples and Spanish Cobras were all over this neighborhood in large numbers that moved in alongside a Hispanic migration wave as the white community was fleeing for the suburbs. The Gaylords and Stoned Freaks were the big time white gangs of this neighborhood since the late 60s. By 1986, Gaylords were with the People alliance while Stoned Freaks were on the verge of joining People.

Some Hamlin Park Insane Deuces from Belmont & Damen moved to Hermosa and immediately had the agenda of supporting the Gaylords and Freaks in their war against Spanish Cobras and Maniac Latin Disciples. This war was severely violent with constant gangbanging day and night. The Deuces organized a chapter in Hermosa at Diversey Avenue and Kilbourn Avenue (KDst) in the year 1986 as the Gaylords blessed them and approved of a Deuce chapter. These Deuces had a wild 6 years until they flipped to Folks and moved back to Hamlin Park.

Deuces in the suburbs

Insane Deuces were once very deep in the Lathrop projects in the 1970s and the earlier half of the 1980s. Starting in 1986, many project Deuces started retiring and moving out of the projects to Hamlin Park. By the year 1989, Deuces from the projects and Hamlin Park were moving to the suburbs and not just Aurora. 1989 was the starting year of much of the Insane Deuces chapters in the suburbs and even on 43^rd Street in the Canaryville neighborhood on Chicago’s south side. Many older generation Hamlin Park Insane Deuces also moved to the suburbs by the end of the 80s and early 90s and got suburban chapters started.

Insane Deuces would move to the suburb of West Chicago and start a chapter but this chapter ended up not working out and by the early to mid-90s the West Chicago Deuces moved to the suburb of Elgin and started a highly successful chapter. The Elgin Insane Deuces are known as “E-Town” Insane Deuces. E-Town Deuces would take over Mulberry Lane apartments which are apartments for impoverished families, Deuces would rule from Lilac Lane to Lyle Avenue along Mulberry Lane. Deuces would be on Anne Street, Franklin Boulevard in the historic area of Elgin that would become full of high crime and gang activity since the early 80s. Deuces still remain active in Elgin. I hope to learn more about exactly where the Deuces started in Elgin and what year they began as I hope to also learn about the West Chicago Deuces.

In the early 90s Deuces moved from Hamlin Park to the O’Hare suburb of Schiller Park and had a long standing section in this suburb but I have no more info on Schiller Park.

Insane Deuces even opened in the central Illinois suburb of Bloomington and recruited many European immigrant youths. I don’t have any more information on the Bloomington Deuces but hope to later.

Addison

The O’Hare area suburb of Addison is one of the most Italian suburbs in Chicagoland. I have worked a few jobs in Addison and I was always impressed by the abundance of Italian restaurants in this mostly affluent suburb. This suburb also offers a strong Hispanic influence with many Mexican restaurants making this community a great place to dine and, for the most part, a great place to live.

Addison has a dark side, that was once more severe in the late 80s through the mid-90s. Beginning in the mid-80s many impoverished white and Hispanic single-income families began moving to Addison that now offered section 8 housing in the abundant apartment complexes. These apartments were hard neighborhoods full of struggling families with children that were shunned by the rest of the community because of their poverty and sometimes because of race. Shunned and bored kids from these apartments turned to gangs from Chicago for acceptance and something to do. In 1986, the Latin Kings were the gang for kids to join in Addison and the Latin Kings got big.

In the year 1989, Insane Deuces came from Hamlin Park and started a big Addison chapter in the Mill Road apartments and all down the Stevens Drive strip of apartments which was a lot of territory. Deuces launched into a violent gang war with the Latin Kings that brought lots of gun play and even some body bags. If you lived in Addison in the early 90s you would have thought Addison would be Deuce world forever but a key murder took down that empire. On one 1994 afternoon in the Mill Road apartments a 15-year old member of the Insane Deuces got too eager to shoot Latin Kings and fired his gun wildly. A bullet struck a 20-year old mother holding her baby killing her instantly while still holding her baby. The kid went to prison where he now stays, but Addison police didn’t stop with him, the police aggressively pursued the Deuces more than Latin Kings and caused the Deuces to mostly shut down Addison by the mid-late 90s.

Villa Park

The suburb of Villa Park is another O’Hare area suburb in Du Page county that changed in the late 80s as white flight swept the north side of the community north of St. Charles Road. The most impoverished white and Hispanic families moved into the apartments and townhouses on the north side of the suburb. North Avenue divides Villa Park from Addison but gang life almost mirrored each other between the two suburbs. Once again Hamlin Park Deuces moved to Villa Park as they did in Addison in 1989.

Along West Division Street between Westmore Avenue and Addison Road is a strip of tough looking townhouses that have been gang land since 1989. The first gang to turn this legendary hood known as “D-Block” into gangland were the Insane Deuces. The Deuces on D-Block were legendary and one could literally see hundreds of Deuces hanging out on D-Block day and night. Since the Deuces left D-Block in the mid to late 90s, no gang has ever gathered as deep as the Deuces did on this strip.

Insane Deuces filled up the townhouses along North Avenue between Joyce Avenue and Kramer Avenue in area known as “The Townies.” The Deuces were big in these townhouses but they shared the buildings with the Los Be Be Kings (now known as Los Be Be Stones). Imperial Insane Vice Lords set up in these townhouses as well and it turns out these IIVLs were from Aurora too just like many of these Townie Insane Deuces. Hamlin Park Deuces put Villa Park on the map but many Aurora Deuces also moved to Villa Park and Addison.

Insane Deuces were also dominant in the Maple Crossing Apartments that are located right across the tracks from D-Block. A good friend of mine from Elmhurst recalled as a kid riding his bike in the mid-90s into this area and being a little afraid of the Deuces hanging out by the two parks by Maple Crossing as they played basketball. He said the Deuces looked like guys you would not want to cross. He was not petrified with fear but passed through that area respectfully and carefully.

The downfall of the Insane Deuces was their war with the Latin Kings from the massive Brandywine subdivision which was a major apartment and townhouse complex full of Kings. The shooting death of the 20 year old mother in Addison caused Villa Park cops to go after the Villa Park Deuces as well in a joint effort with Addison police. By the mid-late 90s the Villa Park Deuces mostly left the suburb and left a hell of a legacy in this suburb that has not been forgotten and this piece I am writing shall immortalize it more so the story never dies.

Spade Town

The Canaryville neighborhood has a long gang history tracing back to the 19^th century. Since the 19^th century gangs were a part Canaryville, but by the later 1970s Canaryville’s classic gangs had dissolved. In the late 1980s a few members of the Insane Deuces moved to Canaryville at a time when some of the first Hispanic families were moving in. These Deuces moved on or near 43^rd Street & Union Avenue and began to blend in with this highly Irish south side community.

In the early 90s, these Insane Deuces began to recruit as they now had settled into their new surroundings. These Deuces from Canaryville recruited many Irish white kids but they also recruited among the Hispanic kids that had just arrived alongside Hispanic migration. 43^Rd & Union became an official chapter of the Insane Deuces known as “Spade Town.” The Insane Deuces would grow into heavy popularity by the mid-90s in Canaryville and these Deuces were heavy at war with Satan Disciples from Canaryville, La Raza from Back of the Yards, Latin Kings from Canaryville, Insane Popes from Canaryville and Mickey Cobras from Fuller Park. Spade Town Insane Deuces never had allies and had to battled all these mobs without help.

In the early 2000s, Insane Popes and Latin Kings could no longer keep their sections going and the Insane Deuces putting constant pressure on them had some part in that. The worst enemies of Insane Deuces was always Satan Disciples and once Popes and Latin Kings folded the Deuces became more popular and were now running the area between 43^rd to 47^th and Canal/Normal to Halsted. Problems developed with the Mickey Cobras likely because the Cobras are just across the tracks from the Deuces. Satan Disciples and La Raza are both west of the Deuces and Black P Stones are south of the Deuces.

Spade Town was highly active until 2014 but this section cooled off for about 10 years until recently becoming more active in the mid-2020s. Spade Town had been a strong section for decades and will possibly be a permanent section for the Deuces.

War with Latin Kings, Black P Stones and Vice Lords

The Lathrop projects became a notorious Deuce hood since the early 70s but recruitment died out in the 80s. Older project Deuces didn’t have much interest in recruitment and the Latin Kings being invited to the projects may have also hampered Deuce growth. There were so many Deuces recruited in the 70s that there was enough older Deuces to cover the projects through the first half of the 1980s. In the later part of the 80s project Deuces were moving to Hamlin Park to join Hamlin Park Deuces and many would move again to the suburbs alongside Hamlin Park Deuces leaving as early as 1989. Other project Deuces moved to Aurora to be among the A-Town Deuces that originally branched from the Lathrop projects in the late 70s.

When crack cocaine hit the streets in the United States in 1986, Latin Kings and older Insane Deuces became interested in selling crack. In 1986-1987 Deuces, Ghetto Brothers Organization, Puerto Rican Stones and Latin Kings became heavily connected in the crack game and since they were all united under the People alliance they were able to move product among each other’s mobs. When the Deuces jumped into the crack game, many of their fellow members were moving out of the projects and giving entire buildings to Latin Kings while some other buildings became occupied by African American gangs. The Lathrop projects were becoming increasingly African American on the north side of Diversey Parkway in Deuce buildings. The Deuces remaining in the projects made no effort to recruit African American youths and most of the Hispanic youths were now joining Latin Kings in the projects. Gangster Disciples, Black P Stones, Mickey Cobras and Vice Lords made themselves at home in the northern Lathrop buildings starting in the late 80s and by the early 90s those mobs were running entire buildings.

“K-Spade,” an African American Insane Deuce alongside “Munchkin” and “Sticks” were running the project Deuces and they were leading a violent group, mainly out of one building in the projects. By 1987, project Deuces were feuding with Latin Kings over drug profits and the Deuces felt disrespected by Latin Kings. The Ghetto Brothers Organization were also in disagreement with Latin Kings but their gang had heavily declined by the late 80s and they did not have the resources to war with Latin Kings until they were forced to in 1989. There was conflict in 1987 between Latin Kings and GBOs and Deuces but no war.

In the year 1989, there were top level business deals going on between Latin Kings and Insane Deuces in the projects. These dealings traveling very far up the management chain of the Latin Kings to Lord Gino himself. Legend has it that Lord Gino found out how much money and cocaine Lil Man, an original Insane Deuce, had access to. Lil Man was residing in Aurora now and Lord Gino sent a Latin Queen known as “Lady Q” or “Bambi” to get close to Lil Man so she could lure him to the Lathrop projects, then Latin Kings would kill him and take his cocaine. When Lil Man was lured into the projects, he was met with gun fire and shot several times. Lil Man survived the attack which was not supposed to happen. Lil Man was able to tell his fellow Deuces what went down and the project Deuces were furious. Sticks and Munchkin went all out on the Latin Kings and hit them hard when the war started in 1989, they hit the Latin Kings so hard they both went to prison for a long time. Insane Deuces behind bars in 1989 were furious when the shooting of Lil Man happened and began attacking Latin Kings behind bars. Deuces even went as far as kidnapping Lady Q and holding her for ransom. When the police got involved in this new war they mainly targeted the Deuces which was another factor that led to the downfall of the Insane Deuces in the Lathrop projects. Despite depleted numbers the Deuces continued to survive in the projects in the beginning years of the war with Latin Kings in 1989 and 1990 and these Deuces kept holding on because they fought violently against Latin Kings. Hamlin Park Insane Deuces would aid the project Deuces and gunfire was constant along Diversey Parkway, the border of the two gangs.

In 1989, Insane Deuces and Latin Kings in Aurora were mostly in harmony and were not going to get involved in the war in the city and this was accepted by the city Insane Deuces but the city Latin Kings did not approve of Aurora Latin Kings being at peace with Deuces. At the Aurora street corner of Claim & Union Latin Kings were recruiting Deuces one after another which weakened the Deuce presence at that corner, this was something that angered Deuces but not enough for war, by 1990 Claim and Union was no longer a Deuce section.

In 1990, Latin King management ordered some of their members to go to Aurora and start a war with A-Town Deuces since the Aurora Latin Kings weren’t willing. When the A-Town Deuces were to hit back it would cause the city Latin Kings to order the Aurora Kings to go to war with Deuces. This Latin King hit squad targeted big time Deuces when they were spotted in their cars and these Kings were shooting up their cars, but Deuces always got away unharmed but that did not matter A-Town Deuces declared war on the project Latin Kings but then the project Latin Kings could require the Aurora Deuces to get involved.

On June 3, 1990 Jorge Carvajal an Insane Deuce and Alex Ramos a Latin King got into a fist fight.  This fight combined with continued animosity with the Latin Kings led 4 Insane Deuce gang members to pile into a car with 9 millimeter pistols.  There was a Latin King party going on at the corner of Beach and Liberty.  At about 10:00 P.M. the car load of Deuces pulled up with black hoodies pulled over their heads across the street from the party and fired 9 bullets into a crowd of Latin Kings.  Three Latin Kings were shot, one was shot in the ankle, another in the chest and had a collapsed lung, while the other was shot in the head and died at the scene.  That gang member that was killed was Dennis Evans, an African American Latin King (People Vs. Carvajal Feb 26, 1993) (People State Of Illlinois Vs. Jose Oscar May 5, 1994).

War was about to be in full swing and the final blow was when the Latin Kings waited until October 31^st 1990. Revenge was served for Dennis Evan’s murder when Latin Kings gunned down original Aurora Insane Deuce and Insane Deuce leader Albert “Pyscho” Gonzalez.  On that Halloween night Gonzalez was in his Grove Street home all by himself when Latin King gang members snuck up to being about 190 feet away from the house and fired into the walls of the house with shotguns, rifles and various other guns, the bullets struck Gonzalez in the chest right through his heart and he died at the scene instantly.  Angel Luciano was heavily suspected of ordering the death and in 2007 he was convicted of that murder (People vs. Luciano, 2013).  Lil Man then took over the leadership position after Psycho’s death. Albert Gonzalez lived in a house at the corner of Grove Street & Lincoln Avenue, after Albert was killed that neighborhood became all Latin Kings.

Insane Deuces in Aurora were very much prepared for war with Latin Kings in the early 90s. Deuces developed a stockpile of guns that they stashed in the ground next to a pine tree at “Deuce Park” which is a park a few blocks south of Claim & Union at Union & Flagg Street. Flagg Park is a very small park with a few trees but these trees were very climbable. Deuces would climb the trees in the park after getting their guns from the nearby stash. The Deuces acted as snipers gunning down Latin Kings as they walked down Union Street to get home. More Deuces would pour out of all angles on Union Street and open fire on the homeward bound Latin Kings too. This went on for some time until Aurora police found the gun stash.

When the war began with Latin Kings, the Deuces sought council support from the rest of the People alliance but Latin Kings were one of the head seats on that council and had far more influence than Deuces. Imperial Insane Vice Lords and Conservative Vice Lords from Aurora and Chicago tried to smooth over issues between Latin Kings and Deuces by asking the Deuces to ask for peace and forgiveness and give the Latin Kings what they wanted this was advice the Deuces rejected and that did not sit well with Vice Lords. Black P Stones in the projects also tried to talk to the Deuces to get the Deuces to give in and Stones did not like the Deuce’s stance either.

In the fall of 1990, Deuces were frustrated after the murder of Psycho because the killer was never caught or found out due to the fact that the killer was Angel Luciano and he was not caught until 2007. Luciano got away with it because his father, Doc Luciano was the founder and leader of the Aurora Latin Kings and they knew how to dodge conviction. Some Insane Deuces driving around in their car looking to kill random Latin Kings and were driving by Cowherd Middle School because it was Latin King neighborhood. These Deuce shooters spotted a 15 year old Hispanic youth walking in front of the school wearing black and gold colors and he was dressed like a gang member. The Deuces shot the kid to death but it turned out the kid was an Imperial Insane Vice Lord not a Latin King. The IIVLs can be a multiracial organization that has had Hispanic members in Aurora, Joliet, Villa Park and in the Lathrop projects. IIVLs and Deuces had multiple shared hoods and this death was not accepted by the IIVLs so they went to war with Deuces. Conservative Vice Lords did not approve of the murder so they would turn on the Deuces too, this put the Deuces at heavy odds with the Vice Lord nation and this was felt in the prison system.

Black P Stones began to have a growing presence in the Lathrop projects at Leavitt & Clybourn in the very early 90s as Deuces were fading out. The Deuces did not approve of this Black P Stone advancement and war kicked off. The Stones were more inclined for war with the Deuces because they already disapproved of how Deuces did not give in to the Latin Kings.

Folk Deuces

At the beginning of 1991, the Insane Deuces were now at war with the three most key organizations at the head of the People alliance council. The Deuces had no protection behind bars and strong allies like Gaylords, Stoned Freaks and Insane Unknowns could not do anything to help the Deuces go against Latin Kings, Black P Stones and Vice Lords. One of the Insane Deuce high ranking members named “One Eye Nelson” is a cousin to Tuffy C of the Spanish Cobras. This family relation had kept Deuces and Spanish Cobras on good terms despite alliance differences. By 1991, there were discussions in process to consider the Deuces to change alliances from People to Folks but this would not be easy to finalize especially since so many Folks were against it and many of the Deuces were against it as well. The Deuces had always been proud of the five point star and many old tags from the 80s and early 90s show the five point star painted in almost every tag. Deuces tilted their hats to the left proudly, even in 1991 when Deuces were deep in wars with Latin Kings and Vice Lords. I have seen it myself in old photos from 1990 and 1991 with Deuces throwing down the crown while tilting their hats to the left.

The Spanish Cobras involved the Two Sixs in the process of creating a blue print for the Insane Deuces to flip from People to Folk. Since 1981, no People gang or Folk gang had flipped to the other side and now 10 years later there were serious discussions of the possibility. The blue print was brought before the board of Folks in prison. There were two reps invited to the meeting from each gang within the Folks. Every Folk gang voted to accept the Deuces into Folks accept for the Simon City Royals. The Royals were not cool with it because they never forgot about the death of Arab and the brutal killing of Sir Spooky so the vote was a no. The Royals had a lot of pull in the Folks because of how tight they are with Gangster Disciples and Larry Hoover. Despite the pull the Royals had their votes were ignored and the Deuces were to be accepted into Folks under the Spanish Cobra’s responsibility and representation.

In February of 1992, the Insane Deuces officially switched alliances from People to Folk and became part of the Spanish Cobra led “Insane Family” which meant the Deuces were “Insane Folks” now. The colors and “Insane” part of the Deuces name was a perfect match to be Insane and the Cobras loved it. Deuces and Cobras have become heavily close since the Deuces flipped. As soon as the flip happened a large amount of Insane Deuces rejected the idea and renounced their membership, some quit gangbanging entirely while other became Latin Kings. Most of the ones that rejected the flip were older members but many other older members embraced the change and brought about as heavy of representing for Folks as they did for the People alliance when they were People. When I look at several photos from the 90s and 2000s I see so many members with hats tilted to the right and in their tags are many Folks tags, Deuces became big representatives of Folks and die hard Insanes. Some older Deuces stuck around with the gang but they kept representing People and stayed as People Deuces through 1993.

Some high ranking Deuces were escorted by high ranking Spanish Cobras into Simon City Royal, Paulina Barry Community and Maniac Latin Disciples hoods in the city and suburbs because these three mobs were their worst enemies when Deuces were People. The Maniac Latin Disciples were bitter but ultimately accepted the Deuces and the war stopped for a few years. Simon City Royals became enraged and the Paulina Barry Community pulled out a gun when they saw the Deuces, those wars would continue but the PBCs went mostly extinct by the late 90s. The war with Simon City Royals would never end.

When the Deuces flipped to Folks they left Hermosa but Gaylords and Freaks kept their respect for the Deuces and empathized with their decision. The projects were closed in 1992 as the last Deuces moved out of the last building they claimed. Many rumors claim the Deuces got ran out of the projects by the Kings, this is not true, members were leaving the projects since the late 70s and by 1992 the exodus ran its course.

Relations with Gangster Disciples

In the year 1992, after joining Insane Folks thanks to the Spanish Cobras, the Deuces became good allies with the Gangster Disciples in Aurora.  Now the Deuces were hanging out with many more African American youths thanks to the ties with GDs, this accompanied by the release of the movie South Central brought more African American recruits into the Deuce nation. The movie South Central featured a young 11 year old boy that had an imprisoned father that ended up in prison for murder.  The gang the father was in was the “Deuces” and now his son wanted to join the gang.  Anyway, it was said a lot of African American youths joined the Insane Deuces in Aurora in 1992 because of that movie.  With this rise in youths joining because of a movie and having to embrace the new Folk Nation caused many older members to leave the organization to either retire or flip to Latin Kings.  The Deuces that joined solely because of the movie turned out to be fake and either flipped to GDs or ended up being kicked out of the organization for being a nuisance while others would last a little longer.

War with Maniac Latin Disciples and Spanish Gangster Disciples…now as Folks

In 1996 another war with Maniac Latin Disciples broke out after an earlier war had been squashed.  A fight broke out between an MLD and a Deuce named Cheerio.  Cheerio got revenge by shooting the MLD dead.  This war was uncontrollable to the point that older Insane Deuces moved into Elgin to help out with the Elgin war which was the original source of the conflict.  More problems would arise in Elgin when the Deuces shot a member of the Spanish Gangster Disciples named Gizmo in the back of the head with a .22 caliber pistol which eventually killed him.

The Deuces of recent years

In 2003 major Aurora police raids took down many members of the Deuces and Latin Kings, there were also 65 lives claimed between both sides during the war between the years 1990-2003, all these factors severely hurt Deuce operations state-wide but did not stop operations completely but hurt them heavily.

Hamlin Park has become highly gentrified as property has soured in the neighborhood. The Hamlin Park area became highly expensive to the point where lessor income families could not afford it anymore which is where Deuces come from. Young members could not walk the streets anymore very easily without police harassing them turning them into criminals just for looking like gangbangers by the 2000s. Some older members kept up with the rising living costs and continue to live in Hamlin Park. Hamlin Park is still Deuce hood but their activities do not involve being out in the open like the decades past, Deuces operate in Hamlin Park behind the scenes. Deuces in Elgin, Aurora and Spade Town are still highly active with young members walking the streets. All other Deuce sections closed long ago.

Known sections of the Insane Deuces past and present

Canaryville neighborhood 1989-present

Sections of Canaryville

43^rd to 47^th, Halsted to Union (Spade Town)

Irving Park neighborhood

Sections of Irving Park

Keystone & Cullom

Jefferson Park neighborhood 1984-1988

Sections of Jefferson Park

Milwaukee & Bryn Mawr (M/Bst)

Hermosa neighborhood Established 1986-1992

Sections of Hermosa

Diversey & Kilbourn Established 1986-1992

Lincoln Park neighborhood Established 1971-1975

Clybourn/Damen to Leavitt/Hoyne Established 1971-1975 (Lathrop projects)

Lakeview neighborhood Established 1971-present years

Sections of Lakeview

Roscoe to School, Lincoln to Ravenswood Established 1971-present years

North Center neighborhood Established 1971-present years

Sections of North Center

Roscoe to George, Honore to Campbell (Hamlin Park) Established 1971-present years

Clybourn to Leavitt to Diversey (Lathrop projects) Established 1971-1992

Portage Park neighborhood 1988-2010s

Sections of Portage Park

Berteau to Belle Plaine, Milwaukee to Lavergne (Dickinson Park) 1992-2010s

Milwaukee & Montrose 1988-1992

River West neighborhood

Sections of River West

Milwaukee & Ohio

Southern West Town neighborhood

Sections of Southern West Town

Grand & Damen

Suburbs

Addison Established Mill Road and Green Oak Courts apartments, Stevens Drive from Mill Road to Highview Avenue 1989-1995

Aurora Established 1979 – present years (A-Town Deuces) Grand & Loucks, Ohio & Kane, Ohio & Century Lane, Ohio & Second, Farnsworth Park

Elgin Lovell Street to Kimball Street Grove Avenue to Prospect Blvd mid-90s to present years

Montgomery

Naperville

Oswego

Villa Park Established Division Street from Westmore to Addison Road (D-Block), Terrace Street from Westmore to Addison Road (Maplewood Courts), North Avenue from Kramer to Joyce (The Townies, shared with Los Be Be Kings) 1989-1995

Schiller Park Early 1990s-?

Elk Grove Village

West Chicago 1989-mid-90s