Arch Dukes
Arch Dukes

Arch Dukes

Founded Founded in 1966 by Danny C
Affiliations Give details
Colors Black and Grey
Primary ethnicities White
Symbols knight helmet and Shield
Status Extinct

The Arch Dukes were a mostly Italian gang born out of the Chicago land suburb of Cicero, Illinois in the Grant Works section of Cicero which was the oldest greaser neighborhood in Cicero.  The Arch Dukes started in about the year 1966 in order to combat roaming gangs like the Ridgeway Lords from nearby Little Village in Chicago.  The Arch Dukes were founded by 15-year-old George who recently passed away from cancer in January of 2024.

The Dukes worked with the Esquires from Roosevelt and Austin to keep city gangs out of Cicero.  The Dukes also worked with the Berwyn Greasers from the neighboring suburb of Berwyn, Illinois.

The Arch Dukes ran Cicero during the 1970s until the Noble Knights outpaced them in the early 80s with membership.  In the year 1978 the Arch Dukes joined the People alliance alongside Noble Knights, Twelfth Street Players and Latin Kings for protection of their incarcerated members.  The Latin Kings assisted the Dukes with joining People because they had been allies since the late 60s.

In the early 1980s the Noble Knights and Two Two Boys grew larger in size than the Arch Dukes as Arch Dukes became much less active as they grew older, recruitment slowed down considerably.  The last young recruit to join the Dukes was in 1986 and by the late 80s the active Arch Dukes were a small group.  By the year 1992/1993 Hispanic gangs from Chicago took over Cicero and white flight began heavily in Cicero causing older Arch Dukes to move out of the area and the Dukes ceased operations.