‘Latin Kings' Call Lincoln Park Home, Gang Map Shows

While Lincoln Park is widely considered to be one of Chicago’s safest neighborhoods, one of the community’s better-known problem areas is now being linked to one of Chicago’s deadly gangs.

According to research by the Chicago Police Department, the city blocks surrounding the corner of North Damen Avenue, West Diversey Avenue and west to the Chicago River are home to the Latin Kings, one of the city's 59 gangs, according to WBEZ’s interactive map.

A recent “gang audit” looked at police statistics and talked with residents and gang experts to discover what gangs are present, where they hang out and who they’re currently in conflict with. While the results from the most recent gang audit have yet to be made fully public, WBEZ's map is based on information from 2010.

It’s the only gang-related territory in Lincoln Park, according to the map. As The History Channel reports, the Latin Kings have been linked to heavy narcotics trafficking in their areas.

They emerged in the 1940s as a way for people who are Hispanic to "protect themselves, their neighborhoods and their families," the report said. The gang has since spread through all of Latin America and into Europe, specifically, Spain. 

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Community Policing Sgt. Beth Giltmier, with CPD’s 19^th District on Addison Street, says the epicenter of the gang problem on the North Side is around the corner of North Broadway and Wilson Avenue in Uptown. However, she says she can’t comment on what specifically CPD is doing to combat the problem so as not to give out too much detailed information.

“We can’t really show our hand on (what we’re doing to fight gangs) because that would defeat the point,” Giltmier said. “But we give it more attention than any other issues. … Any time you have any kind of gang activity, residents living there need to be aware of that.”

Giltmier says the 19^th district partners with police as far north as the 24^th district in Rogers Park to get a handle on gang-related crimes, and they recognize which areas are hotspots. Commander Elias Voulgaris has even ordered more officers to patrol in those locations to try lowering crime rates.

As for residents living near the territory, Giltmier says it’s incredibly important that they call 911 if they see any gang-related activates, or if a group simply looks intimidating. Whether someone sees a large gathering of suspicious looking people, an entire group wearing a similar color or people throwing out gang signs, call right away.

And it’s not just Lincoln Park that should be aware of gang activity in the North Side. Neighboring communities including Lake View and Roscoe Village have large territories that are home to the Gangster Disciples and Insane Deuces gang, respectively. The Latin Kings and Black P Stone occupy almost all of Uptown.

CPD Chief of Organized Crime Nicholas Roti spoke with WBEZ after releasing the gang maps, and according to their report, releasing them to the public is considered a double-edged sword. While it helps area police and residents identify potential problem areas, he says it could be used for the wrong reasons.

"We don't want to either glorify a gang or maybe unintentionally cause a gang rift," Chief Roti told WBEZ. "You (a gang member) could look at a map and say, 'They got way more territory than us.'”

Check out the full map of Chicago on WBEZ’s website. 

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