Earlier today I visited the intersection of Barry and Spaulding in Avondale for a look around.
What prompted my visit was a Chicago Sun-Times story today identifying the intersection as “Ground Zero in the Chicago Police Department’s all-out war on the Maniac Latin Disciples.”
Let’s clarify the BS reference at the outset, by quoting from the Sun-Times story:
“The intersection looks like countless others on the Northwest Side.
“Lots of trees, well-kept frame homes, a plant-filled traffic circle.
“But there’s also a street sign spray-painted with a blue pitchfork — the symbol of the Maniac Latin Disciples.
“It’s Barry and Spaulding. ‘B.S.’ for short. The gang members who call it their turf, however, have a new name for the neighborhood surrounding B.S.
“It’s like the Bermuda Triangle,” one high-ranking gang member told the Chicago Sun-Times. “As long as you fly around it, you’re OK. But the minute you drive in there, you get sucked in [by the police.]”