The January 2012 issue of Chicago Magazine features an important article for anyone interested in Chicago’s neighborhoods – Gangs and Politicians: An Unholy Alliance.
David Bernstein and Noah Isackson paint a frightening picture of the influence of street gangs on Chicago politics and politicians and the extent to which Chicago’s law enforcement agencies tolerate the intolerable. This isn’t a recent development, as Chicagoans know all too well.
The Little Village neighborhood at night takes on a very different cast from the one you see in Joe Askins’ leisurely drive along 26th Street in the above video. It’s a high crime neighborhood, but one in which you see none of the blue light cameras that have helped reduce crime in other neighborhoods: the alderman won’t allow them, according to the Chicago Magazine article.
If you want a clearer picture of what to expect in Little Village than the one you’ll see in the video, read the comments on the video at YouTube. Don’t miss the gang map that accompanies the Chicago Magazine article.