Chicago is a city with a complicated legacy — a place that has inspired political machines, entrepreneurial innovation, faith-filled reform, and yes, devastating corruption. While many think of shady deals made in smoke-filled back rooms, the deeper and more troubling truth is that Chicago has a long history of collaboration between political figures and violent street gangs.

This is not conspiracy theory. It’s documented history.

Gangs as Political Machinery

Beginning in the 1960s, Chicago politicians recognized something that should have been obvious: gangs had numbers.… Continue Reading