Gangs here but shouldn't be tolerated

While most of us are looking forward to the coming warmer weather, it also serves as a reminder to local authorities that gang crime could be near.

"The nice weather comes, and away we go. Look out, spring," warned Hanover Park Rodney Craig in an story about gang violence in the suburbs by staff writer Ted Cox.

Craig knows from experience. Hanover Park was the site of a series of violent acts last year that resulted in two gang-related murders.

So Craig, perhaps, wasn't surprised to hear of a drive-by shooting last week in Schaumburg that injured three children and happened near a junior high school. Nor was he surprised to hear of a gang-related police pursuit from Arlington Heights to Palatine the same night.

And neither should the public.

"Sometimes you see it coming and sometimes you don't," Craig said.

It's incumbent upon all suburban mayors and police departments to anticipate this kind of trouble and work together to stop it.

So, while we sympathize with Schaumburg Village President Al Larson when he says "our crime rate is the lowest it's been since 1985; this is something that's an anomaly as far as the village is concerned," we hope he's not putting his head in the sand.

The problems in Hanover Park occurred not far from Schaumburg. The shooting in Schaumburg occurred across the street from Hoffman Estates. Gangs know no suburban boundary.

"It's hard for these towns to adjust to the fact that gangs are everywhere," said Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. "It's not a stigma against any town, because they're everywhere."

He said that his gang-intelligence officers have detected increased activity in pockets of Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Arlington Heights because of an influx of rival gang members.

Last year, it was determined the Hanover Park issues stemmed from a turf battle between two gangs.

What can be done?

In Streamwood last fall, they held a community gang forum sponsored by Elgin Area School District U-46 and prompted by the September shooting of a 17-year-old. Hanover Park held a similar forum which prompted more neighborhood watch groups.

Local police departments and federal agents arrested a dozen suspected gang members in the suburbs in January and targeted them for deportation as part of a nationwide operation. Arrests were made in Algonquin, Carpentersville, Elgin, Palatine, Schaumburg, Streamwood, Vernon Hills and Waukegan.

During the height of the Hanover Park problem last year, nearby police departments and the Illinois State Police all rerouted some personnel to help the community.

All these are efforts are needed. Police, schools and residents should work together to educate the public and to let gangs know their presence and their actions won't be tolerated.