Chicago Crime Commission
Encyclopedia
The Chicago Crime Commission is an independent, non-partisan civic
watchdog organization of business leaders dedicated to educating the public about the dangers of organized criminal activity, especially organized crime
, street gangs and the tools of their trade: drugs
, guns
, public corruption, money laundering
, identity theft
and gambling
, founded in 1919. The police
, the judicial system, politicians, prosecutors and citizens rely on the Chicago Crime Commission to provide advice on crime issues and to communicate vital information to the public.
in the Roaring '20s, local businessmen formed the Chicago Crime Commission to address the lawlessness prevalent in Chicago during the time. The backlog of murder
cases awaiting trial was reduced, while the public corruption and organized criminal activities of the Chicago Outfit
were exposed. In 1930, the Commission first brought about the Public Enemies list, with Chicago
gangster Al Capone
as "Public Enemy Number One." The idea of such a list was co-opted by the FBI as the The FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
list.
Today, the Commission's primary role is to ensure that business, government
and law enforcement work together to address problems caused by organized criminal enterprises
by:
and public corruption for professional research
and education
.https://www.chicagocrimecommission.org/ItemParentList.aspx?code=ItemPublication The Chicago Crime Commission maintains current information on crime issues and criminal activities involving organized crime, gangs and public corruption. Recent publications include: The Gang Book and Friend and Foe.
http://www.888eyeongov.org that gives government employees and concerned citizens an effective way to reach law enforcement anonymously. The Anonymous Crime Reporting Hotline accepts tips on general and gang-related criminal activities.
online at www.chicagocrimecommission.org,http://www.chicagocrimecommission.org subject to availability and security clearance.
solely from private citizens and businesses committed to improving the quality of public safety
in their communities.
Civics
Civics is the study of rights and duties of citizenship. In other words, it is the study of government with attention to the role of citizens ― as opposed to external factors ― in the operation and oversight of government....
watchdog organization of business leaders dedicated to educating the public about the dangers of organized criminal activity, especially organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
, street gangs and the tools of their trade: drugs
DRUGS
Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2010. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011.- Formation :...
, guns
Güns
Güns or Guens may refer to:* Kőszeg, Hungary * Kőszeg Mountains, Hungary * Akiva Güns , birth name of Akiva Eger, a Hungarian-Polish rabbi- See also :* Guns * Gün, a surname...
, public corruption, money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
, identity theft
Identity theft
Identity theft is a form of stealing another person's identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name...
and gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
, founded in 1919. The police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
, the judicial system, politicians, prosecutors and citizens rely on the Chicago Crime Commission to provide advice on crime issues and to communicate vital information to the public.
Summary
Founded just before ProhibitionProhibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
in the Roaring '20s, local businessmen formed the Chicago Crime Commission to address the lawlessness prevalent in Chicago during the time. The backlog of murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
cases awaiting trial was reduced, while the public corruption and organized criminal activities of the Chicago Outfit
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
were exposed. In 1930, the Commission first brought about the Public Enemies list, with Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
gangster Al Capone
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
as "Public Enemy Number One." The idea of such a list was co-opted by the FBI as the The FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, and William Kinsey Hutchinson, International News Service Editor-in-Chief, who were discussing ways to promote capture of the...
list.
Today, the Commission's primary role is to ensure that business, government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
and law enforcement work together to address problems caused by organized criminal enterprises
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
by:
- Publishing The Gang Book, a training toolTrainingThe term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of...
for law enforcement and educators on the Chicago area gangs and strategies for protecting the city and surrounding communities; - Publishing Friend and Foe, a centennial reviewReviewA review is an evaluation of a publication, a product or a service, such as a movie , video game, musical composition , book ; a piece of hardware like a car, home appliance, or computer; or an event or performance, such as a live music concert, a play, musical theater show or dance show...
of law enforcement successes and failures to inform and jump-start plans for future law enforcement initiativesInitiativeIn political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote...
; - Offering tools for citizens to report public corruption and crimeCrimeCrime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
anonymously to the right law enforcement agency through an interactive website and hotline; - Promoting Project Safe NeighborhoodsProject Safe NeighborhoodsProject Safe Neighborhoods is a national initiative by the United States Department of Justice to reduce gun violence in the United States. The project is a partnership designed to develop, implement, and evaluate data-driven violence reduction strategies in communities, and improve the long-term...
, a highly successful gang and violenceGangA gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
reduction strategy that resulted in a 38% drop in homicideHomicideHomicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
rates in pilot areas; - Advising statewide and local partnerships on how to improve communications to prevent and respond to everyday crimes and organized criminal activities;
- Conducting researchResearchResearch can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
and providing analysisAnalysisAnalysis is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle , though analysis as a formal concept is a relatively recent development.The word is...
on crime issues, specializing in those businesses associated with organized criminal activity; and - Offering the most comprehensive organized crime library possible.
Highlights
- The Chicago Crime Commission spearheaded educating Illinois citizens on the dangers of a government-owned casinoCasinoIn modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
as the Illinois Governor and the Illinois General AssemblyIllinois General AssemblyThe Illinois General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois and comprises the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Illinois has 59 legislative districts, with two...
sought to pass legislationLegislationLegislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
creating a Chicago-owned casinoCasinoIn modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
, increasing the total number of casinoCasinoIn modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
s, allowing slot machines at the racetracks and massively expanding gamblingGamblingGambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
throughout IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. - The Commission's President, James W. WagnerJames W. WagnerJames W. Wagner has served as the President of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia since 2003. From 2000 to 2003, he served as Provost and interim President of Case Western Reserve University.-Biography:...
,http://sev.prnewswire.com/legal/20070626/DCM09225062007-1.html testified as an expert witnessExpert witnessAn expert witness, professional witness or judicial expert is a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially and legally...
in the federal government's massive prosecution of Chicago organized crimeOrganized crimeOrganized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
in the case known as the "Family Secrets" trial.http://www.suntimes.com/news/mob/index.html - The Commission monitors the federal prosecutions of Illinois' alleged pay-to-playPay to PlayPay to play, sometimes pay for play, is a phrase used for a variety of situations in which money is exchanged for services or the privilege to engage in certain activities...
political insiders and the general public corruption allegations levied against government officials throughout IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, including the trials involving former GovernorGovernorA governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
George H. Ryan, his former Chief-of-StaffChief of StaffThe title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
, Scott Fawell http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/Scott.Fawell.George.2.321872.html and current Chicago businessman Antoin Rezko.
Publications and archives
Owning one of the oldest and most complete historical archives on organized crime in the 20th- and 21st century, the Commission provides an important historical record of criminal activityCriminal Activity
Criminal Activity is the debut album by American rap supergroup Criminalz, which consisted of Spice 1, Celly Cel and Jayo Felony. It was released August 7, 2001 on Celly Cel's label, Realside Records. The album was produced by Doyle, G-Man Stan, Spice 1 and Stan Keith...
and public corruption for professional research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
and education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
.https://www.chicagocrimecommission.org/ItemParentList.aspx?code=ItemPublication The Chicago Crime Commission maintains current information on crime issues and criminal activities involving organized crime, gangs and public corruption. Recent publications include: The Gang Book and Friend and Foe.
- The Gang Book is a 272-page overview of Chicago area gangs,https://www.chicagocrimecommission.org/ItemParent.aspx?id=14 including gang histories, gang insigniaGang signalA gang signal is a visual or verbal way gang members identify their affiliation. This can take many forms including slogans, tattoos or hand signs...
s, gang leaders, gang criminal activities and gang migrations to Chicago's suburbs. The Chicago Police DepartmentChicago Police DepartmentThe Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest local law enforcement agency in the...
, the Chicago Public School System and other government agencies use The Gang Book in their law enforcement training programs. The Gang Book lists street gang and crime information about specific communities in greater Chicago. - Friend and Foe is a compilation of interesting moments of crimeCrimeCrime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
and crime history in a decade-by-decade pictorial, featuring photographs, cartoons, newspaper articles, lithographs, fingerprintFingerprintA fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
s and drawings from the Chicago Crime Commission's extensive historical archiveArchiveAn archive is a collection of historical records, or the physical place they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of an organization...
. Friend and Foe features law enforcement successes and failures https://www.chicagocrimecommission.org/ItemParent.aspx?id=17 that can help guide today's solutions to crime issues.
Crime reporting
A non-government agency, the Commission acts an intermediary between citizens and law enforcement to help initiate investigations. The Anonymous Public Corruption Reporting Hotline is a web-based public corruption and crime reporting systemCrime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
http://www.888eyeongov.org that gives government employees and concerned citizens an effective way to reach law enforcement anonymously. The Anonymous Crime Reporting Hotline accepts tips on general and gang-related criminal activities.
Public activities
The Chicago Crime Commission presents and sponsors presentations on current law enforcement issues and criminal justice issues, continuing its track record of exposing corruption and organized criminal activities and encouraging public debate on issues of public safety and national security. The Chicago Crime Commission hosts at least four events a year open to the public: (1) a mid-year member luncheon, (2) a golf benefit; (3) an annual dinner benefit; and (4) a holiday luncheon. The Commission accepts sponsorship and event purchasesPurchasing
Purchasing refers to a business or organization attempting for acquiring goods or services to accomplish the goals of the enterprise. Though there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary greatly between organizations...
online at www.chicagocrimecommission.org,http://www.chicagocrimecommission.org subject to availability and security clearance.
Funding
As a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, the Commission receives fundingFunding
Funding is the act of providing resources, usually in form of money , or other values such as effort or time , for a project, a person, a business or any other private or public institutions...
solely from private citizens and businesses committed to improving the quality of public safety
Public Safety
Public safety involves the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety of the general public from significant danger, injury/harm, or damage, such as crimes or disasters .-See also:* By nation...
in their communities.
Further reading
- Bill Barnhart, "Public Enemies: Chicago Origins of Personalized Anticrime Campaigns." Journal of Illinois History 2001 4(4): 258-270. Issn: 1522-0532