Simon City Royals

Simon City Royals began in the late 1950s at the corner of Drake and Wabansia streets on Chicago's northwest side when a gang began calling themselves "Simon City" after Simons Park which was located on that corner.

In the 1960s, they began to fight with gangs such as the Imperial Gangsters, Latin Kings, Jokers, Drakers and Belairs. By this time Simon City had begun to clean up their act and organize, and began to spread to other neighborhoods on the northwest side. They started talks with a gang called the Ashland Royals who were headquartered on the corner of Paulina and Cornelia streets. The leader of Simon City, Michael Kraft, fought a leading member of the Royals and lost, with the result being that the two gangs merged into one. The gang was now called "Simon City's Angry Royals", soon to be shortened to "Simon City Royals". Some sections of Simon City continued to operate as a separate group under the old name for a few years before either joining the Royals or fading away.

Turf wars and alliances

In the 1970s, the gang had tenuous alliances to the city's two major white gangs, the Popes and the Gaylords. In 1975, the Gaylords killed Larkin, then the leader of the Popes, and the Popes decided to form an alliance with the Royals. The Royals also fought major "wars" with the Latin Kings, Insane Deuces and Latin Eagles in which many lives were lost, including some of the top ranking Simon City Royals. By this time the Royals had spread out to include neighborhoods like Albany and School, Drake and Wolfram, Southport and Fullerton, Central Park and Wilson, California and Fletcher, Farwell and Clark, among others. The Southport and Fullerton Royals were involved in a "war" with the Insane Unknowns because they had killed the leader of the Unknowns after inviting him to a peace meeting. The Unknowns would then wipe out the Southport and Fullerton Royals, killing their leaders and taking control of the area. To protect their members in prison and to maintain some presence on the streets, the Royals opted to join the Folk Alliance which sprang up in the late 70s/early 80s. The leader of the Simon City Royals, Todd O'Thomas, aka Todd Brewer, was killed by the Puerto Rican Stones in the early 80s.

Decline

The Royals entered into vicious street wars with the Latin Kings, Insane Deuces and Gaylords. In 1983, the Royals shot a 14 year old Gaylord in the back, killing him. One of the Gaylords present was Michael Scott, who would later go on to write a book about his days as a gang member called [http://www.gaylords712.com/book.html "Lords of Lawndale"] . Scott indentified a Royal named Mike Hynes as one of the shooters and testified against him. Hynes and Orlando Serrano, who claimed to not be a gang member, were tried for murder. Serrano was found Not Guilty, but Hynes was convicted in part because of testimony given by fellow Simon City Royal members, as well as testimony given by Scott. Hynes spent over twenty years in prison and was killed shortly after his release after being involved in the stabbing of a woman in a Chicago bar.

Current

The Royals killed several members of the Deuces and the Kings in the 1980s, in addition to the 14 year old Gaylord they shot in the back. By the ealy 90s, however, they had begun to feud with their former allies, the Spanish Cobras and Latin Disciples. The Royals killed several Cobras and had some of their members killed in return. They then entered into a grouping within the Folks alliance known as the Almighty Family. This faction consists of the Royals, Imperial Gangsters, Harrison Gents, Latin Eagles and Ambrose. The Royals still hang-on to some of their historic strongholds on the north side of Chicago and have spread into the suburbs and other states such as Wisconsin, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Florida. Today they still consist of mostly White members but also many Latino and Black members as well. They are said to be heavily involved in the use and dealing of methamphetamine.

Pictures

* [http://chicagogangs.org/index.php?pr=TATTOOS_ROYALS Almighty Simon City Royals Tattoos]
* [http://www.chicagogangs.org//index.php?pr=ALMIGHTY_SCR_PICTURES Almighty Simon City Royals Pictures]
* [http://www.chicagogangs.org//index.php?pr=ALMIGHTY_SCR_DRAWINGS Almighty Simon City Royals Drawings]
* [http://halia.meccahosting.com/~a00004f3/Gangcards%20site/Royals/Royal%27s.htm Simon City Royals Gang Cards]

External links

* [http://www.stonegreasers.com/greaser/scr.html Simon City Royal's History]
* [http://www.stonegreasers.com/greaser/ Stone Greasers]
* [http://www.uic.edu/orgs/kbc/Rooms/chiroomnew.html University of ILL. Gang Research]
* [http://www.gangresearch.net/ChicagoGangs/chiroomnew.html Gang Research Foundation]