The history of gangs has been a rising issue for decades. In the 80’s and 90’s gangs mostly consisted of adults, but in this day in age, gang members can be as young as elementary school children. The war on gangs in Chicago has become a political issue. Chicago is not the biggest city in the U.S., but for its size it has the highest murder rate in the country and most of it is related to gang violence and drugs. What can the people of Chicago do differently to decrease the problems that arise from youths joining gangs? How can the local government minimize the gang wars in Chicago? Gangs were said to have emerged in Chicago right before the American Civil War. The main causes for the creation of gangs were mainly caused by immigration and poverty.
In Chicago, many factors cause gangs to emerge. Poverty and segregation are two of the leading factors to the uprising of gangs and gang violence. Gangs not only affect the communities, but the people who live there, and mainly the youth, whose only way out is to join a gang.
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Gangs continue to grow day after day in the communities of Chicago. The crime rate in the city of Chicago on average is higher than the country. According to a study done by the FBI, the number of murders in Chicago has risen from 485 in 2015 to 764 in 2016. It is becoming an epidemic and our president has even threatened to implement the feds in the Chicago communities and neighborhoods if something does not change. With the increase in poverty and segregation throughout the city the number of gangs has risen to approximately 600 gangs and about 70,000 members or more. The violence in the city of Chicago nearly doubled in a year and most of the gang-related murders involved guns. After the murder rate skyrocketed in 2016, the local government realized that the strict gun laws in Chicago aren’t making a