Gang Signs in Downtown Crystal Lake

A press release from the Crystal Lake Police Department:

Crime Stoppers Tip Looking for Information on Defacement in the Downtown Area

CRIME OF THE WEEK

This Crystal Lake "Sidewalk Closed" sign on Grant Street sports a gang symbol.

This Crystal Lake “Sidewalk Closed” sign on Grant Street sports a gang symbol.

Crime Stoppers and the Crystal Lake Police Department are seeking information that will help solve a multiple Criminal Defacement investigations.

The Crystal Lake Police Department needs your help solving several incidents involving graffiti to businesses and signs in the downtown area within the last couple of months. If any suspicious subjects or vehicles are observed in the area, please contact the Crystal Lake Police Department.

Tips can also be texted anonymously to “TIP411” (847411) with the keyword “TIPCLPD” within the text.

If you have any information about this crime, or any other crime, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-762-STOP (7867).

Crime Stoppers pays cash rewards of up to $1000.00 for information leading to the arrest and filing of criminal charges against offenders.

CRIME STOPPERS DOES NOT USE CALLER I.D.

You may also call the Crystal Lake Police Department Investigations Division at 815-459-4481. This number also does not use caller I.D.

= = = = =
I drove Downtown looking for “defacement.”

McHenry County Board member Jim Heisler hadn’t heard about it, so I started walking around.

At the train station I found a parked police car and was told graffiti had been found on every Downtown street.

Kalck's Butcher Shop sign on Woodstock Street in Crystal Lake.  (Best meat in town.)

Kalck’s Butcher Shop sign on Woodstock Street in Crystal Lake. (Best meat in town.)

I continued walking.

Stopping in Kalck’s Butcher Shop I asked the proprietor if knew where I could find some.

Gang sign behind Kalck's Butcher Shop.

Gang sign behind Kalck’s Butcher Shop.

He led me out back and pointed to one of his doors.

This Waste Management dumpster had dueling gang signs.

This Waste Management dumpster had dueling gang signs.

I saw a gang sign. (I’m not familiar with them, so maybe a reader can tell us who spray painted it.)

I walked down the alley to the east of Williams Street.

There I found a couple of dueling gang signs on garbage dumpsters.

One thing I remember from when Chief Sam Johns headed the Crystal Lake Police Department.

If you called him up about a gang sign, it quickly disappeared.


Comments

Gang Signs in Downtown Crystal Lake — 27 Comments

  1. Cal, it’s a bit premature, I think, to get everyone lathered up assuming this is gang graffiti; I suggest you educate yourself on ‘tagging’ before making this leap next time.

  2. When I worked across the tracks from Kalck’s, the body shop waited for their gang taggers to return- horror of horrors, it was spoiled white kids who were terrorizing the community with their Sharpies.

  3. I’m not sure of some of the markings but the AVK by Kalck’s butcher shop could be the gang sign for the Aliso Village Killer out of Los Angeles.

    I do however know who to ask.

    Bill Prim is a Gangs Crime Specialist and worked on the Northwest Gang task force.

    The next time I see him I’m going to ask if he is familiar with any of these markings.

    Sadly, if you think there are no gangs in McHenry you are kidding yourself.

  4. Voter/anonymous coward- Of course it could be the Aliso Village Killers.

    Or a spoiled white brat with the same access to the internet that you do.

    You may want to stop by the store today to pick up a fresh Occam’s Razor.

    Or a gang crimes investigator who is concerned about job security.

    Because no firefighter has ever been convicted of arson, ever… Not.

  5. It’s a shame that some people have these views.

    Thank you to all the gang crimes investigators who truly are concerned about the kids who are pulled into gangs and the kids who are on drugs.

    As far as the internet goes ? and the remark on spoiled white kids hmmmm.

  6. No SH!!!!T

    Voter, I think his Ma Ma hit him in the head too many times when he was a child.

  7. Prim will, for sure, save the day and decipher these tag-lines. If, among all things, Prim is a State Certified Street Gang Officer, (which is not listed on his bio…it just says he was a supervisor which is not quite the same) then I’m sure he’ll either identify this as ‘tagging’ or announce some obscure and undocumented west coast street gang has infiltrated our community.

    Thank God MCSO has the MARV and MERP in order to mitigate this new scourge….

  8. BTW, anyone notice the apparent ‘padding’ to Prim’s bio under his education.

    Although he lacks a bachelor’s degree he is certainly purporting to have attended some rather high brow institutions…

  9. Are you kidding.

    You say things are not listed,look again Prim was not only a Gang Crimes Supervisor he was a Gang Crimes Specialist working with the

    Northwest Suburban Gang Task Force (which IS listed in his bio)so don’t lie.

    People ,also look at all the many many awards he has received and look at the top agencies who have given him those awards.

    These are in NO way padded as you say ( another lie) What is on Prim’s bio can be verified but some people are so used to the Nygren/Zinke way you don’t believe or give credit to those who have put their lives on the line to better society and protect the citizens.

  10. oops, voter- I stand corrected it was an honest mistake, Prim does have Gang Crimes Specialist on his bio.

    I will, however, stand by the fact that Gang Crimes Specialist is not Board Certified training (that’s not the name for it) so that could mean any number of things (guess I’m a stickler for what people publicly claim).

    BTW, I’m not out of bounds to question how Prim documents his education.

    Last I heard, Prim does not having a bachelors degree (or above) and is claiming he was educated at U of I, Northwestern and MSU which may be very disingenuous and the definition of ‘padding’; such claims reasonably infer Prim attained a certain level of education (should someone FOIA and check?).

    Law Enforcement training is training–not education; there’s a very distinct line between police school and higher education and no one should claim (regardless of where they attained their training–some may grant college credit, but it’s not quite right to claim one was educated at a University when it was job training) that they were educated when they were, in fact, trained. BTW-I never said his awards were ‘padded’, just that his ‘education’ appears to be. Read the definitions of training and education…

  11. Really………

    The definition of education is The act or process of imparting or acquiring particular knowledge or skills, as a profession; process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge; developing the powers of reasoning and judgement and generally of preparing oneself or others……….

    That is what EDUCATION means…..al the schools Prim attended were EDUCATION.

    Now lesson 3; HIGHER EDUCATION means beyond the secondary level that lasts 3-4 years.

    Prim was right in saying that he was EDUCATED at all those schools………..But, the BEST EDUCATION IS ON HANDS EXPERIENCE.

    Lesson 3. The meaning of WRONG is not in conformity with facts or truth; incorrect or erroneous……and that is you

  12. On the street experience beats everything I know of.

    You can sit in a class room get a degree but no nothing about “the real deal ” out there.

    I’m not putting down education but personally I would rather be on the streets then saying I know things because i sat in a classroom and someone told me.

    Then get out on the street and find out boy where they wrong.

  13. Higher Education is….. A.S. B.S. M.A. P.H.D. etc…….padding is not what Prim made claims to, and if you think so, then obviously, you have never acquired Higher education yourself.

    Prim never claimed he had a Bachelors Degree, ( higher education )… education ,yes, experience, yes, knowledge, yes

  14. About Prim not having a Bachelors degree, well maybe it was a time element.

    Maybe, just maybe, Prim he was busy dismantling a marijuana trafficking organization

    or

    maybe it was because he was working as a task force officer with the United States Customs

    or

    when he was working on the largest domestic ecstasy case in the Untied States

    or

    his work with the Border Intelligence Network

    or

    maybe he couldn’t get a degree because he was working on the global investigation involving Nigerian heroin smuggling.

    Maybe just maybe he can get that all important degree when he gets elected
    Sheriff of McHenry County………..

    Oh no he won’t have time because he will have to straighten out all the mess Zinke left.

  15. Happy, sorry–but you’re wrong and can’t count your own lessons.

    Education (when we type a resume or bio) means ‘the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university.'(Merriam Webster).

    While training is ‘a process by which someone is taught the skills that are needed for an art, profession, or job’ (also Merriam Webster).

    Now, despite the fact PTI is held at the U of I and that Staff and Command is held at/sponsored by NU…the fact remains these programs are training.

    As I said, there maybe academic credit offered as a result of these training programs, but these are not education.

    It is disingenuous to pretend these training sessions are education…they are not.

    To make this assertion, a person is reasonably likely to assume Prim attended U or I or NU in a formal classroom setting.

    This is not my opinion but definition.

    Just because I walked on the U of I football field and played catch does not mean I can infer I was on the team.

    As for experience, I’m not arguing about that…your contention, voter-is a straw man argument and attempt to change my point.

    My argument is that there is a distinction between Education and Training.

  16. The original article was about marks on a sign which could have been gang signs or not.

    I said I was going to ask Bill Prim if the marking where gang affiliations.

    Simple question and it could have ended there BUT no somehow Really? has turned this into a no bachelors degree. l.o.l.and attacking Prim

    McHenry voter was only giving you an example of why he may not have gotten one.

    Then you ramble on quoting the Merriam Webster dictionary.

    I hope you are not going to go through the WHOLE dictionary.

    So getting back to the point……… I do hope this is a tag sign and not a gang sign. l.o.l.

  17. Ah voter, here’s the rub. You insinuated Prim into this discussion when there was zero need.

    I merely pointed out an issue that I wouldn’t have had you not tried so hard to forcibly interject him.

    I’m fairly certain CLPD has State Certified Gang Enforcement Officers who can discern if this is indeed street gang graffiti or not.

    My point is salient and true-you color me a liar and as someone who can’t appreciate the value of law enforcement.

    I avoided your entanglements and merely asserted how disingenuous it is to purport training as education.

    My point made, now you want to return to the point of whether or not this defacement is gang related.

    How funny…BTW my point is not Prim’s lack of education-merely that those without education shouldn’t mislead people into reasonably concluding they do.

    As a relevant side note, the Police Academy, PTI at the University of Illinois… stands for Police TRAINING Institute and ILETSB is the official regulatory agency of our State’s law enforcement certification…and that stands for Illinois Law Enforcement TRAINING and Standards Board—just thought that seminal point may need one last belt of clarification.

    Good day!!!!

  18. I remember when someone said they were going to ask their husband a question and they didn’t get the back lash I’m getting .

    So why can’t I mention Prim.

    He is a person not just a candidate.

    He happens to be my friend and my neighbor.

    YOU my dear friend made it into a political thing.

    You must have been a Zinke person and with that I have no need for you.

  19. Voter just tells the truth.

    You are going against your own rules.

    Do you remember or do I have to remind you.

    You are using my name and directly attacking me.

    Shame on you.

    Looks like you are stalking me.

  20. Voter, now you’re playing the victim and referring to yourself in the third person?

    How quaint.

    I really don’t care about your need of me, nor you insinuation of whom I support(ed)–you have a problem and part of it is, clearly, your need to have the last word.

    This issue is put to rest–but I’ll recap: I’ve not attacked you and I standby everything I posted.

    Review this thread–YOU made this a political grandstanding.

    You mentioned Prim, you’ve called me a liar, you claim I don’t support law enforcement and you called me a Zinke supporter.

    What have I done?

    Parlayed and played over a semantic issue in Prim’s bio that YOU took offense to and ran with…perhaps I baited you…but you bit and–hook, line and sinker, got deeply personal, deeply offended and beleaguered silly points rather inanely.

    Thank you for your contribution.

    I’m played out.

    Good night.

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