Chicago Gang Leaders to Hold Press Conference Protesting Police Chief's Ultimatum to Stop Violence

Chicago gang leaders to hold press conferences protesting police chief Jody Weis' ultimatum that the violence must end and they would be charged under federal law.

I thought I heard it all until I visited the CBS Chicago's website this morning and saw a news article about gang leaders holding a press conference. The "gang leaders" are expected to hold a news conference at the Columbus Park Refectory, at 5701 W. Jackson Blvd. on the city's West Side and another is being held by local clergy at 11 a.m., at the New Life Christian Ministries of Greater Chicago, 8201 S. Jeffery Blvd, according to CBS Chicago. Why? They have taken issue with Police Chief Jody Weis'warning to them of serious consequences if violence continues. So, now the police chief is being put on blast by gangs. Isn't there something wrong with this picture? Which clergyman or woman in their right mind that would stand up for them?

Weis held a meeting with the reputed leaders of several West Side gangs at the Garfield Park Conservatory over the weekend. At the meeting, prosecutors warned that the gang members could be charged under the federal racketeering laws if killings were traced back to gangs with members attending the meeting.

The Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, RICO for short, provides stiffer penalties for acts performed as part of a criminal organization such as the Mafia.But gang members say they were tricked into coming to the meeting, and that it amounted to harassment.

The Columbus Park news conference is being convened by Jim Allen, a self-identified Vice Lords Nation member. Allen is also identified as the "almighty minister" of an organization called Tha Movement. The group's logo features several gang signs in the center surrounded by a circle bearing the message: "Stop the violence. One love." Source

There's more. You see, some local political leaders are blasting Weis for negotiating with "urban terrorists" and I also don't think he should negotiate with them. You see, the gang leaders and their members aren't negotiating with the innocent lives they are taking and the families left behind to deal with the anguish of their loved one's death. Allen had the nerve to tel Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell that when President Barack Obama was in the U.S. Senate, he said he was "willing to sit down with terrorists without preconditions," but the gang leaders were "tricked" into attending the meeting. Talk about having some nerve. So, now the police have to be afraid of the gang leaders?