Insane Popes Nation (Northside)

Insane Popes Nation (Northside) is a Folks Mob made up of mostly whites.

Their colors are Powder Blue (Light Blue) & Black

Their symbols include a Popes Fedora, Cross w/3 slashes, Monks.

The Popes originated on the Northside of Chicago as a "greek greaser" gang possibly in the early 1960's. The Popes originally established themselves in the vicnity of Lawrence & Rockwell in the Lincoln Square/Ravenswood community. Before the group developed organization and adopted the "Popes" moniker, they were a small group of neighborhood youth having disputes with emerging larger Latino gangs in the area such as the Latin Kings. Two major White organizations during this era were the Gaylords and Simon City Royals street gangs. The Simon City Royals were first to take notice the problems the group was having with the Latino gangs. In what one would consider greaser hospitality in this time, the Simon City Royals decided to aid and assist the group with their enemies. In the early 1970's the group then allied themselves aside the Simon City Royals. The group slowly began to grow in numbers, however, some members of this group were intrigued by the size and stronghold of the Simon City Royals. Some members were contemplating joining the Royals in favor of their organization. However, before this was initiated the idea took a change of course, and the idea of starting their own gang was brought forward. The inspiration of their own family was popular among all members of the group. The gang voted in and developed the title of the "Insane Popes". Due to the continuous hatred between them and the Latino gangs, their title may have originally represented "Protect Our People Eliminate Spics", however, after the greaser gangs and White Power Organizations faded out it was changed to "Protect Our People Eliminate Scum". Today, its said the old meaning of the Popes is basicly extinct. The Simon City Royals and Gaylords began to have problems soon after, and fought on-and-off again with short-term peace treaties. Hatred grew among these two White organizations over time and set tension among the rest of the greaser gangs through-out Chicago. During this time, the original Insane Popes based their group on a rule of protection; Popes protect Popes. The Simon City Royals grew angry at this perspective, due to the SCR's aiding the group previously and being the influence the Insane Popes derived from. The Gaylords often targeted young members of the Insane Popes mistaken them to be Simon City Royals, due to their locations and colors of Blue. In result of those events, there was a meeting held between members of the Insane Popes and Simon City Royals on topic and the war with Gaylords. The Simon City Royals came to conclusion and offered the Popes an ultimatum. This gave the Insane Popes one of two choices, either members of the Popes would join the Simon City Royals, or the SCR's would renounce the Insane Popes and no longer aid them on the streets. In any event, the decision was made that members of the Popes would say "Royal" before Popes in their gang title. This is likely how the "Royal-Pope" nation was formed.

The Insane Popes spread throuh-out various Northside neighborhoods, often challenging the likes of the Bel-Airs, Gaylords, and Taylor Jousters. In the 1970's, the Popes became a White Power Organization, adopting the doctrine to combat the ever changing ethnicity of several of their strongholds. The Insane Popes gang at their peak in the late 1970's rumored to have around 500-to-600 members. In the late 1970's the Popes developed a presence in the vicinity of Chicago & Wood in the East Village community. During this time, the Popes were under the leadership of Larry "Larkin" Morris, who was well known through-out the Northside. His main base of operation at the time was Kolmar Park. He is credited with starting sets in several locales, including the Old Irving Park, Albany Park, and Jefferson Park communities as well as the Southside chapter of Insane Popes. Larkin was later killed by the Gaylords in 1975. In 1978 the Popes would follow suit with the Simon City Royals and join the Folks alliance. They of course had to officially abandon their WPO doctrine to do so. The Insane Popes now primarily operate in East Albany Park area. The Insane Popes and Simon City Royals have retained a tight-knit relationship since the 1970's, and often Popes still recognize the Royal-Pope nation in their identification. The Insane Popes now have members of many different ethnicities, including Latinos and Arabs. The gang is rumored to be currently controlled by "Mr.Insanity", a former member of the Maniac Latin Disciples street gang. Due to various generational gaps, the Insane Popes were not able to retain much of their original territory. Many Insane Popes sets have simply been vacated due to inactive members and lack of recruitment. Their principle rivals are the Latin Kings, who occasionally challenge the Popes for turf and bravado. Considered a "low-key" gang , the groups primary operations consists of theft, assault, and minor drug dealing.