Antonio Johnson called Ray Longstreet to talk business.
Longstreet complained that some of his own street sellers were partying, making noise, and disturbing neighbors while on the job. He said he’d told some of his employees, “If I was an older person and I owned a house over here I’d call the police on you niggas too.”
The west side of Chicago has been known for decades as home to some of the largest and most vibrant drug markets in the country, where customers from around the midwest travel to find street dealers offering “blow” or “rocks” just minutes off the Eisenhower Expressway or the CTA’s Blue and Green lines. The steady stream of buyers, combined with a long decline in job opportunities, has made the drug trade one of the area’s largest employers.
While the drug business doesn’t employ as many people locally as such leading fields as health care (160,000 jobs in 2011, according to the census bureau) and professional services (137,000), it’s on par with fields like utilities, which employed 4,600.
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The business plan
Federal and local law enforcement officials say the structure of businesses such as Longstreet and Johnson’s tends to be similar. At the top are veteran executives with connections to wholesale distributors who get product from Mexico. The execs have the capital to buy large supplies up front, and the security apparatus—often armed members of their gang—to protect their revenue, sales territory, and street workers.
Marketing was important. After the organization sold a batch of heroin that wasn’t popular, they tried to win back customer loyalty by handing out free samples of their new product, an event known as a “pass out.” The Black Souls’ heroin was also known to come in distinctive blue bags. But when a competitor started selling better stuff in purple bags, the Black Souls switched to purple to capitalize.
The Chicago Connection. By Mick Dumke
Heroin: It’s cheap, it’s available and it’s dangerous business. By Natalie Moore, WBEZ
From Mexico to the Midwest, a heroin supply chain delivers. By Chip Mitchell, WBEZ
The movie that brought Naperville face to face with its teens’ drug use. By Bill Healy, WBEZ
Heroin moves to Chicago suburbs in small amounts through users. By Rob Wildeboer, WBEZ
Afternoon Shift: Interview with Daniel Bigg, cofounder and executive director of the Chicago Recovery Alliance
Chicago’s Southwest Side, southwest suburbs home to major drug warehousing. By Natalie Moore, WBEZ
Chicago is hub for heroin in the Midwest. By Rob Wildeboer, WBEZ
Afternoon Shift: A conversation with sociologist Greg Scott
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