I know this sounds like I'm making this up, but people who would know and who grew up in Melrose have told me that almost all of it has gone legit and many of the lowlife criminals who still try stuff on the streets get no respect from the descendants of the old big shots.
I could have been lied to though and it was really none of my business
Elmwood park, and Melrose park, much of which migrated from Cicro, has gone legit, but be careful not to assume "legit" means they are not walking a fine line of legality, and pulling scams are rackets around the legitamate business. For example...you buy a distressed property on North Avenue in the Chicago Burbs or the West side of Rockford, on a short sell, which mans you pay peanuts. You gut it, from the copper piping to the door hinges, and sell it off. then you either walk away and "dump it" fopr unpaid taxes, or you renivate it to the bare bones of occumency and sub divide it 6 ways, and rent it to Russian prostitutes who came to the US thinking they had a Nanny job,to drug dealers, or to people with a rent voucher from welfare. you put nothing back into it. This is the outfit's version of "legit"
Been there and done it I am very much for real, so if you ask, make sure you really want to know.
