CHICAGO (CBS) – Just days before the City of Chicago was planning to print 1.2 million newly-designed city stickers, allegations have surfaced that the picture on the stickers actually pays respect to a street gang.

Lawrence Hall Youth Services alternative high school student Herbert Pulgar, 15, designed the sticker, which features an image of the Chicago skyline and flag inside a heart, with four hands reaching up toward symbols of Chicago police officers, firefighters and paramedics.

Pulgar’s design was announced late last year as the 2012-2013 city sticker – which must be displayed on all vehicles registered in Chicago – after 18,000 people voted on 10 different designs from Chicago students.

But a number of police blogs claim the hands on the sticker are also flashing gang signs used by the Maniac Latin Disciples, which also uses a heart as one of its symbols. The blogs also claim the white streaks around the police and fire hats represent a pitchfork.

Some police blogs also claim Pulgar is a Maniac Latin Disciples gang member.

The Second City Cop blog reports that after Pulgar won the contest, the first message on his Facebook page was “D-Love LOL,” short for “Disciple love.”

Now, Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza and her staff are talking to gang experts, Pulgar and his school to decide whether another image should be chosen.

“Clerk Mendoza believes that while artwork is oftentimes controversial, the city sticker artwork should not be controversial,” said city Clerk’s office spokeswoman Christine Williams.

Mendoza hopes to make a decision on the sticker by later Wednesday, Williams said.

Lawrence Hall Youth Services, 4833 N. Francisco Ave., is defending Pulgar and the design. Spokeswoman Jill Watson told the Chicago Sun-Times: “Somebody recognized his talent and his beautiful artwork, and it changed his life. The sticker isn’t gang-related – it’s a beautiful piece of art.”



Former Police Supt. Jody Weis, now the president of the Chicago Crime Commission, told the Sun-Times the gestures on the hands in the design were indeed consistent with a gang sign.

City Clerk’s office spokeswoman Kristine Williams said the clerk’s office found out about the allegations on Tuesday and will investigate the matter. She declined further comment until an investigation is conducted.

“Coincidence? Not on all four and that (they) were both left and right hands,” Weis told the Sun-Times’ Kim Janssen.

Two men at the White Palace Grill said Wednesday that the issue has been blown out of proportion.

“If you look at, like, the Blackhawks symbol, it has a pitchfork in it, and it’s just supposed to be a wrinkle in (Chief Black Hawk’s) forehead,” said Kevin McDermott of Chicago. “It probably was an unintentional drawing that people are just turning into a different thing. There’s a lot of sports symbols that you can change into gang signs.”

“It’s nothing intentional. Like he was saying, I mean, there’s multiple things in our culture now that has that symbol out there, and it’s not meaning it’s gang-affiliated, or anything like that,” added John Spencer of Chicago.

Pulgar spoke with WBBM Newsradio in December after winning the contest. He said his motivation was that “Chicago heroes need love.”

He told WBBM Newsradio’s Mike Krauser he was excited to see his artwork on car windows all over the city, and wants to become an architect when he is older.

“I used to be, like, real bad, and you know, I changed a lot,” he said.

Pulgar’s inspiration to honor first responders came from an incident when he was 4.

“I was burnt from my stomach all the way up to my belly button, and they saved my life,” he said.

For his winning design, Pulgar received a $1,000 savings bond that will go toward his continuing education. He was quite excited about it at the time.

“I want to be rich one day. I want to be somebody famous. I want to do good things for people,” Pulgar said in December.

Last summer, Police Supt. Garry McCarthy vowed to destroy the Maniac Latin Disciples gang, after a member opened fire in Avondale Park on the city’s Northwest Side in June and wounded two young girls, ages 2 and 7.

I'm the last person to bitch about anything Chicago-related. But how this made the top ten to be voted on is beyond me. Clearly the intention was there and maybe they will gloss over it. But is this really what they want on the vehicle stickers? Way to give the gangs power, Chicago.

Here is more interesting info on the subject:
http://secondcitycop.blogspot.com/search/label/un-fucking-fucking-believable

Sorry Red but that's pretty funny.

Alan Smithee wrote:

Sorry Red but that's pretty funny.

Ya, I guess it is. But totally embarrassment for the city of Chicago. They have decided this afternoon to go with the runner up. So, it was a lose/lose situation really. The gangs will just be more pissed now. And had they kept it, the gangs would have felt power.