CARPENTERSVILLE - Dark-blue blotches of paint hide the gang symbols but show exactly where the signs were spray painted on the light-blue aluminum siding.

All the siding may have to be replaced because it no longer is made in the light-blue color, homeowner Irene Rico said. Her husband painted over the symbols with a darker shade as a quick fix.

Rico pointed across the street to a second house recently "tagged" by gang members. A two-man crew put up gray siding to replace a large area of graffiti. At the opposite corner of her street, crisp white paint covered a fence where more tagging had been done.

"I don't know nothing about gangs," said Rico, a nine-year resident of the Keele Farms subdivision. She and her family previously lived on Indian Lane, where their home was tagged 12 years ago. Rico never thought the same thing would happen in Keele Farms, where she has never seen any indication of gang activity.

She does not know the meaning of the various gang symbols, such as pitchforks, crowns and dots. The only thing Rico knows is it will cost her more than $600 to repair the damage.

None of the Keele Farms neighbors understands why the quiet subdivision off Helm Road suddenly would become the target for gang graffiti. But the instances of graffiti have been increasing throughout the village lately.

Graffiti arrives with rivalry

Gangs may have targeted Keele Farms because a rival gang member lives in the neighborhood, said Sgt. Joseph Shively, of the Carpentersville Police Department Gang Unit. The gang member does not live in the homes that were tagged, but his rivals were sending him a message, Shively said.

The local gangs that have been tagging property - causing thousands of dollars in damages - each have between 30 and 40 members, he said.

One juvenile caught spraying graffiti on playground equipment at a park caused $5,000 in damage, he said. The equipment had to be sand-blasted to remove the graffiti. The teen was charged with felony criminal damage to property, he said.

"We ask them why they are doing it," Shively said. "One of the kids' response was, 'I'm bored.' "

Shively is not convinced the graffiti was done out of boredom. He suspects the teen was trying to impress his fellow gang members.

"I think they are just trying to make a name for themselves," he said.

Top priority for police

While police do not know exactly why there has been an increase in graffiti in the last few weeks, it is a top priority for many reasons, he said. First, innocent families become victims of property damage. Second, graffiti creates a bad image for the village.

More importantly, though, the graffiti can lead to gang violence, Shively said.

"It's better to deal with it now than deal with a shooting later," he said.

Police Chief Robert Lowen fielded numerous complaints about the graffiti this week during his first community meeting with village residents.

Even as residents complained to him, more damage was being done with graffiti sprayed on light posts, stop signs, a school and private property - including a home being remodeled on Thrush Road, where gang members painted symbols on the new, beige siding.

Cindy McCammack, Carpentersville community development director, said village code inspectors have reported increases in the number of incidents of graffiti within the last 10 days. Code inspectors report any incident to police and the public works department, which immediately sends out crews to clean up the graffiti, she said.

Quick removal important

Last week, code inspectors informed the Keele Farms property owners they needed to clean up the graffiti within 48 hours or face a daily fine of $150 based on a village ordinance.

"We are not issuing any violation notices," McCammack said this week. "Certainly the property owners are victims. I don't know of anyone who does not want to get it removed quickly."

Quick removal of graffiti is important, agreed Steve Nawojczyk, a nationally known gang expert based in Little Rock, Ark. He has consulted with the Elgin Police Department in the past.

"Graffiti is the precursor of violence, especially if it is aggressive graffiti," Nawojczyk said.

The graffiti becomes a tool for gang members to express territory, to advertise their drug trade, to recruit or to issue challenges to rival gang members, Nawojczyk said.

Dealing with graffiti requires what Nawojczyk calls the three R's: read, record and remove. The graffiti usually will give police important gang intelligence, so everything should be recorded, he said.

Nawojczyk gives lectures throughout the country about gangs. His Web site, www.gangwar.com, provides information about gangs, including interpreting graffiti.

Gangs in the '5H' club

One of Nawojczyk's philosophies is that gang members belong to the "5H club." These are children he identifies as helpless, hopeless, homeless, hungry and hugless. Communities need to realize these are the reasons why teens become gang members and those members are searching for an identity, recognition, a sense of belonging, discipline, love and money, Nawojczyk said.

A community must balance prevention and intervention with suppression and enforcement, he said. Residents need to work by providing police with information and forming Neighborhood Watch groups. Police also must work closely with schools, he said.

"It's a critical team effort," Nawojczyk said. The problem of gangs needs to be attacked neighborhood by neighborhood. Strong neighborhoods will deflect gang activity, he added.

Rico is ready to take a stand against the vandals who placed the graffiti on her home.

"This is my house, not their house," she said defiantly. "Is someone going to terrorize me? No."