The CHAIRMAN. Did you report on the occasions whenever you went?

Mr. HOUTSMA. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. Every time you went?

Mr. HOUTSMA, I don't think we reported on every occasion.

The CHAIRMAN. You reported anything of significance?

Mr. HOUTSMA. That is correct.

The CHAIRMAN. During the time that school was supposed to be in session?

Mr. HOUTSMA. Every time we went school was supposed to be in session.

The CHAIRMAN. In other words, you went at a time expecting to see it in operation?

Mr. HOUTSMA. That is correct.

The CHAIRMAN. What is the largest number, if you recall, of the members you found there attending at any time you have been there? Mr. HOUTSMA. Somewhere in the vicinity of 50 to 60 youths in the Disciple training center was the largest group we ever saw.

The CHAIRMAN. You also visited the Disciples training center? Mr. HOUTSMA. That is correct.

The CHAIRMAN. You found in one of those some 50 or 60 youths? Mr. HOUTSMA. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. Did you find in the Disciples as much lack of attendance as in the Rangers?

Mr. HOUTSMA. The Disciples attendance was very good at first. At least, there were youths present. But as the program went on the attendance fell off. Toward the end of the time there were only six to 10 youths in the center at any given time.

The CHAIRMAN. Attendance at first in the Disciples centers was pretty good and then it fell off?

Mr. HOUTSMA. That is correct.

The CHAIRMAN. Now with respect to the Ranger centers, what did you find out there with respect to the attendance at school on the number of occasions you visited in addition to what you have already testified to?

Mr. HOUTSMA. Well, for the most part in the Ranger centers the attendance was never good. I would say that on no occasion did we see more than 15 to 18 youths at any given time.

The CHAIRMAN. There were supposed to be 50, 60, or 75?

Mr. HOUTSMA. That is our understanding.

The CHAIRMAN. According to our records there were that many signed in.

Mr. HOUTSMA. Around 65.

The CHAIRMAN. Around 65 would sign in but they were not present and were not being taught?

Mr. HOUTSMA. That is correct.

The CHAIRMAN. Did you see anything being taught while you were there at any time?

Mr. HOUTSMA. On no occasion when we were at the centers did we see any instruction.

The CHAIRMAN. Is that correct?

Mr. DOYLE. That is correct, except for the Disciples. They would have the door locked. They would not open the door, they could not

find the key until everybody was sitting down. Then when we walked in everybody was in place.

The CHAIRMAN. They were

Mr. DOYLE. They were a little smarter.

The CHAIRMAN. They were a little smarter. They kept the door locked until they could go hunt up the key.

In the meantime, by the time you got in there everything seemed to be in order?

Mr. DOYLE. That is correct.

The CHAIRMAN. But the others were very bold about it, the Rangers didn't care?

Mr. DOYLE. That is correct. You would find more of the instructors in the poolroom than in the classroom.

The CHAIRMAN. More often in the poolroom than in the classroom? Mr. DOYLE. That is where we saw them.

The CHAIRMAN. That is during the time they were drawing these salaries?

Mr. DOYLE. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Very well. Is there anything further?

Senator MUNDT. Mr. Houtsma, you work as deputy superintendent of Cook County jail now?

Mr. HOUTSMA. That is correct.

Senator MUNDT. You have probably read in the July 13 issue of the Saturday Evening Post a story about a writer by the name of Bill Davidson entitled "The Worst Jail I have Ever Seen"?

Mr. HOUTSMA. Yes, I have.

Senator MUNDT. Alluding to the Cook County jail?
Mr. HOUTSMA. Yes, I have.

Senator MUNDT. I want to read you part of what I read in that article. I ask that the three paragraphs in the third column of page 18 appear in full in the record but I don't want to burden the record by reading it all but I want to read a little bit.

The story tells about one of the inmates in the jail by the name of Patterson.

When Patterson handed a guard a slip requesting dental attention the slip was given to Elder by a Negro guard later described by Patterson as being a member of the Blackstone Rangers and Patterson was beaten again.

On New Year's Eve the assaults in E-4

Is that a section of the jail?

Mr. HOUTSMA. Yes.

Senator MUNDT (continuing):

assaults in E-4 reached their peak. A white sergeant tried to enter the tier but five of the Rangers drove him away by hurling pails of scalding water at him. Another guard then brought in Eugene S. (Bull) Hairston, an indicted murderer who had been a leader of the Blackstone Rangers.

In fact, he was the top hand according to our chart on the wall

(Bull) Hairston, an indicted murderer who had been a leader of the Blackstone Rangers, to persuade the Rangers on E-4 to "cool it." Instead, Hairston identified an E-4 inmate named Leslie as a member of the Disciples, a rival gang. Hairston said, "Kill the (blank)"

And you can insert your own favorite phrase in the blank

and the Rangers in E-4 set out to do just that.

The tier was finally subdued by a phalanx of 40 guards. As a result of Patterson's subsequent testimony to the grand jury, eight of the Rangers in E-4 were indicted for sexual offenses and aggravated battery.

Are you familiar with that occurrence?

Mr. HOUTSMA. No, I am not, Senator. That was prior to our going into the jail.

Senator MUNDT. Do you know anything about it?

Mr. HOUTSMA. All I am aware is the fact that Hairston has been indicted for aggravated battery which did occur in the jail.

Senator MUNDT. He was indicted for this particular incident which I have just read in the Saturday Evening Post?

Mr. HOUTSMA. If that is the same incident, but he was indicted for an aggravated battery which did take place within the jail.

Senator MUNDT. This is the man who is in charge of the youth uplift program for the Rangers, financed by everybody in this room if everybody in this room is an American taxpayer.

Mr. HOUTSMA. I might add, Senator, now there are only 1,900 members in the jail. There are no more Blackstone Rangers and Disciples as far as the present administration is concerned.

The CHAIRMAN. You don't have any Rangers in the jail?

Mr. HOUTSMA. We only have inmates now.

Senator MUNDT. I don't understand.

Mr. HOUTSMA. There was a Ranger tier in existence at that time in the jail but it no longer is in existence. The CHAIRMAN. Ranger what? Senator MUNDT. Ranger tier. Mr. HOUTSMA. That is correct.

Senator MUNDT. On occasions they took down the bars so they could kind of fight among themselves in the jail?

Mr. HOUTSMA. I don't know what happened in that administration. Senator MUNDT. This is according to Mr. Davidson's story. Now you just distribute them all through the jail regardless of whether they are Blackstone Rangers, Disciples or other offenders?

Mr. HOUTSMA. That is correct.

Senator MUNDT. I should think that would be an improvement in jail management.

The testimony before this committee is that the Blackstone Rangers had a leader of their own in the jail.

Mr. HOUTSMA. They attempted to. But as I say, there are no more Rangers or Disciples in the institution as far as the administration is concerned.

Senator CURTIS. Now this account that Senator Mundt referred to which has been published in the magazine concerns conditions you said before you went into the jail.

You mean before you became an official there?

Mr. HOUTSMA. That is correct.

Senator CURTIS. Is that also true of Mr. Moore as jailer?

Mr. HOUTSMA. That is correct.

Senator CURTIS. When did the new administration take over the Cook County jail? By new administration, I mean Mr. Moore, you, and the others.

Mr. HOUTSMA. I believe Mr. Moore went into the jail as the superintendent in the middle of March of this year and I went into the jail as the assistant superintendent in the middle of May of this year.

Senator CURTIS. Do you know how long prior to Mr. Moore's taking over the duties did his immediate predecessor serve?

Mr. HOUTSMA. Somewhere over 12 years.

Senator CURTIS. Who appoints the Cook County jailer?

Mr. HOUTSMA. The superintendent is appointed by the sheriff of Cook County.

Senator MUNDT. I think I should read one other paragraph because it verifies what you have said. This is on page 22.

I ask, Mr. Chairman, that the whole article be made an exhibit because it deals with our case.

The CHAIRMAN. It may be made an exhibit for reference. That part of it is only used as a document from which to predicate questions. It is not proof of the facts so stated therein.

(Document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 212" for reference and may be found in the files of the subcommittee.)

Senator MUNDT (reading):

Nevertheless, on March 7, 2 days after the grand jury report, Johnson resigned

That was the previous superintendent of the jail?

Mr. HOUTSMA. That is correct.

Senator MUNDT (continuing):

at the request of Sheriff Woods. A new warden was appointed, Winston Moore, a Negro psychologist who had served creditably with the Illinois Youth Commission.

Moore has instituted some reforms but he himself admitted "it will take a year to make a dent in the problems here, 2 years to bring them under control."

You have been in the hearing room when a man by the name of Moore testified?

Mr. HOUTSMA. Yes, I have.

Senator MUNDT. That is the same Mr. Moore, the new warden, who has been testifying before this committee?

Mr. HOUTSMA. Yes, it is.

Senator MUNDT. I must say that I think that jail needs a large amount of reformation. I never have been in the jail. When I worked in Chicago I went down to the Cook County morgue at one time and saw John Dillinger lying on a slab after he had been shot in front of a theater in Chicago.

It is a grimy looking area of town.

Mr. HOUTSMA. We are making progress now.

Senator MUNDT. I think you are. I know it is a tough job. It is a pretty old jail in the first place.

Mr. HOUTSMA. Yes, it is.

The CHAIRMAN. Did I understand you to say no Rangers are in jail now?

Mr. HOUTSMA. As far as the administration is concerned. We don't consider them Blackstone Rangers. We consider everybody inmates. Senator MUNDT. Do you have any idea how many Blackstone Rangers you have in jail? Let me put it that way.

Mr. HOUTSMA. Off the top of my head I would say somewhere in the vicinity of 275 to 300 at the time they came in were wearing Blackstone Ranger jackets or Blackstone Ranger emblems.

Senator MUNDT. You still have a lot of Rangers in jail but once. they get inside the jail they become just another prisoner?

Mr. HOUTSMA. They are no longer Blackstone Rangers jackets or emblems on, I know that.

The CHAIRMAN. You may not keep your records that way but there are a number of Rangers in jail now. I am asking that question because of some information I received last night.

Mr. HOUTSMA. I would say somewhere in the vicinity of 275 to 300. The CHAIRMAN. Are now in jail?

Mr. HOUTSMA. That is correct.

The CHAIRMAN. Are all of them from this Woodlawn area?

Mr. HOUTSMA. No, sir; they are not.

The CHAIRMAN. Some of them are from out of that area?

Mr. HOUTSMA. Of the South Side but not of the Woodlawn area. The CHAIRMAN. All from the South Side but not all from the Woodlawn area?

Mr. HOUTSMA. That is correct.

The CHAIRMAN. The Englewood area?

Mr. HOUTSMA. Those from the Englewood area would be Disciples in all probability. There are some small packets of Rangers in the Englewood area but the majority of them are Disciples.

The CHAIRMAN. Would you say the great majority of the Rangers that are now among the inmates of your jail, the great majority of them are from the Woodlawn area?

Mr. HOUTSMA. The majority of them are from the Woodlawn area, yes; and the Hyde Park area.

The CHAIRMAN. What is the Hyde Park area?

Mr. HOUTSMA. It is the area immediately north of the Woodlawn

area.

The CHAIRMAN. Now we have mentioned three areas. Are any of them from any other areas?

Mr. HOUTSMA. No.

The CHAIRMAN. From those three areas you have some 200-odd Rangers in jail now, you think?

Mr. HOUTSMA. That is correct.

The CHAIRMAN. Can that be verified?

Mr. HOUTSMA. Only by those inmates who state they are Blackstone Rangers.

The CHAIRMAN. By what they claim?

Mr. HOUTSMA. Or who were wearing Ranger emblems or Ranger jackets when they came into the institution.

The CHAIRMAN. Obviously, or apparently, they are Rangers or claim to be Rangers?

Mr. HOUTSMA. That is correct.

The CHAIRMAN. Is there anything further of this witness?

I understand that counsel would desire to recall you later.

Gentlemen, thank you very much. Stand aside.

Call your next witness.

Mr. ADLERMAN. Jeff Fort.

The CHAIRMAN. Be sworn. Hold up your hand, please. What is that fist?

You do solemnly swear the evidence you shall give before this Senate subcommittee shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

Mr. FORT. I do.