Town’s Tough Ordinance Aimed at Keeping Out Gangs : Illinois: The law is intended to ensure that big-city problems never intrude. Some call it unconstitutional.

HARVARD, Ill. —  A 15-year-old boy found out this one-cow town was serious about fighting gangs when police arrested him for wearing what they considered a gang symbol: a small Star of David dangling from a necklace.

Harvard, a former farm town 90 miles northwest of Chicago that’s inching toward suburbanization, doesn’t have a gang problem, doesn’t want a gang problem, and has a 2-year-old city ordinance to make sure it never gets a gang problem.

But some attorneys say the sweeping statute, which among other things says it is illegal “to wear known gang colors, emblems, or other gang insignia,” is unlawful.

“We applaud the city for taking a stance,” said attorney Charles Weech, who has challenged the measure on behalf of the teen-ager. “But it must be within the bounds of the Constitution.”

It is hard to assess the actual threat that gangs pose to Harvard, population 6,000.

Police say that about 35 town youngsters are gang members, and that Harvard’s county, McHenry, has seen a jump in gang activity over the last decade.

But Harvard maintains a distinctly small-town, it-can’t-happen-here character. Residents still use town mascot Harmilda--a brown and white cow statue symbolic of Harvard’s dairy-town roots--as a road reference for strangers.

Youngsters in town acknowledge there are drugs--mostly marijuana--at the high school and shrug when asked about gang problems.

Schools lecture them about the misdemeanor ordinance, which carries a maximum fine of up to $500, and, for the most part, they don’t seem to mind complying.

“They warn you in the beginning of the year,” said Rhonda Jurinak, a 15-year-old freshman whose green hair streaks match her Army fatigues. “It doesn’t really bother me--I dress the way I want.”

Police are taught gang tactics, hand signals, even certain color combinations, such as black and blue, and black and gold, that are associated with big-city gangs.

“Every judge is guilty every day with his blue shirt and black robe,” Weech joked.

But Mayor William LeFew says 14 arrests were made last year for violating the ordinance. And he says it has proven effective.

The 15-year-old boy, who wasn’t identified because he’s a juvenile, was arrested last year as he walked home from school. One of the town’s 13 officers spotted the Star of David, a symbol of Judaism that crime experts say can be a gang insignia.

The police officer questioned the boy, who is not Jewish, then took him to the station where he was charged.

Another man, Ricardo Rodriguez, was arrested for wearing a black and gold University of Colorado Buffaloes hat and matching shirt and pants--even though black and gold are Harvard High School’s colors.

“This law is not just unconstitutional, but is stupid,” said attorney Daniel Hofmann, who represents Rodriguez.

Hofmann worries that a small but growing Hispanic population (about 14% of the town) may be bearing the brunt of the ordinance--a charge town officials deny.

LeFew said he doesn’t worry that the ordinance could violate free speech rights, citing an incident involving a six-pointed star that occurred after the 15-year-old boy was arrested.

“Two weeks later we stopped somebody with a Star of David,” he said. “It was for religious reasons and he was let go. That was fine.”