Chicago police are warning business owners citywide about a surge in commercial burglaries that have targeted at least 35 shops and restaurants from the South Loop to Norwood Park over the past two months. CPD has identified four separate but possibly overlapping burglary patterns across multiple police districts, spanning much of the city’s North, West, and South Sides.
According to four business alerts issued in recent days, crews or lone offenders have smashed their way through glass doors and windows to steal cash, merchandise, or ATMs in dozens of incidents between late August and this week.
One of the broadest patterns involves up to eight masked offenders—believed to be between 15 and 25 years old—who have targeted at least 17 stores between September 21 and October 15. The suspects struck in areas including Brighton Park, Logan Square, Lake View East, Edgewater, Gage Park, Garfield Ridge, and the Loop. In each case, they broke glass entryways, entered the business, and stole merchandise or cash registers…