Chicago police are searching for suspects in more than a dozen burglaries, and business owners are feeling the pain of the thefts.
In all, a group of burglars has hit at least 16 different neighborhood businesses in the last two weeks alone, striking an area that spans from Lake View East to the South Loop, from the Lower West Side to the Loop.
Two of the businesses are in the same strip mall in the Pilsen neighborhood, and surveillance footage shows the ferocity of the crime, as burglars smash open glass front doors and make off with cash registers and more.
Jorge Arceo, owner of El Nuevo Taconazo, even said that one of the burglars stole a skirt steak from the back.
“Both of my double doors were broken, the windows were broken, there was glass all over the floor,” he said. “There was nothing in the register, but the damage that was done, I mean we’re looking at like $7,500.”
A Game Stop located near the restaurant was also burglarized on the same night, police said.
Chicago police say that a group of two-to-four men, wearing ski masks, have been smashing into businesses with either a pry tool or a crow bar. They then steal money from safes and cash registers.
In one of the incidents, a suspect pointed a gun at a victim as they arrived at Tony’s Italian Deli & Subs in the Edison Park neighborhood, police said.
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias visited the business to offer his support this week.
“After tough challenges like a robbery, it’s really important for our communities to show up and show our support,” he said.
A stolen 2011 gray Infiniti four-door sedan, and a black 2017 black Infiniti four-door sedan, have been used in a majority of the thefts, police said.
Areco hopes the community will help out his business as well, especially as Mexican restaurants in the area struggle during enhanced immigration enforcement operations in the Chicago area.
“It’s been a really, really low month and quarter,” he said. “So we’re hoping what’s going on with all the politics, we can come back and make a comeback.”
Police are urging business owners to keep their properties well lit, and to repair broken windows or doors immediately.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call police at 312-744-8263.
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