Police warn of more robberies targeting people outside bars in Chicago nightlife districts
Chicago Police on Monday issued a community alert about a group of armed robbers targeting women outside bars at closing time — with several new entries in the robbery pattern since it was first reported.
A total of 13 such robberies have now been reported.
The victims are targeted just as they leave bars and order an Uber or Lyft. Police said while the victims are looking at their phones, the armed robbery crew makes its move.
Three or four robbers run up, flash a weapon, and demand the victims' property. In several incidents, the suspects even stole the victims' banking information on their phones.
The robberies happened at the following specific times and locations:
- On seven different occasions — at 1:30 a.m. and again at 2:30 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 5, at 1:10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, at 1:55 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 23, at 3 a.m. Sunday, March 9, and at 1:30 a.m. and again at 1:40 a.m. Monday, April 13 in the 3500 block of North Clark Street, the next block south from Wrigley Field.
- At 3 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, in the 0-99 block of West Division Street, home to several popular nightspots.
- At 2:16 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 12, in the 0-99 block of East Elm Street, the first street south of Division Street in the same area.
- At 2 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 9, in the 1000 block of West Newport Avenue right off Clark Street and Sheffield Avenue in Wrigleyville.
- At 3:45 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 23, in the 3600 block of North Clark Street, one side of which is fronted by Wrigley Field and Gallagher Way.
- At 2 a.m. Saturday, March 29, at 20 W. Division St. in the aforementioned nightlife district.
- At 2 a.m. Sunday, April 13, in the 1000 block of West Cornelia Avenue, just off Clark Street in Wrigleyville.
Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) — whose ward includes the area of the Gold Coast where some of the robberies have happened — said the robbers sometimes pretend the cars they're driving are the cars the victims are waiting on. Other times, the robbers offer to give rides in exchange for cash.
But Hopkins said both strategies end with an armed robbery.
"Many times, the vehicles are stolen, or they have stolen plates on them that make it difficult to trace," Hopkins said. "It's just a high-risk situation, and we just don't want to see people get hurt."
Full time rideshare driver Richard Juarez, a member of the Chicago Gig Alliance, said he is not surprised by the robbers' strategy.
"People are getting complacent about looking at who their driver is supposed to be," he said.
Juarez has had customers get in the wrong car before, and thinks rideshare companies could increase safety by increasing the size of photos for drivers and riders as the pickup approaches.
"That would minimize the opportunity for some of this danger, because [would-be victims could say], 'No, you're not [my driver], and they could just walk away," he said.
There is of course also concern among bar owners in the affected areas.
"You don't want people to come here and be afraid and think that something bad's going to happen," said David Strauss, co-owner of Sluggers Bar at 3540 N. Clark St. in Wrigleyville. "It's not like that."
Neighborhood bar owners said they can control what happens in their bars, but not in the streets. They said they train staff to help customers on the way out, but also urge more personal responsibility.
"We tell our staff all the time to kind of help patrons that might have had a little too much fun get into the right Uber, to kind of watch the surroundings, keep an eye on what's going on around them," Strauss said.
Given the playbook involved, Hopkins said his office is working with bars and restaurants to put fliers in women's restrooms and get staff trained on what to look for.
"We've actually prevented a number of these incidents from happening because the staff has been so well trained on what to look out for," Hopkins said.
Police believe there are three to four suspects, between the ages of 16 and 25.
Anyone with information on the robberies should call Belmont Area detectives at 312-744-8263, or submit an anonymous tip to CPDTIP.com and use reference number P25-3-006B.
