Prison admissions for shoplifters rising in Cook County amid Burke policy change, ‘outdated’ state law {Chicago}

Chicago Tribune ^ | October 20, 2026 | Madeline Buckley

[Salman]

Earlier this month, a man walked into a West Side grocery store, according to a police report, and tried to walk out of the shop with two concealed cans of an alcoholic beverage.

Even though the cost of the alleged theft was around $13, the 29-year-old man, who the report notes is a U.S. veteran, is facing a felony retail theft charge due to a criminal background that includes a retail theft conviction and a stint in prison for armed robbery.

“Do not go back to that Food for Less,” Cook County Judge Luciano Panici Jr. warned as he set conditions for his release from jail from a courtroom at the Leighton Criminal Court Building. “They do not want your business.”

This man’s case is only just beginning, but Cook County prison admission data suggests that if convicted, his $13 shoplifting incident is more likely to land him in prison than any other point in recent years.

...

Though retail theft makes up a small percentage of people being admitted to prisons, the rise in such cases has raised alarm in some quarters, with some questioning whether it’s a good use of resources when the root causes of such offenses are often driven by social factors like poverty, mental illness and addiction.

...

[Salman]

Preparing public opinion for the decriminalization of shoplifting.

Why not? San Francisco did it.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Walmart-Richmond, California. I asked the woman ahead of me in the checkout line: “Don’t they have self checkout here?” Her reply: “No because if they did they wouldn’t have no store.”

In California one can steal up to $1k of merchandize and it’s still just a misdemeanor. Wouldn’t matter either way. No self checkout.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

tried to walk out of the shop with two concealed cans of an alcoholic beverage.

Wait a minute. Maxine Waters told me that shoplifters were poor mothers taking milk and bread to feed their babies.

[KC_Conspirator]

When savages run the government.

[Salman]

Wait a minute. Maxine Waters told me that shoplifters were poor mothers taking milk and bread to feed their babies.

One of the most shoplifted items, and not just in bad neighborhoods, is cigarettes.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“Admissions”?

Is there a tough entrance exam?

[DIRTYSECRET]

New Orleans post Katrina. A liquor store owner’s warehouse was cleaned out. A couple of the looters had worked for him. Did they steal the fine wines? No they went straight for the hard stuff-the ones with the handles.

[PeterPrinciple]

No they went straight for the hard stuff-the ones with the handles.

---

the lesson for manufactures? no more handles on bottles.

[iamgalt]

The media propagandists love to use weird, one off, outlier stories to make an argument. It is a classic tool they will always go back to.

[brent13a]

Preparing public opinion for the decriminalization of shoplifting.

It was already decriminalized in IL.

How Retail Theft is Handled Under the SAFE-T Act (2021)

• Pretrial Release & Cash Bail: Under the SAFE-T Act, Illinois eliminated traditional cash bail. People arrested for non-violent or standard retail theft charges are typically released from custody pending trial unless prosecutors can prove a specific, legally defined basis for detention (such as proving the individual is a willful flight risk or poses a specific threat, rather than just committing a property crime).

• Classification of Retail Theft: Standard retail theft under a certain dollar threshold remains a misdemeanor (or a felony if merchandise exceeds $1,000 or due to repeat convictions under 720 ILCS 5/16-25). However, because retail theft is generally classified as a non-detainable or lower-tier offense under the state's narrow detention standards, many suspects are issued a notice to appear or released shortly after booking

[bk1000]

“the lesson for manufactures? no more handles on bottles.”

Winos don’t care about a 1982 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. Not enough “kick”. Theirs is usually on the bottom shelf, so they don’t have to stand up to reach it. MD 2020, Boon’s Farm, you know, the good stuff.

[ridesthemiles]

THEFT IS THEFT...PERIOD

EVERY DOLLAR THAT IS STOLEN FROM A VENDOR RAISES THE PRICE OF THE ITEMS YOU BUY & PAY FOR.

PERIOD

[ridesthemiles]

I REMEMBER THE KATRINA PHOTO OF THE GUY WITH A CONTAINER FULL OF ALCOHOL IN WAIST HIGH WATER.

[dfwgator]

Winos don’t care about a 1982 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. Not enough “kick”. Theirs is usually on the bottom shelf, so they don’t have to stand up to reach it. MD 2020, Boon’s Farm, you know, the good stuff.

[packrat35]

I bet there is a lot more to this story they aren’t telling us...

[Salman]

It was already decriminalized in IL. ...

So what are they after now? Complete legalization?

[Salman]

I bet there is a lot more to this story they aren’t telling us...

There always is.

[Bon of Babble]

Why in California cigarettes - along with other oft stolen items such as baby formula, liquor, Tide detergent, and personal care items are locked up behind plexiglass - good luck finding someone with a key to open it up.

My local supermarket has an entire, separate, two aisle section inside with its own manned checkout system for these specific items - which you have to pay for separately. There are heavy gates, which are open during the day and I suspect are locked up at night.

And why I order these items off of Amazon now.

[Bon of Babble]

Or, the store goes out of business - as happens a lot in California due to rampant shop lifting.

[MrBambaLaMamba]

If the average price of a pack of Newport cigarettes in the United States is $11.00 to $14.00 how can high school students or single moms afford them?