Free Republic

Less than a week before a crash-and-grab burglary crew killed an innocent man on the Magnificent Mile last Thursday, one of the men now charged with that murder donned a “peacekeeper” uniform and posed for a one-on-one picture with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. While that’s troubling, some law enforcement experts are more concerned that the accused man was able to stand directly next to the state’s most powerful executive despite having outstanding warrants in four states. Just before 5 a.m. on September 11, a group of burglars backed a pickup truck into a display window at the Louis Vuitton store...

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration is putting unhoused people back on the streets to make room for relocated tent encampment occupants who are being moved before the Democratic National Convention next month. More than half a dozen people told the Sun-Times that they were thrown out or fear they are about to be ejected from a shelter in a former hotel off the Magnificent Mile — as city officials begin to clear a highly visible tent city abutting the Dan Ryan Expressway. A domestic violence survivor, a recovering alcoholic and others with anxiety or chronic medical conditions were among those kicked...

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago police are looking for the people who reportedly stole from a luxury clothing store on Michigan Avenue. Police said two suspects entered MCM, which is located in the 500-block of North Michigan, just before 2:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. One of them took merchandise as the other threatened the security guard with a handgun, CPD said. They then ran away together. No one was in custody Wednesday, and area detectives are investigating. The Mac cosmetics store, also located in the 500-block of North Michigan on the Magnificent Mile, was also robbed Saturday morning.

The recent rise in flash mob retail thefts and violent crime has hit home on North Michigan Avenue and at other iconic Chicago destinations, deterring holiday shopping and tourism as the city tries to emerge from nearly two years of pandemic stasis. From retailers and restaurants to hotels, businesses are beefing up security and seeking help from law enforcement as visitors stay away in droves, alarmed by the confluence of organized crime and seemingly random assaults plaguing even once “safe” locales like the Magnificent Mile. “People are paying attention to this,” said Kimberly Bares, president and CEO of the Magnificent...

Riding in trucks and U-Hauls, vandals came to downtown Chicago on Sunday. They jammed streets around the Magnificent Mile, home of the city’s most important shopping district. They came prepared with tools like crowbars to pry open gates and take all the merchandise that they could pack. It was a strike directed at the heart of the city. While the vandals were organized, the police were not. Earlier in the day, a policeman had returned fire and wounded a suspect. False rumors spread that the suspect was an unarmed juvenile. Crowds gathered; social media lit up with menace. But the...

Looting began overnight about 12:15 a.m. Monday August 10, 2020 as caravans of vehicles with honking horns entered downtown Chicago. Chicago police arrested about 100 looters and other suspects. Chicago police reported 13 police officers were injured. Many downtown business were damaged and looted, including the 7-ELEVEN, Apple Store (North and Clybourn), Best Buy, Bloomingdale’s, Burberry, Coach, CVS, Foot Locker, Gucci, Macy’s, Nieman Marcus, Nike, Nordstrom, Omega, Pandora, Potbelly Sandwich Shop, Saint Laurent, Target, TJ Maxx, Urban Grocers, Walgreens, and more.

“Hundreds of people swept through the Magnificent Mile and other parts of downtown Chicago early Monday, smashing windows, looting stores,” reports the Chicago Tribune. There was also gunfire and violence against police officers. As of this writing, downtown Chicago is all but closed to those trying to get to work on a Monday morning. * * * Hitting Chicago’s Magnificent Mile is no accident. It is the jewel of Downtown Chicago, one of the most famous shopping districts in the world. If retailers lose faith the police can protect them from criminal marauders and flee the area, it will serve...

SNIPPET: "A gunman threatened to detonate a car bomb and claimed links to al-Qaida while robbing an American Express office on the Magnificent Mile this afternoon, police said. About 4:20 p.m., a man approached a female employee in the American Express travel service office at 605 N. Michigan Ave. at first trying to buy euros and showing her a gun in his waistband as he demanded money, said Near North District Captain Leo Crotty." SNIPPET: "The man, described as 6 feet tall, 200 pounds and possibly of Middle Eastern descent, went on to instruct all the office employees they had...

Chicago has long known how far Oprah Winfrey's star power reaches. Now the popular talk-show host has won city approval to shut down a significant stretch of the Magnificent Mile next week for the kickoff of her 24th season. Plans call for Michigan Avenue to be closed to vehicular traffic from Wacker Drive to Ohio Street for more than two days -- from 12:01 a.m. Monday to 5 a.m. Wednesday. The hourlong show will be taped at 5 p.m. Tuesday at a temporary stage to be built near the Michigan Avenue Bridge. The taping is free and open to the...