Two offenders battered and robbed a man Sunday night in Boystown, police said. No one is in custody. The crime is part of a trend that shows robbery reports in the neighborhood and nearby Wrigleyville are rising after hitting record lows during the height of this year’s COVID-19 outbreak. Nonetheless, 2020’s robbery tally for the area is likely to set a record low.
Shortly after 11 p.m. Sunday, witnesses reported seeing a man being battered and robbed by two men on the northeast corner of Belmont and Halsted streets.
The victim, age 29, told police that he was approached by two strangers who pushed him down and took his valuables, according to Officer Anthony Spicuzza, a CPD spokesperson. Police found the victim lying next to a light pole. An ambulance transported him to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center where he was listed in fair condition, Spicuzza said.
Police did not have descriptions of the robbers.
Wrigleyville and Boystown recorded fewer robberies last year than any other year since public records begin in 2001. There were five or fewer hold-ups recorded each month this year through June, except March, which saw nine cases. July and August inched into double-digits with August actually exceeding last year’s robbery tally by two cases.
Nonetheless, robberies in the neighborhoods are on-pace to set a new record low in 2020 and may end the year 50% lower than record-highs seen in 2011, 2012, and 2013.
Across the wider 19th (Town Hall) Police District, robbery reports are statistically flat compared to 2019, according to CPD data. Town Hall officers patrol the area between Fullerton, Lawrence, the Chicago River, and Lake Michigan.