The hits just keep on coming for the Mag Mile’s high-end retailers as another shoplifting mob made off with over $60,000 worth of merchandise during an afternoon raid Monday.
And, CWBChicago has learned, the 18th (Near North) Police District that serves the area will be just a little less prepared to handle problems as CPD suspended four of its officers Monday for refusing to report their COVID vaccine status.
Around 4:40 p.m. Monday, four or five ski-masked men entered the Burberry store, 633 North Michigan, and began gathering purses from the luxury retailer’s display shelves, according to a CPD report.
The crew plowed into a customer who tried to keep the store’s door closed as they ran for the exit.
They escaped eastbound on Erie Street in a stolen car with about $67,000 worth of merchandise, according to initial estimates.
Groups of organized raiders have repeatedly struck boutiques along Michigan Avenue, Rush Street, and Oak Street this year, with purses being a favorite target. According to sources, the teams sell the bags, which retail for thousands of dollars each, online and on the black market.
Just a couple of hours after Burberry was struck, CPD issued a community alert to warn retailers about another ongoing problem: Late-night burglaries by groups of thieves who’ve broken into Mag Mile retailers to steal large volumes of merchandise.
The break-ins and shoplifting raids are happening despite CPD leaders’ best efforts to tamp down on crime by deploying extra resources to the area.
And those overnight burglars will have fewer cops to worry about in the 18th District. Four cops assigned to the graveyard shift in the district were stripped and put on no-pay status Monday after they refused to enter their COVID-19 vaccine status into the city’s employee database, a source confirmed.
CWBChicago has also learned that CPD’s total manpower slipped below 12,000 officers in November for the first time in years. About 100 cops left since October alone, according to department data provided by a source.