Raquel Simmons is facing a felony charge. But you have to wonder if a Chicago jury would ever convict her. Simmons, 23, is accused of stealing a Chicago Department of Finance ticket writer’s bicycle and, apparently, disposing of his ticket-writing machine.
It happened in Streeterville on Friday afternoon.
The ticket writer told police he parked his city-owned bike to write citations near the Magnificent Mile, and it was gone when he returned around 2:30 p.m.
As the ticketing agent spoke with his supervisor about the theft, Simmons pedaled down the street on the man’s bike, which was emblazoned with city and department of finance identifiers, prosecutors said. The city workers caught Simmons in the 600 block of North St. Clair and held her until police arrived.
Prosecutors said the bike, supposedly worth $2,000, was not damaged, but the city’s ticket writing machine has not been found.
Simmons’ public defender said she is studying broadcasting at Roosevelt University.
Judge Kelly McCarthy ordered her to pay a $1,000 deposit toward bail to get out of jail. Simmons also has a misdemeanor retail theft case pending, prosecutors said.
