Chicago — John Cline, an eight-time convicted burglar, is now a 12-time convicted burglar after he pleaded guilty to committing a string of apartment building break-ins on the North Side.
Judge Michael Hood sentenced him to 10 years on each count, to be served concurrently. After receiving a 50% good behavior sentence reduction and credit for time spent in jail before pleading guilty, Cline, 49, is scheduled to be released in January 2026.
Officials said that he was on parole for burglarizing a home in North Center when he burglarized apartment buildings in the 2400 block of West Catalpa in Lincoln Square and the 7300 block of North Ridge in Rogers Park in the summer of 2021.
Detectives arrested Cline after officers recognized him from surveillance video of one of the break-ins on Ridge, prosecutors said. The footage allegedly showed Cline and a female accomplice climbing through a window and sorting packages in the mail room before stealing selected parcels.
Cline stole so many packages during one burglary, prosecutors said, he had to make two trips to get them all out of the building.
The woman, Jamie Christman, received two years of probation and 30 hours of community service.
