Robbers target people leaving bars in popular Chicago nightlife districts; rideshare drivers also worried
Chicago Police have issued a warning about armed robberies at bar closing time in some of the city's most popular nightlife districts.
The victims are targeted just as they leave bars and order an Uber or Lyft. Police said while the victims are looking at their phones, the armed robbery crew makes its move.
On Wednesday night, Clark Street in Wrigleyville had plenty of cars passing through — but just a handful of people walking. Yet on weekends, the street fills up with bar patrons — and it has been on weekends that the robbers have struck.
Police believe the same crew, made up of three to four males between the ages of 16 and 25, is behind eight different robberies. Most of them happened in Wrigleyville, largely on busy Clark Street, but some also happened about three miles to the south in the Near North Side's Rush and Division nightlife district — an area sometimes nicknamed the Viagra Triangle.
The robberies happened at the following specific times and locations:
On four different occasions — at 1:30 a.m. and again at 2:30 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 5, at 1:10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, and at 1:55 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 23, in the 3500 block of North Clark Street, the next block south from Wrigley Field.
At 3 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, in the 0-99 block of West Division Street, home to several popular nightspots.
At 2:16 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 12, in the 0-99 block of East Elm Street, the first street south of Division Street in the same area.
At 2 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 9, in the 1000 block of West Newport Avenue right off Clark Street and Sheffield Avenue in Wrigleyville.
At 3:45 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 23, in the 3600 block of North Clark Street, one side of which is fronted by Wrigley Field and Gallagher Way.
In all the incidents, the robbers either demanded the victims' property at gunpoint or forcibly took it. In several of the incidents, the robbers accessed the victims' banking information through their stolen phones and tried stealing money from the victims' accounts, police said.
The robberies impact rideshare drivers too, as they fear they could be sitting ducks in the busy areas.
"This is happening to passengers, but it could just as easily happen to drivers," said Lori Simmons of Chicago's Gig Alliance.
The Gig Alliance represents several thousand of the approximate 85,000 rideshare drivers in the Chicago area, and Simmons said the recent community alert leaves them uneasy.
"We've had drivers who have been accosted waiting for a passenger. You know, people have run up to them on the street," Simmons said, "and it is a really big concern."
Simmons said the robbers are likely to keep targeting people standing outside looking at their phones.
"They've had success with it, so they're going to keep doing it for as long as they have success," she said.
While no drivers have fallen victim to robberies, the Gig Alliance understands the armed crew could easily target the drivers pulling up.
"It's just really worrying that this is a problem that seems to be growing," said Simmons.
So while everyone remains vigilant, the Gig Alliance is warning passengers that doors may be locked when they walk up.
"Make sure that we're verifying the identity of the people we're letting in our vehicles," Simmons said.
Police have been looking over surveillance video as they investigate the robberies, but in the meantime, passengers will stay alert.
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