Seven storefronts at a strip mall in unincorporated Maine Township woke up to a mess of shattered glass and boarded-up windows after what appears to have been a coordinated overnight smash-and-grab early Thursday. Along the 9300 block of Ballard, workers spent the morning hammering plywood into place while shaken business owners walked through the damage and tried to figure out what was missing.
Surveillance video from one of the targeted convenience stores shows a man in a hoodie squeezing through a hole cut into the bottom of the front door, then climbing over the counter, popping open the cash register and scooping out cash and other items before scrambling back out the same way, as reported by CBS News Chicago. According to the station, seven businesses in the strip mall, including restaurants, convenience stores and other retailers, had their front doors or windows smashed and were in the process of being boarded up Thursday morning. CBS News Chicago also reported it had contacted the Cook County Sheriff's Department for comment and was waiting for a response.
Part of a regional spike
The Maine Township break-ins are the latest in a string of early-morning smash-and-grab burglaries that have been hitting both the city and suburbs this spring. In one recent case, a Northbrook smoke shop burglary was caught on camera, according to ABC7 Chicago. Fox32 reported a Roscoe Village liquor store was hit in a similar overnight incident that detectives say followed the same quick-in, quick-out pattern.
Investigators and business owners describe a familiar playbook: crews arrive in the pre-dawn hours, smash a single entrance, race inside for cash or easy-to-flip merchandise, and take off again within minutes, often before anyone can even process what is happening.
Stores tighten defenses
In response, retailers across the region have been testing out new ways to make themselves less appealing targets. Some have rolled in mobile surveillance units to watch over parking lots. Others have added GPS trackers to high-value products or reinforced their storefronts in the hope that tougher glass and doors might buy a few extra seconds.
Several chains hit repeatedly in similar crimes have tried layering on multiple tactics, from beefed-up cameras to more aggressive product tracking, as detailed in coverage of how local GameStop locations are fighting back, reported by CBS News Chicago. In some cases, businesses have temporarily closed certain locations after being struck more than once.
Investigators are urging anyone with video or information about the Maine Township break-ins to contact local law enforcement. Business owners are still tallying losses and repairing damage. For now, the strip mall is a line of plywood and broken glass, and another small-business hub is left trying to bounce back from an overnight hit it never saw coming.
