Burglars crashed an Acura into Joyeria La Caridad at 3039 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago's Avondale neighborhood around 5 a.m. Thursday, entered the store and stole items before fleeing in a sport-utility vehicle, according to police. No one was hurt.
Police told CBS Chicago that Grand Central Area detectives are investigating the burglary. The Avondale hit was just the latest in a string of crash-and-grab burglaries that have rattled Chicago business owners throughout the week, with thieves repeatedly using stolen or crashed vehicles to smash their way into storefronts, grab cash or merchandise, and escape in a separate getaway car.
On Tuesday morning, burglars hit a jewelry store on Clark Street in Rogers Park and a BP gas station on Broadway in Uptown. By Wednesday, a 7-Eleven at Milwaukee and Grand avenues had also been struck, and at least four more businesses on 95th Street in Beverly, Washington Heights and Roseland were hit in the early morning hours, per the same CBS Chicago reporting.
A Pattern Stretching Across the City
The Rogers Park burglary followed a familiar script. A Honda sedan crashed into the front of Fanny's Jewelry at 6981 N. Clark St. early Tuesday, and burglars took property from inside before fleeing in another vehicle, according to Hoodline's earlier coverage. Police said no one was hurt in that incident either.
In separate April incidents, two burglaries unfolded within hours of each other. A dark-colored SUV plowed into a gas station in Avondale at 2:50 a.m., and three men got out, entered the minimart and stole the ATM, according to a witness who spoke with police, as reported by CBS News. A second burglary happened at 4:49 a.m. in West Englewood, where burglars used a dark-colored Jeep, took an ATM, and left the Jeep behind after fleeing in a different vehicle.
At a 7-Eleven in River West, at least one burglar crashed a sport-utility vehicle into the store at 504 N. Halsted St. around 4:33 a.m., went inside and stole an ATM before escaping in another car and leaving the SUV on scene, CBS News reported. Belmont Area detectives are investigating that case, and no injuries were reported.
Costly Damage Piling Up for Small Businesses
The financial toll of these burglaries has been steep for some targeted businesses. An SUV crashed through the entrance of a BP gas station at Broadway and Foster in Uptown shortly after 3 a.m. Tuesday, and the station owner told WGN there was about $14,000 in the stolen ATM's cash box, with total repairs and lost business estimated at roughly $100,000.
Earlier in October, a burglary crew hit at least 23 businesses across Portage Park, Avondale, Logan Square and Wicker Park in a single morning spree, according to Block Club Chicago. Police and business owners said a group of three or four men had stolen a red Kia sedan in the south suburbs before driving northwest to carry out the break-ins. During that spree, burglars broke into Terra coffee shop in Avondale and caused about $600 in damage without taking anything, while the owner of the Crab Pad estimated her losses at more than $5,000 after thieves took the cash register and computer.
More recently, four Beverly businesses were burglarized within a 15-minute window, between 3:39 a.m. and 3:54 a.m. Wednesday, Block Club Chicago reported. In one of those break-ins, three burglars broke into K.A.M. Alliance through its front door but were unable to steal anything.
A Citywide Problem Without Easy Answers
The surge in break-ins is not new to this month. Chicago police said 25 break-ins occurred across the city between April 20 and May 13, with investigators describing groups of four to five masked men forcing entry into closed businesses by breaking windows, prying doors or crashing vehicles into storefronts, according to FOX 32 Chicago. Police said those suspects specifically targeted ATMs and cash registers.
Chicago recorded 2,552 business burglaries in 2024 alone, according to Chicago Police data cited by WGN, which also reported that businesses experience an average of more than 30 burglaries a week citywide, and that most cases end without an arrest. In response, some business owners have begun installing concrete barricades designed to look like planters in addition to rolling shutters, per NBC Chicago, which also noted that a stolen Jeep Cherokee crashed into the windows of Round Two Chicago in Wicker Park as part of a separate series targeting stores that sell high-end footwear.
As of Wednesday morning, no one was in custody in connection with the April burglaries in Avondale and West Englewood, CBS News reported. For now, the Avondale jewelry store joins a growing list of Chicago businesses left counting losses and waiting for word from investigators.
