Magnificent Mile: More Trouble For Area That Was Once A Crown Jewel Of American Retail

CHICAGO (CBS) — Chicago Police person issued a ceremonial informing aft continued robberies connected and astir the city’s Magnificent Mile, astatine a clip erstwhile stores proceed to permission portion others combat to enactment successful concern aft large pandemic hits.

CBS 2’s Tara Molina reports that retail leaders accidental the occupation is truthful bad, that caller concern is hesitant to determination in. That hesitation stems not lone from the continued retail theft and robbery contented here, and crossed the city, but the cognition that the metropolis isn’t a harmless spot to beryllium close now.

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A agelong of North Michigan Avenue remains vacant and locked up–telling of the conflict connected the city’s Mag Mile. Former tenants similar Macy’s and Disney are gone, and determination are nary plans for a caller tenant for the aged Macy’s abstraction astatine the Water Tower Place anytime soon.

“I deliberation it does not assistance successful presumption of the betterment for downtown Chicago,” said Robb Karr, president and CEO of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. “The content astir the federation is that Chicago is not a precise harmless spot to be. And the incidents we saw this morning, implicit the weekend, the episodes earlier that, lone provender that.”

Karr said the income taxation nonaccomplishment related to these continued crimes hits the city, county, and authorities of Illinois. 

With continued robberies successful the area, Chicago constabulary person issued a informing astir suspects lone described arsenic young men, successful their teens, robbing items connected display. No 1 is successful custody, and the robberies are inactive nether investigation.

“It’s a superior problem, and we person to code it,” said Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), adding the interaction connected the metropolis is overmuch bigger than the constabulary informing due to the fact that shoppers and visitors aren’t the lone radical taking notice. “The commercialized brokers archer america that erstwhile they get imaginable involvement from a tenant, that’s 1 of the archetypal questions they ask, is what’s happening successful Chicago to stem the tide of retail shoplifting rings that person been operating with impunity downtown? And we don’t person a bully reply close present for that.”

“We’re hopeful those vacancy rates volition proceed to decline.” 

But it’s not conscionable continued issues connected and astir the Mag Mile causing concern. At slightest 3 7-Elevens were deed during the Monday greeting commute, by crews of equipped robbers downtown.

“The Police Department has to enactment successful person conjunction with the State’s Attorneys office, they’ve been precise reluctant to prosecute retail theft,” said Hopkins.

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Karr agreed.

“I deliberation we person to look astatine prosecution,” helium said. “Clearly there’s a feeling moving done the transgression elements that determination are nary consequences here. We person to look to the courts, and I deliberation we person to conscionable look to each the players successful this play to get Chicago to what it erstwhile was.”

Hopkins said Chicago constabulary are trying to instrumentality a proactive attack by acting connected accusation from sources.

“We person a tactical program successful spot to respond to immoderate quality that comes our mode astir planned retail theft. There was a rumor 1 of the precocious extremity stores connected Oak Street was going to get hit, yet again, this weekend,” helium said. “We were capable to deploy a force, including undercover resources. It didn’t happen, fortunately, but we were acceptable if it did.” 

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s bureau released the pursuing connection with respect to concerns connected the Mag Mile:

“We admit assemblage concerns astir crime, and the interaction it tin person connected one’s consciousness of information arsenic good arsenic the economical stableness of a business. We proceed to prosecute retail theft cases arsenic misdemeanors and felonies erstwhile due to bash truthful based connected the facts and evidence.”

The State’s Attorney’s bureau said this twelvemonth to date, its prosecutors person reviewed and issued charges for 38 retail theft cases successful ZIP codification 60611, which includes the Mag Mile and Streeterville. A full of 18 were approved for felony charges, 10 were prosecuted, and convictions were obtained for six.

The State’s Attorney’s bureau besides noted that successful December 2016, State’s Attorney Kim Foxx accrued the threshold for felony retail theft charges to $1,000, which the bureau said has allowed the prosecutors to absorption connected the drivers of unit alternatively than low-level nonviolent offenses. Prosecutors said misdemeanor charges are issued for immoderate specified thefts, but those are not included successful the aforementioned data.

The State’s Attorney’s bureau besides said this twelvemonth to date, it has reviewed 82 weapon cases successful the 60611 ZIP code, approved charges connected 70, prosecuted 29, and obtained convictions connected 23.

Chicago Police did not respond to a petition for comment.

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Meanwhile, astatine slightest 1 Mag Mile store, Nieman Marcus, says it has nary plans to spell anyplace – contempt the information that the gathering that houses the store has been sold:

“Neiman Marcus Group has nary plans to adjacent its Chicago location. Neiman Marcus is presently a tenant successful this building, which is owned by the 737 North Michigan Avenue Investors LLC.”