WICKER PARK — A rash of car break-ins across from Wicker Park's namesake park has the local alderman asking for more attention from police.
Early Tuesday, four parking spots on the 2000 block of West Le Moyne Street were littered with glass, indicating possible break-ins.
"2 nights in a row and counting, on one 150-foot stretch of street. Same block every night. How hard could it be to catch this break-in crew?" tweeted Steven Meier, a resident who has been documenting the break-ins.
On Twitter, Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) told Meier that he has requested additional police patrols on residential streets during overnight hours.
Meier described the break-ins, along the 2000-2200 blocks of West Pierce, Le Moyne, Schiller and Evergreen Streets, as an "epidemic." Meier said he sees the aftermath of shattered glass along the curb and parkway grass while walking his dog in the mornings and believes the parked cars are being targeted.
"This is not random crime. Coordinated recon and execution," Meier said.
On Monday, a victim whose car was broken into sent Meier a photo, which he published on Twitter.
"I've asked for contact info and whether they'll file a police report. [The] victim told my wife that police refused to come to scene," Meier said.
Officer Bari Lemmon, a Chicago Police spokeswoman, said Tuesday that police do not typically respond to the scenes of break-ins since the offenders are no longer there.
Victims should call 311 to file a report over the phone or go on line, Lemmon said.
Lemmon encouraged anyone whose car has been broken into to file a report.
"Any crime is important to report; it's important for us to know what's going on. If there are multiple cars [hit on same street], it needs more attention," Lemmon said.
The Chicago Police Department's online ClearPath crime reporting map, which shows data for only two-week increments per search, showed 7 reports of larceny from the street in the 2000 block of West Le Moyne Street Schiller and Pierce avenues for the period ending last Tuesday. And 15 total incidents of larceny from the street for the previous month.
Around 7 a.m. Tuesday, Adam Housely, a Humboldt Park resident, was parking his car in a spot littered with shards of glass around the curb. Housely said the block has been plagued by car break-ins for years.
"I tell people who are visiting not to park here at night. It's a hotspot. There is nothing around it for people to watch," Housley said.
The block has a large parking lot for a senior apartment building to the west and an empty field to the east, where 14 row homes are eventually planned for the long empty lot.
On Twitter, the alderman asked Meier his ideas for making the street safer. Meier suggested making the block neighborhood parking only, or permit parking, overnight until 6 a.m.
Yes. For starters, neighborhood only parking between 6pm and 6 am. https://t.co/CmkoWJ6CoB
— Steven Meier (@StevenMeier) May 23, 2016
Meier said he parks his car in a secured garage and has not been impacted by the car break-ins.
Broken glass along the 2000 block of West Le Moyne Street in Wicker Park on Tuesday. [DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser]
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