NORWOOD PARK — The city's newest medical marijuana dispensary has been inundated by concerned phone calls from distributors, officials and clients since its front door was smashed early Saturday morning, but its manager is resolute in the stability of his business.
"To assure everyone, we still still have a state-of-the-art security system in this facility, and there's no way to get in without immediately being noticed," said Dmitrey Stebley, chief operator of Union Group of Illinois, 6428 N. Milwaukee Ave.
No one got inside the closed medical office Saturday, according to police. Instead, security footage shows, a young man cavalierly smashed the door, leaving a bowling ball-sized hole, before strolling away.
The footage shows four white men in their late teens in or early 20s, standing around 5 feet, 9 inches tall, walking down the Milwaukee Avenue sidewalk just after 4 a.m. One of the youths, wearing black pants, a black jacket over a gray shirt, and a backwards-turned cap, is seen grabbing a three-foot metal pole out of the ground and jabbing it against the window as he ambles past.
Officers arrived to survey the scene the next morning, police said. No one was taken into custody.
Even if the men had wanted to get inside, they wouldn't have been able to, Stebley said. Behind the damaged door is a small entryway hemmed by a bulletproof glass window and a metal door, which was bolted shut.
More than 30 cameras are on continuous watch, both inside and outside the building, plus vibration and motion sensors, Stebley added.
"This is more secure than any bank you've ever seen," Stebley said, leaning a palm against the wide door.
During business hours, patients slip their prescription cards through a slot in the triple-thick window to a uniformed guard, who then buzzes the metal door open.
Medical marijuana dispensaries across the city had been required to keep 24-hour security guards on site, until Nov. 18, when Ald. Ed Burke (14th) and Ald. Willie Cochran (20th) sponsored and passed an ordinance rolling back regulations. Union Group of Illinois had begun serving patients on Nov. 16.
Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st), who had tried to prevent the facility from opening in his ward, said Saturday's incident gave weight to his concerns that the dispensary would attract trouble.
"This is exactly what residents expected to happen," Napolitano said Sunday, then believing it to have been an attempted break-in. "It's exactly what the neighborhood never wanted to deal with in the first place. And it could be just the beginning."
Stebley, meanwhile, has no plans but to replace the damaged front door and continue serving prescribed medicine to ailing patients, he said.
"Everyone needs to know — including Alderman Napolitano — that this facility has the highest level of security," Stebley said. "This facility is not breakable."
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