LINCOLN PARK — Two cars were broken into along a stretch of Sheffield that's been without streetlights all week, residents said.
The residents on the block say they are concerned the outage — between the 2000 and 2400 block of North Sheffield Avenue — is making them more likely to become victims of crime.
The blocks are steps from DePaul University's campus and house many university students.
The two cars hit were parked in the 2100 block of North Sheffield Avenue and were broken into sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon, owners of the cars said. The victims said only a phone charger was taken, but their windows were smashed.
Later Friday, after DNAinfo Chicago reported the incidents, a Chicago Department of Transportation crew arrived to fix the lights and said the lights would be up and running Friday night.
Erin Wehmer, whose car was hit overnight Wednesday, said she thought the power outage likely contributed to the crime.
"I think there's so many students and young people who live in the area, when the lights are out and it's pitch black on the street, even at 7 p.m., it's going to make you feel unsafe," said 28-year-old Allison Vatz, who lives in the 2200 block of North Sheffield.
Vatz, who has lived in the area for four years, said that she hopes the break-ins don't lead to further crime
"As a young woman it definitely makes me nervous, even walking home after work," she said. "It makes you worry that worse things could happen, like break-ins to peoples houses, any sort of assaults."
The streetlights had been out since Monday.
There have been 15 311 requests for service for the outage on Sheffield between Armitage and Fullerton Avenues, according to the city's data portal.
A CDOT official said the city received a request at 10 p.m. March 17 and made the repairs Friday, "ahead of the four day goal established." The official said the department gets about 200 reports of lights out each week and makes about 200 repairs each week, "prioritizing those that raise safety issues."
Ald. Michele Smith's office is reaching out to police to provide extra patrols in the area until the outage is fixed.
Smith's office became aware of the outage Friday morning.
The Department of Streets and Sanitation could not immediately be reached for comment.
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