Amid a rash of smash-and-grab burglaries targeting video gambling machines in restaurants, bars and other businesses, suburban law enforcement agencies are teaming up to fight back.
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More than 50 detectives from police departments and sheriff’s offices in Cook, Lake, DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will counties recently met as a newly formed task force to share intelligence and coordinate their efforts to locate and arrest the criminals responsible.
“The detectives and law enforcement personnel involved have been putting significant time and resources into these investigations, working across jurisdictional lines to connect cases, share information, and develop leads,” Lake County sheriff’s Chief Christopher Covelli said Thursday.
Rarely does a day go by that police in one suburb or another aren’t responding to a burglary involving thieves bashing their way into video gambling terminals.
Over the last week, crews have hit a restaurant and a gambling cafe in Schaumburg, gas stations in Wheeling and Green Oaks, a bar in New Lenox and a truck stop in Peotone.
An employee of Frato’s Kitchen & Gaming in Schaumburg, which was broken into early Tuesday morning, said the business had to close for two days while workers cleaned up shattered glass and other damage. The restaurant side of the operation was set to reopen Thursday night, but its gambling terminals were destroyed and aren’t likely to be replaced until next week.
Besides several days of lost revenue, the business now faces additional costs to beef up its security.
Not amateur hour
The thieves behind the break-ins typically operate in groups of six to 12 who roll up to businesses — often in stolen vehicles — and use sledgehammers, crowbars and other tools to force their way inside.
Once they’ve gained entry, they smash open video gambling machines and steal the cash inside them before fleeing, often at excessive speeds.
“These appear to be very organized crews, and appear to be street gang-related,” Covelli said.
Besides local police, the task force includes the office of the Illinois attorney general, while the Illinois Gaming Board is the lead agency since the crimes involve gambling terminals.
“(The task force’s) continued collaboration and investigative work will be critical to identifying those responsible and bringing these cases to a successful conclusion,” Covelli added.