Creep on the el flashes, then cashes in
Around 7 a.m., Sept. 9, a Forest Park woman seated on the Blue Line train was accosted by a man she described as 25-35 years old who threatened, then exposed himself to her, then fled the train after stealing an unknown amount of cash from the victim.
Open invitations
In the 600 block of East Avenue, during the night of Sept. 14-15, someone entered a garage via the open overhead door, then ransacked the unlocked 2014 Volkswagen Tiguan inside. Missing are a leather wallet containing cash, a $100 Target gift card, credit cards and a driver’s license. The offender(s) also used a vehicle remote found in the VW’s center console to open a Passat parked behind the garage; it, too, was found ransacked.
The same night, in the 100 block of South Elmwood, someone ransacked an unlocked Prius and stole an iPod, a radar detector and a Coach leather wallet containing cash, ID and credit cards.
An unlocked Chevrolet parked in the 400 block of Lake Street, during the afternoon of Sept. 13, enabled someone to steal an electronic credit card swiper device, a plastic drawer containing cash, and a wallet that held ID, credit cards and keys.
On Sept. 20 between 2:30 and 3 a.m. in the 100 block of North Scoville, a burglar cut the screen on the window of a house, then climbed through the window. Stolen were cash and an Apple laptop.
During the night of Sept. 19-20 in the 100 block of North Lombard Avenue, someone got inside a Hyundai Santa Fe thanks to an unlocked door. Stolen items included a laptop, an iPod, coins, CDs and the laptop’s Targus bag.
Overnight Sept. 20-21 in the 1100 block of Highland, an open garage overhead door allowed easy access to a burglar, who made off with a $300 purple bicycle.
Someone pried open a storage locker in a garage common area in the 100 block of North Euclid and stole a bicycle, four wheels with Bridgestone snow tires, a floor jack, and a padlock. It happened the night of Sept. 12-13. The following night, in the same location, someone pried open another storage locker and got away with power tools, hand tools, a lawn chair and two fishing poles.
Theft
A Camry worth $8,000 was stolen during the night of Sept. 14-15 while parked in the village lot in the first block of Washington Boulevard.
A cutting tool was used to remove the cable locking a man’s bike to a rack in the 1000 block of South Lombard, the afternoon of Sept. 15. Same day, same method in the 200 block of South Marion Street at the YMCA bike rack; this time, it happened around 5:45 p.m. A man in a white jacket, tool in hand, was seen there getting out of a tan van, driven by a second person. The offender was last spotted riding the stolen bicycle westbound on Randolph away from the Y, trailed by the van.
In the 1100 block of Pleasant Street, someone stole the registration sticker off the back license plate of a Chevy Blazer sometime between 8 a.m. and noon, Sept. 15.
A $700 spare tire was stolen from a 2014 Jeep Wrangler, Sept. 14 between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., while the Jeep was parked in the 400 block of North Lombard.
A thief snatched a black-and-gold, sequined wallet from the unattended baby stroller in which it had been left in the 400 block of North Harlem Avenue between noon and 1 p.m. The wallet contained ID, a debit card and cash.
An unlocked and unattended bike worth $415 was stolen from a backyard in the 100 block of North Harvey on the afternoon of Sept. 16. A bike in a bike rack in the 1000 block of South Lombard was stolen the same day between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
A 200-pound commercial dishwasher worth $3,000, left unattended in the common garbage area behind Bar Louie in the 1100 block of Lake Street, was reported stolen, Sept. 16 between 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Someone stole the catalytic converter from under a Chevy Venture that had been parked in the alley of the 900 block of South Kenilworth, the morning of Sept. 19.
In the 200 block of South Austin, sometime between Sept. 4 and 20, someone stole a Jeep valued at $4,000.
Recovered
A Cutlass Ciera, reported stolen Sept. 20 from a lot in the 500 block of South Austin Boulevard, was recovered the following day in the 900 block of Moore in Danville.
A Ford Expedition, reported stolen on Sept. 18, was recovered by Chicago police in the 300 block of North Mayfield.
Vandalism
A house in the 900 block of North Austin Boulevard was vandalized, overnight Sept. 15-16, with three cable cords and a telephone cord cut. The cords were attached to the outside of the house.
Someone may have used a key to scratch the exterior of a black BMW parked in the first block of Superior Street, the afternoon of Sept. 19.
In the 500 block of South East Avenue, Sept. 19 around 9 p.m., someone shattered a house window. A thrown golf ball may have been used.
The morning of Sept. 20, someone broke the passenger-side vent window of a Jeep parked in the first block of Ontario Street.
These items, obtained from the Oak Park and River Forest police departments, came from reports filed Sept. 15-21 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.
— Compiled by Amy Malina
