Chicago-Area Bank Robberies Up 70 Percent In Last 4 Months

Spring 2006. I’d been driving through the northwest suburbs of Chicago when I asked my girlfriend, who was a city planner at the time:

What’s with all the new banks popping up?

She confirmed that plenty of these structures were going up around the area. Furthermore, she added that municipalities disliked them in many cases because they occupied primo real estate in town without bringing in sales tax revenue. Interesting to know.

I remember thinking- when the economy goes south, get ready to hear about a slew of bank robberies in the area, thanks in part to all this new supply of “targets.”

Fast forward to 2012. Saba Hamid wrote on the NBC Chicago website last Friday:

Chicago is having a banner year for bank robberies.

As of Dec. 7, the city reported 198 robberies, a 70 percent increase in the past four months, according to BanditTracker Chicago. At this rate, the number likely will cross 200 by year’s end and could double the 2011 record of 115.

Interestingly enough, 2006 was the record-setting year for bank heists in the Chicagoland area, when 284 robberies were reported.

Source:

Hamid, Saba. “Chicago Bank Robberies Could Double Last Year’s.” NBC Chicago. 7 Dec. 2012. (http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Chicago-Bank-Robberies-Record-182549001.html). 10 Dec. 2012.