Burglars break into at least five Chicago businesses overnight, steal two ATMs

Thieves broke into at least five Chicago businesses early Monday, in some cases stealing or attempting to steal ATMs inside.

According to a Chicago Police Department community alert, in each of the break-ins, a group of up to four people broke into businesses by smashing a window or forcing open a door. Once inside, they stole property, and in two of the burglaries, stole an ATM.

The first break-in happened shortly after 2:30 a.m. at The Beetle Bar & Grill, at 2532 W. Chicago Av. in Ukrainian Village, where the ATM was stolen. The thieves fled in a light-colored SUV.

Around 3:20 a.m., burglars also broke into a business in the 2500 block of North Halsted Street.

Next, around 3:30 a.m., police said two men broke a window to get into Toons Bar & Grill, at 3857 N. Southport Av., in the Lakeview neighborhood.

Surveillance video shows the pair tried to steal the ATM, which is bolted to the floor inside, before giving up. Police said they fled the scene in a gray sedan.

Experts have told CBS News Chicago that making sure an ATM is really secure, like bolting it to the floor, is a great way to combat theft.

While that stopped the thieves from getting away with the ATM from Toons, it didn't prevent the damage done to get inside.

"Going in smashing windows and running in the building is kind of crazy," said Toons owner Danny Beck, who said the break-in caused thousands of dollars in damage.

Beck said the break-in hurts, with Toons already battling massive rising costs that they can't pass to customers without losing business.

"We're at record costs. Our burgers? Ground beef is record high. It's gone up over … it's doubled," he said.

Toons has been a meeting place for the Lakeview neighborhood for almost 30 years.

"We've seen kids grow up around here. We've seen their parents bring them back for their first legal beer," Beck said. "These corner taverns are going by the wayside, and this doesn't help."

Beck said he'll pay for repairs out of pocket with insurance costs already high.

"It's right on the thing where it's like, our insurance costs are so high already, how are we going to put this claim in? All that's going to do is going to make them go up higher," he said.

Meantime, Illinois Bar & Grill, at 47th and Kedvale in Archer Heights, also was targeted overnight. Around 4:20 a.m., thieves broke in through the glass door, and took off with their ATM, fleeing the scene in a light-colored SUV.

Finally, around the same time as thieves were stealing the ATM from Illinois Bar & Grill, there was another break-in a mile away, at a business in the 49000 block of West 47th Street.

"There's a lot of places that are hurting that this could be the straw that breaks them. Maybe they don't have the money to get through something like this with all these other costs," Beck said. "It's just really important in Chicago to get out there and support them."

While it wasn't included in CPD's community alert, there was a similar break-in early Monday at the Grasshopper Club marijuana dispensary at the corner of Roosevelt Road and Wabash Avenue in the South Loop. Sources said burglars also were trying to steal the ATM.