Three years in, Cook County Sheriff's safety efforts on Magnificent Mile showing progress

A three-year effort by the Cook County Sheriff's Office to help bring down crime on the Magnificent Mile in downtown Chicago appears to be working.

A group of 40 to 50 sheriff's officers patrol the Mag Mile every day of the week, and have made more than 100 arrests so far this year.

It's a concerted, concentrated effort by Cook County, following years of crime plaguing Chicago's most prominent shopping district, and record vacancy rates in buildings along the Mag Mile.

"It was happening on a massive scale. We were getting to operations that were getting $10,000, $20,000. $100,000 of stuff that was being stolen," Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart.

His office started running the targeted law enforcement operation on the Magnificent Mile in 2023, and has made more than 415 arrests since then.

In one recent case, sheriff's officers arrested a man who stole about $8,000 in merchandise from the alo clothing store, and was later found to have three active warrants.

"We have been able to just literally just follow the thief, wait a couple blocks, pull them over, get the whole group, get everything back, and it's been amazing," Dart said.

So far this year, sheriff's officers also have recovered more than 20 weapons during arrests on or near the Mag Mile.

"We've been taking a lot of guns off the street in this area in the course of these type of operations," Dart said.

Through partnerships with store owners and managers, Dart said they're stopping crimes much faster.

"The amount of revenue that comes out of just this strip here is astounding, and so when that's being decimated and businesses are leaving, it's hitting everybody in the city. Your property taxes will go up. You've got to come up with the money somewhere," Dart said.

At one point after the COVID-19 pandemic, the vacancy rate on the Magnificent Mile reached more than 30%. As of Thursday, it has dropped to just under 17%, according to the commercial real estate group CoStar.

Overall, crime is down along the Mag Mile.

Asked about the positive changes on the Magnificent Mile in July, Mayor Brandon Johnson did not speak specifically about the sheriff's office's work.

"It's the full force of government. It's policing and investing in our young people. The number of young people working in these businesses along the Magnificent Mile, it's a testament to how corporations and government can partner together," Johnson said.

Asked about that response from the mayor, Dart said, "I don't even know if he knows we're here."

"I mean, maybe he does. I'm not sure. We don't interact with him, we interact with CPD," Dart added.

The sheriff said his office's partnership with Chicago Police has only become stronger over the past few years.

"It's so integrated, it's just no one even talks about it anymore. It's just like this is what we all do, and if you can get there first, great. If we can get there first, great," he said.

Three years into the operation, Dart said, "We're not going anywhere."

"The question is how much we could expand," he added.