Neighbors Alarmed By Uptick In Burglaries In Beverly

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Neighbors are fed up and looking to put a stop to a spike of burglaries in the historic Beverly neighborhood.

As CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported, police have arrested one man. But that is not enough for homeowners, who think several people are behind the thefts.

Just Tuesday night, a couple new to the neighborhood got an alert from their security system. They looked outside to find someone trying to break in.

That was just one of many scary moments in a tight-knit community where homeowners often move in and never leave.

"This neighborhood has always been one of the safer neighborhoods of Chicago," said Jayonna Sims.

But after calling Beverly home for 44 years, Sims is not feeling the safest – especially after many of her neighbors reported burglaries.

"Because it's not the norm for Beverly and it's every day almost," Sims said.

Many of the burglaries involve thieves breaking into garages overnight or early mornings.

"They could go into the house, because some of our garages are connected to our homes," Sims said.

This week, several neighbors reported a man lurking in backyards near 90th Street and Hoyne Avenue. The man was attempting to break into garages.

"So the alarm system went off. It scared them away," Sims said.

Chicago Police responded. They arrested a man, Gregory Donner, on allegations of trespassing.

Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th) said Donner was out on parole for a previous burglary. But his arrest does not put neighbors at ease.
"The data is there," Sims said.

CBS 2 analyzed the data, and Beverly saw burglaries spike 25% in 2019. It is the most burglaries reported in the community since 2016.

The numbers show the uptick in burglaries – 54% -- occurred between August and December of last year.

It is leaving neighbors to take an extra step to protect what they own, such as installing an alarm system.

"I'm even willing to do a petition with my neighbors just to see if they want to privately pay to pay for some type of security to patrol and protect our homes and possessions," Sims said.

Terry is told one homeowner who is away for the winter has already hired private security to sit outside their house at night.

Neighbors are hoping such measures won't become the norm. They are hoping police will instead do more patrols.