Rash of muggings reported in Lakeview area

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Residents are concerned about a weekend crime spree in several neighborhoods on Chicago's North Side.

A series of muggings and robberies was reported in the Wrigleyville, Boystown and Lincoln Park neighborhoods.

At 2:30 a.m. Monday, a man was beaten and robbed by as many as ten other people on the 3300-block of North Kenmore. On Saturday, another man was also beaten and robbed near Roscoe and Clark in the early morning hours of the day.

"I come home from work late at night, so I'm kind of always looking around me, but you never think it's going to be so close to home," said Becky Pendola.

"I'm very paranoid, so I'm always looking out for myself," said Marcos Siedi.

Business owners in the popular Boystown neighborhood say one problem is people who specifically target folks as they leave the bars in the early morning hours. On Saturday, two men and a woman were attacked and robbed of their cell phones by four men as they turned off Halsted onto Newport. It was the bouncer of a nearby bar who saw the incident and called police.

"I have noticed with what's going on that there has been more police when I'm leaving work and more volunteer security officers on the intersections at night," said Tony Dipisa, who was mugged two years ago.

Those private security officers are hired by the North Halsted Business Alliance from May through October. They work, according to the organization, with the Chicago Police Department to try and ensure the safety of people in the neighborhood during the overnight hours.