AURORA, Ill. --
Authorities say someone has been stealing road salt from a storage facility in the Chicago suburb of Aurora -- and not just a few bags of it. The owners of Elgin-based Tovar Snow Professionals say 120 tons of the salt are missing, and it's worth about $32,000. The stolen salt would fill six semi-trucks and require heavy equipment to load.
Tovar vice president Eric Hartmann says major vendors like Tovar plan months in advance and buy their salt in the summer, but a smaller, seasonal company, such as a landscaper or paving firm that switches to clearing snow in the winter, may not have a stock on hand.
Hartmann notes that the price of road salt is three to four times what it was last year.