Are smash-and-grabs contributing to vacant spaces in downtown Chicago shopping districts?

Chicago (WLS) -- There are many factors that are making it hard for the downtown shopping districts to fill empty spaces, but could crime be one of the hurdles? Smash-and-grabs and retail theft have spiked in Chicago in the last several months.

After previous I-Team reports, we heard from viewers asking if crime was keeping businesses away. So we dug into the data and spoke to experts close to the issue.

Thieves driving vehicles right through store windows aren't rare. Retail crimes have businesses like Chicago Sports on the Mag Mile on guard, but they're resilient.

"We don't consider leaving," said owner Tyler Reyes. "We've been open since the eighties, but I do think currently it has been a big factor, especially during since the pandemic. All the, you know, the rioting, the looting."

But could current, persistent crime be keeping businesses from filling a record high number of empty storefronts? The Loop has a current vacancy rate of 30%, and the Mag Mile has a vacancy rate of 26% according to Stone Realty.

"Crime is a factor in businesses are reluctant to give you a ranking," said 2nd Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins. "Is it the number one factor or number 10 factor? For obvious reasons, they're reluctant to give you that level of specificity."

Hopkins is the chairperson of the Committee on Public Safety. He said crime could make businesses hesitant to move in and possibly make others think about moving out.

"I have had a couple of businesses tell me 'One more time and I'm closing,'" he said.

Hopkins has been leading the charge to install 40 more newer, sleeker bollards, or vertical posts, to protect businesses from cars being used for smash and grabs on the Mag Mile.

"The new effort is to strategically place them in locations that have been hit repeatedly where vehicles can access the sidewalk by going over the curb," said Hopkins.

Retailers are also fighting smash and grabs in an innovative way.

Fog machines that don't damage products can discourage thieves by making products almost impossible to see. The company which makes them, Density USA, said the thick fog hovers for a while, even after windows are broken.

Non-Stop Locksmith in the West Loop said it's installing these machines in local businesses along with arming them with alarms and glass protecting film.

"So we're getting a lot of phone calls lately, dozens of phone calls about finding solutions for smash and grabs and just break ins into businesses," said Shimon Mery of Non-Stop Locksmith.

Chicago Police crime numbers analyzed by the I-Team show "forcible entry" burglaries, which include smash-and-grabs, are skyrocketing overall, but only up slightly in downtown shopping areas.

When you compare the average of the three years before the pandemic to the last 12 months, there were 31 more forcible entry burglaries in the Near North neighborhood, which includes the Mag Mile area and eight more incidents in the Loop.

"There's a limit to how much of a loss they're willing to endure," said Ald. Hopkins. "And again, with repeated attacks like this of smash-and-grabs, that gets to the tipping point where suddenly it isn't worth it to them."

Retail thefts are up overall in the last year but when you compare the average of three years before the pandemic to the last 12 months, the numbers are down in the two shopping districts. In the Near North neighborhood, which includes the Mag Mile area, retail theft is down 1%. It's down 3% in the Loop.

"I think there is that residue of that social unrest, where people say: 'Maybe Chicago has lost its way a little bit.' But that is a perception, and it is not accurate anymore," said John Vance, principal at Stone Realty, which tracks vacancy rates in the Loop and the Mag Mile.

Vance said most of the businesses which left during COVID were mainly driven out by online shopping, and lower revenue in large spaces. He said many businesses looking to move in now are looking to overcome similar issues but may also think about crime rates.

"I think it is under consideration because they are hearing some things, but I don't think it is the main consideration. I think once they have committed to Chicago and Chicagoland, they have already made that decision," he said.

And activity is rebounding on the Mag Mile, with new stores moving in and the Loop Alliance says foot traffic is skyrocketing. In some cases, it's hitting pre-pandemic levels.

The I-Team also reached out to the Mag Mile Association, which said it's been beefing up security with its community policing program.