FRANKFORT, Ill. (WLS) — A burglary crew armed with sledgehammers stole cash from a Frankfort bar and restaurant just days after authorities launched a task force targeting video gaming burglaries.
The Chill House in Frankfort was burglarized once in August and again early Monday.
Surveillance footage shows three masked suspects, dressed in dark clothing, using sledgehammers to force their way into the longtime, family-owned bar and restaurant. The Monday break-in was the second in a little more than a month.
“I mean, it was like déjà vu,” said Stan Rousenelos, a part owner of the Chill House. “It’s kind of one of the most helpless feelings to know that somebody’s inside your business smashing and robbing you, and you know the police have just been dispatched and they missed them by 30 seconds.”
The smash-and-grab burglars are targeting video gambling machines.
According to Lake County, Illinois Chief of Law Enforcement Chris Covelli, the crimes appear to be carried out by organized crews operating across county lines.
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“Generally, they end up back in the city, where they divvy up the cash amongst each other and off they go,” Covelli said.
The cash-only machines are owned and serviced by gaming companies, which collect one-third of the profits. The state receives another third, while the businesses operating the machines get the remaining third.
“They hit us for five of our six machines this time,” Rousenelos said. “So it’s almost like they’re trained in it; they know exactly what they’re doing.”
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