Wicker Park Bucktown Insider's Guide

Wicker Wire: Police are warning area residents about a number of robberies that happened in both the Austin and Wicker Park neighborhoods early this morning. Unfortunately, there is very little information about the assailants. According to reports, however, a group of young men between the ages of 14-23 jumped out of a white or gray Chevrolet Malibu in the block of 1800 W. North Avenue just before 4am robbing a victim at gunpoint in Wicker Park. Approximately 4-6 men were involved in this robbery.

If you have any information please contact the Chicago Police Department at (312) 744-8263.

Don't forget to vote! Today, Tuesday March 15, 2016 is the official primary election date in Illinois. For a quick and easy way to find your polling place, the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners created this handy little link. Just input your address and you'll find your polling location.

Polls are open all day from 6am-7pm. Find your polling place HERE.

According to a report first published by ABC7 News, a 33-year-old man was robbed on Monday, October 5, 2015 at approximately 10:00pm as he was walking just north of the North/Damen/Milwaukee Avenue intersection. He was approached by a man and woman who took both his laptop and his wallet. As they fled the scene, they then fired, what appeared to be, a BB or pellet gun which grazed him in the eye. 

A report published today by DNAInfo describes the assailants as black, in their 20's, and over 5'9" with dark complexions. According to Chicago Police, they are looking for 3 offenders: two men and one female. After the robbery, the man and woman fled in a black Honda Coupe driven by the 3rd offender. If you have any information, please contact the Chicago Police Department.

A Community Alert has been issued by the Chicago Police Department for women in Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village and the surrounding areas. Three robberies occurred on June 26, 2015 whereby robbers asked the female victims for directions and then proceeded to pepper spray/mace them and take their belongings including pursues and cell phones. Witnesses saw the suspects leave in a cream colored sedan.

Victims were robbed in the blocks of 2400 W. Cortez, 1700 W. Haddon and 2200 W. Hirsch. The robberies happened between 5:30pm and 10:30pm on June 26th. Police say one suspect is an African American female, 5' 7" - 5' 8" approximately 155-190 pounds and wore her hair in a pony tail. The second suspect is a Caucasian between 5'3"-5'7" between 120-130 pounds. This suspect had blonde hair and also wore her hair in a pony tail.

If you have any information, please contact the Chicago Police Department at (312) 744-8263.

Chicago's one and only run-off election for Mayor is today.  Don't miss your opportunity to participate in this historic event.

If you're not sure what precinct you're in (they'll ask you when you arrive at your polling place) and/or where to go to cast your ballot, you can check for your polling place HERE.  

A photo posted by Wicker Park Bucktown Insider (@wickerparkbuck) on Sep 13, 2013 at 11:54am PDT

Police issued a Community Alert on Sunday warning Wicker Park, Bucktown and area residents of a man who has recently robbed two women in Wicker Park.

In both robberies, the man walked up to a female from behind and struck up a conversation before stealing various personal items from her. During the first incident, the offender struck the victim in the face.

The robberies happened at 11:10 p.m. on Jan. 17 in the 1330 block of North Hoyne and at 10 p.m. on Jan. 30 in the 1500 block of North Honore.

The attacker is described as a black man, between 23 and 40 years old, 5-foot-10 to 6-feet tall and, in one incident, was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.

Anyone with information about the robberies is asked to call the Chicago Police Department at (312) 744-8263.

Two Wicker Park banks directly across the street from each other were robbed within a 36 hour period according to the Chicago FBI.

On Friday, January 9th, North Community Bank at 1555 N. Damen Avenue was robbed at approximately 9:45am. A grainy photo below was distributed by the FBI. The suspect is described as a black male 25-30 years old 5' 5" - 5' 7" wearing a gray hoodie, jeans and black mask. A black gun was used in the robbery. 

On Saturday January 10th at approximately 12:45pm, Bank of America, directly across the street at 1585 N. Milwaukee Avenue was also robbed. The suspect is a white male 5'8" -6'. The man pictured below is a suspect in today's robbery. He is also a suspect in a bank robbery occurring at PNC Bank, 2100 W. Chicago Avenue and an attempted robbery at Chase Bank 1959 W. Division Street.

A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered for information about this individual. 

Please contact the Chicago FBI with information: 312-421-6700.

The strong-arm robberies in the Wicker Park, Bucktown, Humboldt Park, Ukrainian Village neighborhoods continue. A Community Alert was issued December 12, 2014 by police. On December 24, 2014 at approximately 1:00pm another resident was robbed in the area of 2100 W. Thomas Street in Ukrainian Village. Please note: this happened in the middle of the day.

The robber was looking for money and may be canvassing nearby neighborhoods. Photos of the suspect are below. Although the man pictured has covered most of his face, someone may be able to identify this person. If you have any information regarding the identity of this man, please contact the Chicago Police Department. 

photos courtesy of Ukrainian Village Neighborhood Watch via Facebook

photo courtesy of WGN.

The bully bandit has returned to the area after a year and has once again robbed a local bank; entering and robbing the Chase Bank located at 1959 W. Division Street on Wednesday November 5th.

The FBI is offering a reward of $17,500 for information that leads to the arrest of this robber who got his name from the aggressive way he treats to both customers of the banks and the tellers.

An alert was issued by the FBI today including a description of the suspect. He appears to be a Hispanic male in his late 20's - early 30's approximately 5' 7" with a medium build , black hair, brown eyes, a mustache and thick eyebrows. Witnesses also noted he has at least 4 gold-capped lower teeth. He may work in construction as he appeared to have paint on his hands during one of his robberies.

If you have information about the Bully Bandit, please contact the FBI: (312) 421-6700.

Last night's election was incredible showing how close these races can be and how important your vote truly is. That being said, you can attend a Meet & Greet for all 1st Ward Alderman Candidates courtesy of the Wicker Park Committee. The meeting starts tonight, November 5th, at 7pm and will be held at the Wicker Park Field House at 1425 N. Damen Avenue.

The full agenda is above. All are welcome. Elections are February 2015.