Chicago police warn of string of robberies across River North, Lake View and Streeterville

By Nic Flosi
Published  May 12, 2026 7:18am CDT
FOX 32 Chicago
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The Brief

    • A series of robberies has been reported in River North, Lake View and Streeterville since early April.
    • Victims were approached and robbed of phones, with offenders later accessing financial accounts.
    • In some cases, victims were driven around while transactions were made on their devices.

CHICAGO - A series of robberies reported across three North Side neighborhoods has prompted a warning from police.

Chicago robberies in River North, Lake View, Streeterville

The backstory:

Police said the incidents happened between April 5 and May 10, mostly during late-night and early-morning hours.

In each case, victims were approached by a group who took cellphones and other belongings using force, threats or a gun. The offenders then used the stolen phones to carry out financial transactions.

In four of the cases, victims were reportedly tricked into getting into a vehicle and driven around while the offenders performed fraudulent transactions on the victims' phones.

According to police, the robberies occurred at the following times and locations:

  • 100 block of West Ontario St — April 5 at 12:35 a.m. — River North
  • 200 block of East Ohio St — April 18 between 3:30–3:45 a.m. — Streeterville
  • 3500 block of North Clark St — April 22 at 12:22 a.m. — Lake View
  • 3700 block of North Broadway — April 23 at 9:30 p.m. — Lake View
  • 600 block of North Dearborn St — April 26 at roughly 2:30 a.m. — River North
  • 0–100 block of West Hubbard St — April 26 at about 2:30 a.m. — River North
  • 3500 block of North Clark St — May 2 at 11:30 p.m. — Lake View
  • 3500 block of North Clark St — May 3 at 1 a.m. — Lake View
  • 600 block of North Wabash Ave — May 3 at 3 a.m. — Lake View
  • 3500 block of North Clark St — May 4 at 10 p.m. — Lake View
  • 400 block of North Clark St — May 8 at 1 a.m. — River North
  • 0–100 block of West Hubbard St — May 10 between 1–3 a.m. — River North

The offenders were described as one to three Black males standing between 5-foot-6 and 6-foot-5, and weighing between 140 and 210 pounds. A dark-colored SUV, a silver four-door sedan and another dark-colored sedan were used in some of the robberies, police said.

What you can do:

Anyone with information is asked to call 312-744-8263 or submit tips anonymously at CPDTIP.com, using reference number P26-3-015.

The Source: The information in this story came from the Chicago Police Department.

Crime and Public SafetyRiver NorthLake ViewStreetervilleNews