(The Center Square) – New data shows that violent retail crime is on the rise, and taxpayers can be counted among the victims.
Illinois Retail Merchants Association President and CEO Rob Karr said violent retail incidents are up 7% over the last year in Illinois.
“These groups come in, they come in fast and hard. They intimidate and they’re getting more violent in their approaches,” Karr told The Center Square.
According to the Auror retail crime intelligence platform, one in eight retail crimes now involve firearms, blades or physical threats.
Karr said retail theft is not a victimless crime.
“We’re all victims when items are stolen because that sales tax money is not collected on those items, and that sales tax money then isn’t present to fund the services that we all rely upon,” Karr said.
According to the Auror data, the top ten percent of retail crime offenders were responsible for more than 63% of reported incidents in Illinois stores last year.
Illinois retailers lose an estimated $2 billion per year to theft.
According to the Illinois Organized Retail Crime Association, Illinois is one of the top three targeted states in the country for cargo theft.
Karr said Illinois is a major transportation hub.
“It attracts us thieves because so much cargo runs through Illinois. We have the nation’s largest inland port. We have all six Class One railroads that run through Illinois, particularly through the Chicago area. We’re a major hub for interstate,” Karr said.
Karr said it’s important for county state’s attorneys to focus on retail and cargo theft.
“Rank and file police officers take their cue from what the county prosecutor is going to take seriously and pursue,” Karr said.
Karr said the change in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office was helpful after Eileen O’Neill Burke was elected to lead the office in 2024, replacing Kim Foxx. Karr also applauded the efforts of Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
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