Thieves steal big machines in Oakbrook Terrace

An Elgin construction firm is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the return of a wheel loader stolen from a job site in Oakbrook Terrace.

Bob Lewan, equipment manager for Martam Construction Inc., said the $160,000 piece of equipment was swiped last week — just the latest in a series of bold thefts plaguing the reconstruction of 22nd Street since January.

“You would think we're in Detroit, not (Oakbrook Terrace),” he said Monday. “I was really caught off guard by this.”

Lewan said the trouble began when a Kawasaki 65Z wheel loader, valued around $65,000, went missing from a work area near 22nd Street and Butterfield Road after a January snowstorm. About four months later, in May, he said, a Case CX160 excavator valued at $50,000 was stolen from the same location.

About 5 a.m. Friday, he said, crews returned to the site to find another piece of equipment — a Case 621E wheel loader valued at $160,000 — had been taken.

“Somebody had to see it,” Lewan said. “The area is by no means secluded. There are nice office buildings all around.”

Lewan said he suspects the equipment in each case was taken shortly after crews left the job site, usually about 2:30 p.m., because the thieves would have drawn attention moving the equipment at night. He said the wheel loaders possibly could have been driven away, but the excavator would have required the use of a ramp to get it over a gap in the pavement and loaded onto a trailer.

Lewan said each piece of equipment was varying shades of yellow. He said his company has insurance to cover the losses but hopes to avoid future thefts.

“The latest one's more personal,” he said. “I'm hoping there's a chance somebody saw something and can give the police a direction to go in.”

Oakbrook Terrace police referred questions about the thefts to a deputy chief who was not immediately available Monday.

Lewan asked that anyone with information on the case call Martam at (847) 608-6800 or police at (630) 941-8320. He said a $1,000 reward is being offered for any details that lead to the return of the Case 621E loader.