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Burglaries a concern in Mt. Prospect

Recent burglaries in Mount Prospect led one citizen to approach the village board this week.

John Weisser of the 700 block of South Glendale Lane told the board Tuesday he was concerned about a string of residential burglaries in his neighborhood.

He said he has been living in the village for about two years and has enjoyed his stay. But he recounted one recent instance when an elderly couple’s home was burglarized in the middle of the day after they were out for “a matter of moments.”

“It is pretty unsettling,” he said, adding he is particularly concerned because he has a wife and six-month-old son.

Weisser’s comments hit home with Trustee A. John Korn, whose home was burglarized at 10 a.m. July 3. “My wife was gone about an hour,” he said. “The doors were locked but the deadbolts were not on.”

Even if people are working in their backyard, they should lock their front doors, he said. “Ten o’clock in the morning on a Wednesday. That’s being pretty bold.”

Mount Prospect Police July 26 issued a news release reminding people to lock their doors, citing reports of suspicious subjects trying to gain entry by checking for unlocked doors.

“What really helps us is the community helping us” by calling 911 to report suspicious cars and suspicious people, Deputy Chief of Police Administration John Wagner said at Tuesday’s meeting.

In the past couple of weeks, he said, there have been more frequent burglaries in towns east of Mount Prospect. The department is working with those towns, he said. It takes time to complete a burglary investigation and the department does not want to tip suspects off while the investigation is under way, he added.

Earlier in the year, the village experienced a similar string of burglaries, and eventually a coordinated effort with other towns resulted in numerous arrests, he said. And overall, there is a downward trend for burglaries, based on statistics the department examines as it prepares its budget, he said.

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