Schaumburg sets own fines for sub-$1,000 retail thefts

With the Cook County state's attorney's office having stopped approving felony charges for most retail thefts of under $1,000 of merchandise this year, Schaumburg officials have created their own fines to cover thefts between the previous $300 cutoff for misdemeanors and the new felony threshold.

The new system village trustees approved Tuesday maintains the previous fine of $200 for retail thefts of up to $300 in value. But it adds a fine of $300 for thefts valued between $300 and $750, and a fine of $600 for thefts between $750 and $1,000.

All such retail thefts would be prosecuted in-house through the village's own adjudication system for local laws. Schaumburg began using this system to prosecute misdemeanor thefts in 2016.

Schaumburg Police Chief Jim Lamkin said he felt some fine structure was necessary between the previous misdemeanor and newly raised felony levels due to the more significant losses businesses still face. He estimated about 60 retail thefts per year in the village fall within the gap the new fines are intended to cover.

"I can't tell you today how often we would use this, but it could be appropriate in certain situations," Lamkin said.

While Schaumburg police can still seek felony charges for a theft under $1,000, the suspect's criminal history would be the most likely reason they would try to persuade the state's attorney's office to do so, Lamkin said.

One existing exception to the state's attorney's new rule regarding retail thefts is that those committed by people with 10 felony convictions already on their record would also be prosecuted as felonies.

From the start of 2014 through the end of 2016, Schaumburg police responded to approximately 1,600 calls of retail thefts, he said.