'They took expensive stuff,' says owner of looted Elgin liquor store

The owner of an Elgin liquor store looted early Monday morning said he was dismayed at suffering at least $8,000 in damages, mostly from the loss of high-end liquor.

"To be honest with you, I never thought something would happen in this neighborhood - or in the U.S.," said Norm Kattoum, who owns Neighborhood Liquors at 805 Walnut Ave.

Another liquor store and two cellphone stores in Elgin were looted overnight from Sunday to Monday, police said.

Kattoum said video footage shows about 12 people, some with shopping bags, entering the store after smashing the front glass with a brick and a hammer. The group went for pricey bottles like Don Julio 1942 tequila, Remy Martin cognac, Clase Azul tequila and more, Kattoum said. "They took expensive stuff," he said. Other bottles were broken in the mad rush, he added.

Kattoum, who lives in Carpentersville, said the burglar alarm went off at 1:21 a.m. He arrived about 20 minutes later to find only police at the scene. Officers reportedly followed a car that got on I-90 and are looking into its license place, he said.

Kattoum said he spent the rest of the night and all day at the store, waiting for the front door to be repaired Monday evening.

He said he understands the outrage for the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, but destruction is not the answer, he said. "You cannot correct mistakes by mistake," he said. "This is going beyond what everybody expects. It's getting out of control."