Two Elgin homeless men face felony in theft of ice rink insulation

A pair of homeless men in Elgin on Wednesday tried to keep warm for the night by stealing insulation destined for the downtown ice skating rink, police said.

James L. Prow, 48, and Tommy W. McBurney, 54, were each charged with theft, a Class 3 felony that carries a maximum sentence of five years in a state prison.

According to police, the men lifted the material, worth $500, from Civic Center Plaza, which comprises Elgin City Hall, the Hemmens Cultural Center and the skating rink.

"There's material staged there and these two homeless gentlemen came by, identified some warm material and took it," Lt. Sean Rafferty said.

In practice, the city uses the insulation to keep skaters warm.

Police suspect that the duo planned to use the material - a roll of Thinsulate that measured four feet wide and 12 inches in diameter - for bedding or a blanket.

"We just borrowed it, we didn't steal it - it was laying in the grass," Prow said during his Thursday morning bond hearing.

Police stopped the pair just after 7 p.m., about 100 yards away from the plaza, and McBurney, who had the roll in his arms, dropped it and the pair walked away until a sergeant ordered them to stop again, Rafferty said.

They were arrested shortly thereafter.

Kane County Judge Bruce W. Lester allowed Prow to get out of jail without bond and set McBurney's bond at $8,000, which means he needs $800 to get out of jail. McBurney was unable to post bond and was taken to the Kane County lockup.

Both are due in court Nov. 9 at the Kane County Judicial Center.