Elgin man charged with downtown bank robbery

An Elgin man was charged with felony bank robbery after authorities say he handed a note saying he had a gun and wanted money to a teller at Chase Bank, 24 East Chicago St., FBI authorities said.

Michael Broome, 35, of the 1600 block of Mark Avenue, was formally charged in court Monday for taking over $1,000 from the bank around 2:05 p.m. Feb. 19, authorities said. FBI officials said Broome approached a teller, gave the teller the note, and the teller then gave him cash containing a dye pack.

Shortly after the robbery, an Elgin police officer found a pack of money in the street that was smoking, which was consistent with an exploded dye pack, authorities said.

About 10 minutes later, another officer saw a man matching the description of the suspect and noticed a stack of money in his hands and that one of his hands was covered with red dye, authorities said.

Broome was positively identified by witnesses as the man who robbed the bank, authorities said. While in custody, Broome admitted he wrote a demand note earlier that day while at the bank but decided not to rob the bank and left the scene. He came back later in the day and did rob the bank, authorities said.