Copper wire thefts hit shops along Milwaukee Avenue on NW Side: police

Chicago police are warning Northwest Side business owners about a recent string of copper wire thefts in the Bucktown and Palmer Square neighborhoods.

Someone or a group of people has been snipping the electricity cords outside businesses to cause a power outage, according to a community alert from Chicago police. They then steal copper wire, leaving the shop without power.

Businesses on the south side of Milwaukee Avenue, underneath the CTA Blue Line, have been targeted, police said.

The thefts occurred:

• between 10 p.m. Dec. 16 and 6 a.m. Dec. 17 in the 1600 block of North Milwaukee Avenue;
• about 5:34 a.m. Jan. 11 in the 1700 block of North Milwaukee Avenue;
• between 10 p.m. Jan. 19 and 7 a.m. Jan. 20 in the 1800 block of North Milwaukee Avenue;
• about 5:15 a.m. Jan. 23 in the 1700 block of North Milwaukee Avenue; and
• between 3:40 a.m. and 4:16 a.m. Jan. 24 in the 2000 block of North Milwaukee Avenue.

Anyone with information on the thefts is asked to call Area North detectives at (312) 744-8263.