Inside Chicago’s Catalytic Converter Theft Epidemic
A growing problem: Catalytic converter thieves have struck more than 17,000 times in Chicago since 2019. The thieves — often the bottom level in organized crime rings — have hit every part of the city. Replacements and repairs typically cost $1,000 to $2,500. That comes to more than $17 million lost to catalytic converter thefts in Chicago since 2019.
Thieves almost never caught: Only 34 of reported thefts since 2019 — 0.2% — have ended with an arrest, a Sun-Times analysis found. An Illinois law enacted last year targeting scrap metal sales has barely put a dent in the illegal trade. In the months after the law took effect, the number of thefts grew. The Sun-Times analysis, based on Chicago Police Department reports covering January 2019 through the middle of last month, shows the number of thefts shot up in the fall of 2021 and exploded last summer.
Top target areas: Some of the worst neighborhoods in Chicago for catalytic converter thefts, adjusted for population, were: West Town, Avalon Park, Irving Park, Logan Square, North Center, the Lower West Side, Lincoln Square, the Near West Side, Jefferson Park and Avondale. Once operating mostly at night, catalytic converter thieves in Chicago have grown brazen, hitting cars during the day in busy areas.
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