Binny's, Other Stores Near North And Sheffield Hit By Looting, And Not For First Time
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Destruction during the unrest and looting in Chicago early Monday morning did not stop in the Loop or the Magnificent Mile – at some point, looters looked north to hit a popular shopping area in the southwest corner of the Lincoln Park neighborhood.
CBS 2's Lauren Victory examined the chaos and damage near North and Sheffield avenues Monday evening.
The Binny's Beverage Depot at 1720 N. Marcey St. was one of three Binny's locations hit during the looting. All three spots will be closed until further notice.
On Monday evening, cleanup and board-up was done. Next comes the headache of insurance paperwork and combing through every piece of inventory to see what is gone.
Management at the Marcey Street Binny's woke up Monday morning to bottles of alcohol everywhere and a hangover – a horrible financial hangover – that won't seem to go away.
The bills just came in from the last time looters were there back in late May. Management repaired a glass door only just last week.
Around 2:30 a.m., criminals busted back in for more booze. They came with a plan – ransacking the rare and collectibles section where liquor goes for hundreds of dollars.
They cherry-picked minibar bottles and rummaged through the cigar section, ripping open every drawer the eye could see before leaving.
It was a brazen, frustrating, and emotional act.
"I'm all over the place," said Sandy Luskin, a volunteer and victim.
Luskin spent her morning helping the neighboring Best Buy in the 1000 W. North Ave. shopping center, despite dealing with looting at her family's business downtown.
"They just went around and destroyed things just to be destructive," Luskin said. "There seemed like no real point."
Speaking of destruction, the Best Buy parking lot resembled a war zone, from discarded bins to cardboard boxes and Styrofoam shredded to bits.
The casualties left behind indicate yet another expensive smash-and-grab. Luskin sees something else glaring amid the debris.
"We are all in this together," she said. "I don't know how many more times people have to remind each other. We are all in this together."
Victory spotted a boatload of cameras inside Binny's and asked twice if they could share some video, but was told they would not be doing so, so as to protect the criminal investigation.
A manager said he watched live as a rush of people came in, but then casually shopped for what they wanted, because he said it took police at least an hour to show up.
