The warehouse at 940 W. Exchange should be one of the most secure municipal buildings in Chicago.
Not only is it home base for city crews that install and maintain security systems at local government facilities, it’s outfitted with surveillance cameras and an alarm.
So how could four spools of copper-lined industrial power cable that weigh more than 1,000 pounds apiece disappear in March in a still-unsolved theft?
Turns out the building’s alarm system was on the fritz at the time, and many of the security cameras weren’t working, several sources told the Better Government Association.
What’s more, the cable (worth at least $20,000) had been left out — and wasn’t kept inside a locked storage area as it was supposed to be, the sources said.
The city’s inspector general now is investigating, and exploring the possibility that the heist was an inside job, the sources said.
This isn't the only theft of wire though. We've gotten word from a couple people who know and it seems that a bunch of subcontractors are in the habit of leaving spools of this stuff on trailers at job sites - overnight and unsecured. And then everyone is "surprised" when the trailer is found empty the next day.
Anyone want to bet on what kind of connections might be uncovered if someone actually started poking around? Maybe a few "Outfit" connections?