Committee hears Oak Brook crime figures; members debate migrant-related arrests and prosecution tactics

Chair Evans told the DuPage County Judicial and Public Safety Committee on March 18 that she had requested crime data from State’s Attorney Bob Berlin to answer a committee question about Oak Brook-area crime trends.

Evans said the state’s attorney’s office does not track incidents tied specifically to Oak Brook Mall but provided Oak Brook Police Department charge data: burglary charges increased to 93 in 2024 from 36 in 2023; retail-theft charges were 244 in 2024 and 304 in 2023; and fleeing-and-eluding charges were 33 in 2024 and 19 in 2023. Evans also said the state’s attorney’s office has reported that felony case filings have dropped by about 44.7% and domestic-violence filings by about 5.7% countywide.

Members responded with differing emphases. Member Rutledge said she relied on recent press releases from local police and the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office and recited incidents she said were cited in those releases, including what she described as multiple arrests at Oak Brook Mall for alleged property crimes, an incident alleging approximately $5,000 in merchandise taken from a Sunglass Hut and an ensuing high-speed chase that she said reached about 93 miles per hour. Rutledge said those press releases frame organized retail theft and related behavior as creating a significant strain on police resources in the Oak Brook area.

Member Kroginsky said he has discussed pursuit and bail policies with the state’s attorney and local chiefs. He said the state’s attorney had successfully sought legislative or procedural changes in Springfield so that prosecutors can argue to deny bail when a defendant is shown to be a danger to the community; he credited that change with helping secure pretrial detention in several recent cases. Kroginsky said he was told by the state’s attorney that five high-speed pursuits in Oak Brook the prior week resulted in arrests and that, in the state’s attorney’s view, the ability to demonstrate danger to the community helped secure denial of bail in those cases.

The committee did not take formal action on these matters during the meeting. The chair included the state’s attorney’s figures in her report to supply requested background information to the committee and the record.

The transcript indicates several speakers referenced press releases and statements from the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office and from Oak Brook police; the committee did not receive new data beyond the figures Evans read into the record.