The Windy City has had a rough couple of weeks.
The new mayor-elect had a tone-deaf response to a violent riot and didn’t reassure anyone.
Now Chicago is a total mess and it’s just gotten even worse for single guys.
Not romance but a ruse for robbery
Chicago police are putting out the word that a small group of offenders is using a dating app to lure men into a robbery trap.
It’s happening on Chicago’s Northwest Side, and police say that at least two men fell victim to the crew in separate incidents this month.
Police say that the men planned to meet a woman, but when they arrived for the date, she allegedly robbed them at knifepoint and forced the victims to transfer their money into her accounts.
According to WBBM, the dating app the men used is called Plenty of Fish, which bills itself as “The most sociable way to date.”
CWB Chicago reports, “One man was robbed after meeting the woman in the 3200 block of West Olive in Hollywood Park around 2:15 p.m. on April 14. Police said the woman who robbed him was between 20 and 23 years old with straight black hair. She stands 5’7″ tall and weighs 180 to 200 pounds. The other man was robbed by a man and woman when he arrived for a meet-up in the 4300 block of West Addison around 6 p.m. on April 15. Police said the male offender is White, between 47 and 53 years old, 5’9″ tall, and weighs 220 pounds. The woman is Hispanic, 26 to 28 years old, with curly black hair. She’s about 5’6″ tall and 120 pounds, according to the police.”
Use dating apps at your own risk
Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) reports that “Dating apps don’t conduct criminal background checks on users, so it’s up to each user to determine if they are comfortable meeting up with someone.”
The organization also points to services which conduct online background checks that provide low-cost access to public records of arrests, convictions, and sex offender registry records to show if a potential date has a criminal history of violent or harmful behavior.
Crime rates in Chicago have exploded in recent years.
Major reported crimes in Chicago in 2022 were 41% higher than in 2021 and 33 percent more than in 2019.
Compared to the pre-George Floyd baseline of 2019, murder, robbery, theft, motor vehicle theft and shooting incidents for Chicago in 2022 were all up by double digit percentages.
Stay tuned to Blue State Blues for any updates to this ongoing story.
