2 men charged after Hodgkins robbery ends in car chase and crash

Levell Fort

By Desplaines Valley News

Two Chicago men were charged with multiple counts of kidnapping and attempted armed robbery after they tried to rob a cell phone store in Hodgkins last week and crashed their car in Bolingbrook after leading police on a high-speed chase.

Authorities said Levell Fort, 20, and Stephen Jakes, 26, were captured in Bolingbrook Thursday night after leading Illinois State Police, Hodgkins Police, Hickory Hills Police and Bolingbrook Police on a chase on Interstate 55 that topped 100 mph.

Stephen Jakes

The men jumped from the car after it collided with another car at Weber and Boughton roads and headed in two separate directions. Both were found after a brief search. One of them was reportedly hiding in a trash bin behind a Chili’s restaurant.

Police said the incident began when the men entered the AT&T store at 9430 Joliet Road and announced a robbery. The men allegedly put a gun to the manager’s head and ordered five customers and two employees to drop their cell phones and go to the back of the store.

Another customer escaped out a back door and the robbers fled when they couldn’t open the door.

One of the customers saw Fort get into a red Oldsmobile Alero and wrote down the license plate number and alerted police.

Hickory Hills police spotted the car and started the chase that lasted about 30 minutes before ending in the crash. No one was injured when the cars collided.

Fort and Jakes were each charged with seven counts of aggravated kidnapping and attempted armed robbery. Fort also was charged with traffic violations by the Bolingbrook police.

Cook County Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil set bail at $500,000 for both men at a bond hearing. Their next court date was set for Wednesday at the Bridgeview courthouse.

Police to stake out local Dunkin' Donuts rooftops for Special Olympics

 

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Local police will be hanging out at Dunkin' Donut shops on Friday but these lawmen will be doing a lot more than chugging coffee and gobbling doughnuts.

For the 11th year in a row, police will be patrolling the rooftops of 150 coffee shops on the lookout for donations for the Special Olympics.

Officers will begin their quest at 5 a.m. at Dunkin' locations across the Southland.

The police want to heighten awareness of the Special Olympics and to raise money for the Law Enforcement Torch Run to benefit the Special Olympics. 

“More than $1.3 million has been raised from this event over the last 10 years and we’re hoping to set new records this year,” said Illinois Torch Run Director and Sherman Police Chief Eric Smith.  “It’s a wonderfully fun event that works.”

To meet their goal, police officers will have to top last year’s total of $240,000. They will get a helping hand from Dunkin' Donuts, which is donating $15,000 to the Torch Run fund.

Each customer who makes a donation will receive a coupon for a free doughnut. Customers who donate at least $10 will get a Law Enforcement Torch Run travel mug and a coupon for a free medium coffee. 

Other items will be for sale including T-shirts and hats. Some of the locations are also planning their own activities.

Lending a hand at the Dunkin' at 6925 S. Pulaski Road in Chicago will be Chicago Fire team captain Logan Pause and Fire mascot Sparky from 7-8 a.m. They will join Beto Carreto from El Patron 95.5 FM, who will be broadcasting live from 5-9 a.m.

Police will be on the roofs of these local Dunkin' Donuts:

• Brookfield, 9208 Ogden Ave.  
• Countryside, 5500 S. LaGrange Road
• Summit,  6144 S. Harlem Ave.
• Hickory Hills, 7847 W. 95^th St.
• Burbank, 8049 S. Harlem Ave.
• Alsip,  12150 S. Cicero   Ave.
• Chicago, 5615 S. Harlem Ave.
• Chicago, 6925 S. Pulaski Rd.
• Chicago Heights, 3225 Chicago Rd.
• Country Club Hills, 4021 W. 183^rd St.
• Crestwood,  13661 Cicero Ave.
• Dolton,  1136 E. Sibley
• Dolton, 250 Sibley
• Harvey, 16242 S. Halsted
• Lansing,  17733 Torrence Ave.
• Lemont,  1106 State St. (ground only)
• Lockport,  1069 E. Ninth St.
• Midlothian,  14631 Pulaski
• New Lenox,  970 Laraway Rd.
• Olympia Fields, 3252 Vollmer
• Orland Park, 11289 W. 143^rd
• Orland Park, 14461 S. LaGrange
• Orland Park, 8940 W. 159^th
• Orland Park, 15606 S. Harlem
• Palos Heights, 12807 S. Harlem
• Palos Park, 13029 S. LaGrange Rd.
• Palos  Park, 11901 S. 80^th Ave.
• Posen, 3101 W. 147^th St.
• Richton Park, 3937 Sauk Trail
• Sauk Village, 2703 E. Sauk Trail
• South Holland,  460 E. 162^nd Street
• Tinley Park,  7935 W. 171^st St.

For a list of all participating locations, go to www.facebook.com/DunkinChicago or www.facebook.com/SpecialOlympicsIllinois.

T.J. Maxx to open at Brookside Marketplace in Tinley Park

T.J. Maxx is going in at Brookside Marketplace in Tinley Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

T.J. Maxx has signed a lease to open a new 23,000-square-foot store in a retail building at Brookside Marketplace in Tinley Park that was home to the Lane Bryant store, where five women were murdered in 2008.

Ohio-based DDR Corp. owns and manages the retail center at 191^st Street and Harlem Avenue.

One business in the building, Massage Envy, relocated into a 3,500-square-foot storefront at the north end as part of a reconfiguration of the space to allow T.J. Maxx to occupy the center of the building. Massage Envy opened in its new space on May 15.

Other tenants in the building include Cici Nails, Sally Beauty Supply and Performance Dental, who occupy space on the south end. There are two vacancies.

That part of Brookside Marketplace has lagged behind the rest of the development since February 2008, when a gunman killed five women inside the Lane Bryant store during a robbery gone wrong. The gunman has not been caught.

Matt Schuler, a spokesman for DDR, confirmed that T.J. Maxx signed a lease but had no details on when the new store would be opening.

TJX Companies, which owns T.J. Maxx, also operates a HomeGoods store at Brookside Marketplace.

The new T.J. Maxx is not the only new store coming to that part of Brookside Marketplace.

The new T.J. Maxx store will be the second location in Tinley Park, at least temporarily.

The discount retailer already operates a 32,000-square-foot T.J. Maxx in Tinley Park Plaza at 159^th Street and Harlem Avenue.

T.J. Maxx employees said the store would be moving out of Tinley Park Plaza into a new location within the village and the mall’s site plan indicated that location would be available in February 2015.

TJX officials declined to comment on whether the new store opening was related to the existing store’s closing.

“At this time, we have not made any announcements about Tinley Park,” Doreen Thompson, vice president of corporate communications for TJX Companies, said in an email.

Ale House Grill now open in Orland Park

Remodeling has been completed at the Ale House Grill in the former Jordan’s Pub at 13500 S. Harlem Ave. in Orland Park.

The establishment, which is surrounded by Cook County Forest Preserves, now has a main dining area on the first floor, an outdoor patio and an upstairs sports bar.

Jordan’s closed for renovations right after the Super Bowl in February and reopened earlier this month.

The new menu features American cuisine including Angus beef filets, burgers, pizza and seafood. There are daily specials and late-night and gluten-free menus.

Ale House offers dozens of televisions throughout the building so fans can follow their favorite team.

The main dining room is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, from noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday and from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Monday. The sports bar is open daily from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m.

For information, call 708-460-8330, visit Ale House Grill online or check out its Facebook page.

If you see a new business in town or wonder what happened to an old favorite, drop me a line at bobbong@hotmail.com.

You can also follow business happenings at Comings & Goings.