The Village of Oak Brook and several other suburban communities are experiencing vehicles and groups of individuals traveling along the Butterfield and Roosevelt Road Corridors, causing damage. The Oakbrook Center Mall has been closed as well as other malls throughout the greater Chicagoland area due to social media threats. Our Police and Fire personnel, DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick and Tim Geiges, General Manager are on the scene at the mall. Our Police Department has called out mutual aid from several areas departments in case there are any threats to the mall. Please know that are numerous rumors on social media that are false. There is no looting at the mall and there are no protesters or any criminal element inside the mall. It is controlled by law enforcement. If any disruption does occur at the mall, we will be making arrests. Anyone arrested will be charged with Domestic Terrorism per the DuPage County State’s Attorney.
The one incident that did occur early this morning was when a group of burglary suspects threw a cinder block into a window at Neiman Marcus. It did not shatter the glass and they left the area. Our Police Department believes this is the same group of individuals that targeted Orland Square early this morning. Every entrance and exit at the mall is being sealed off with “jersey barriers” that our FD is filling with water so they cannot be moved. We will be helping the mall by calling in four Public Works employees to assist moving the barriers to speed up the closure. The State Police have shut the entrance and exits into Aurora and their outlet malls. If needed, they will do the same at Spring Rd. and Midwest Rd. if needed. Like all other communities in the Chicago area there is a risk of looting tonight at the mall. The Village strongly recommends that all businesses close immediately. All residents are advised to stay home. For any questions concerning other closures on the Illinois Tollways, please refer to their website at https://www.illinoistollway.com/
At this time, our public safety people are doing what they are trained to do and performing with the utmost professionalism. Please know that they are taking every precaution possible and working in concert with all the other agencies on the scene. We are proud to see their dedication to protect lives and property.