CHICAGO (WLS) — Surveillance footage shows a pair of burglars breaking into a trading cards and comics store on Chicago’s Northwest Side early Monday morning.

Ronnie Holloway, who owns Elite Sports Cards and Comics located at 3406 North Harlem Avenue in the Dunning neighborhood, reported substantial losses from the brazen theft. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Holloway’s businesses have been targeted by criminals.

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“They knew exactly what to go after,” Holloway remarked, noting the thieves’ focus on premium hobby merchandise.

The burglars made off with approximately $100,000 worth of valuable Pokémon and major league sports cards as alarms blared. Many of these items had been recently stocked, adding to Holloway’s distress.

“For a small business like mine, this is devastating. It’s my livelihood, how I provide for my family,” Holloway explained. “Facing this loss again, and dealing with insurance, it’s a daunting challenge. Recovery isn’t straightforward.”

Living just a short drive from the store, Holloway rushed over when alerted by his alarm company at 2:30 a.m., arriving even before the police.

“This is my passion, and this is what happens to businesses that are trying to have something to provide for their families,” Holloway said.

Holloway opened the store three-and-a-half years ago after enjoying success with the city’s oldest card store in the Montrose neighborhood, which he bought from its retiring owner, who had run it for 41 years. In 2022, thieves targeted that collectibles store, too.

“There has to be, when these people are caught, there has to be accountability,” Holloway said.

The growing popularity of collectable cards has turned the industry into an investment market and turned the card shop sellers and buyers into a target for criminal activity.

“Similar to kind of a stock market or anything, there’s only a certain number of these cards in the market so as more and more popularity draws to these cards,” said Running to the Rip co-owner Zach Horwitz. “It’s going to start driving the price up, basically just some supply and demand, not enough copies around, but people willing to pay more and more.”

Horwitz says as Running to the Rip’s merchandise grew in popularity and market value,and other card shop owners have upgraded security.

“We have a buzzer system similar to the way all the jewelry stores do. So, even if you did grab something and try to run out, the doors lock,” Horwitz said. “We’ve had to had more security systems and more precautions in order to make sure that items don’t leave the store. Because once they do, they’re probably gone forever.”

Holloway is convinced that his stores are being targeted, but he feels that he has taken every precaution, and the city needs to do more to protect business owners like him.

“The mayor has to do something other than say, ‘We need to give guidance to our kids,’” Holloway said. “There needs to be action taken because we cannot continue to allow this. They’re putting us out of business. We are people paying taxes like anyone else. We work hard. We’re supposed to deal with it. It’s not that simple.”

Both card shop owners say because there is no way to trace these items, it makes their shops more of a target.

Police said the burglary happened just before 2 a.m. The suspects fled the scene in an unknown vehicle.

Area Five detectives are investigating.

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