Historical Western Springs

The Unluckiest Robber of 1984

On the evening of September 29, 1984, most Western Springs residents were going about their normal routines, unaware of what was unfolding at Tischler Finer Foods.

In September of 1984, Tischler Finer Foods, located on the southeast corner of Wolf and Burlington, had just celebrated its third year of operation in Western Springs. And, by all accounts, the supermarket was highly successful. But, on the evening of September 29, shoppers were surprised when a 25-year-old man entered the store, brandished a handgun, and announced a hold-up. After demanding and obtaining the store’s cash receipts, he fled into the parking lot, firing a shot at an employee who ran after him. While sleepy little Western Springs might have appeared to be an easy target for the robber, nothing could have been further from the truth. In fact, the robber had picked the location where he was almost certain to be captured.  Why…

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Did the Hair-Salon Bandit Scout Out a La Grange Target?

Police reports indicate that the man arrested in Elmhurst for as many as 15 robberies in Cook and DuPage counties may have tested the waters at La Grange's Salon Hype.

UPDATED, Feb. 7, 5:25 p.m.: After reviewing video taken of the suspicious person reported at Salon Hype, La Grange Police Department investigators say that "there is nothing to indicate" that the person was Jason Logsdon, but have not ruled out the possibility. -- Three days before his arrest Monday in Elmhurst, Jason Logsdon, 41, the Evanston man accused of committing as many as 15 robberies in the Chicagoland area, almost exclusively of hair salons, may have been scouting a potential target in La Grange. According to La Grange Police Department reports, a suspicious person matching Logsdon's description was reported in La Grange's Salon Hype at 4:29 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 1. The person was reportedly asking questions about the salon's …

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