CHICAGO, IL—The Ronald McDonald House in Chicago, near the children’s hospital, was damaged during widespread looting on August 10. The Ronald McDonald House, located in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood, provides resources and support to families with ill children in need of medical care. The facility had 30 families sleeping inside when the damage occurred, the Ronald McDonald House said in a statement. The front door to the facility had to be boarded, and residents inside were kept on lockdown as a safety precaution.
The looting of the Ronald McDonald House occurred the same night of widespread looting and destruction of stores along the city’s “Magnificent Mile.” By the end of the night, police made over 100 arrests, 13 injured police officers, and multiple businesses destroyed.
“We were very concerned there was a lot of activity right in front of the house, people making choices that could put them at risk and put our families at risk, so the staff was frighted,” Lisa Mitchell, of the Ronald McDonald House Charities, told ABC 7 Chicago regarding the looting incident.
Other than broken windows and front doors, there was no other reported damage done to the facility. No injuries of staff or children were reported either, although the staff and the patients inside were left shaken.
A statement about the incident on Chicago’s Ronald McDonald House’s website states:
“We believe the ‘home’ is more than four walls and a roof over your head. That’s why every Ronald McDonald House is a safe haven that provides all the comforts of home, plus the compassion and hospitality of staff, volunteers, and other families-all just steps away from the hospital.”
