New Cook County State's Attorney drops felony retail theft threshold to $300

With Eileen O'Neill Burke now officially sworn in as Cook County State's Attorney, big changes are expected in how retail theft cases are charged and handled.

The $1,000 threshold to make retail theft a felony crime—which was set by O'Neill Burke's predecessor, Kim Foxx—will be dropping to $300, effective immediately.

This change in how retail theft cases are charged is music to the ears of small business owners—who say all thefts hurt, and the new rules should help.

Organized retail thefts have been caught on camera and made the news with troubling regularity over the past few years. The short-term consequence is stores being left to count their losses and make costly repairs. The long-term consequence can involve those stores going out of business—and leaving spaces vacant.

When it comes to retail theft, the problem, the aftermath, and the loss have all been caught on video numerous times.