Two robbers strike Wilmette’s Byline Bank and two others in suburbs, FBI says

(Editor’s note: This story was updated on Tuesday, Jan. 5, with information from the FBI and the Naperville Police Department)

Police are searching for two men who reportedly robbed the Byline Bank in Wilmette Monday afternoon, according to the Wilmette Police Department.

Wilmette Police Chief Kyle Murphy said that around 2:40 p.m. the offenders, described as Black males in their 20s, implied through a note that they had a weapon — though one was never shown — and made away with an undisclosed amount of cash from the bank at 3245 Lake Ave., just off the Edens Expressway.

The FBI — which released surveillance photos of the offenders and their suspected vehicle, a lime green Dodge Charger — believes the same men were involved in at least two other crimes at suburban banks on Monday.

The same description of the men and the car were provided after a robbery of a PNC Bank at 1:45 p.m. in Lombard and an attempted robbery of a Fifth Third Bank at 4:17 p.m. in Naperville.

According to the Naperville Police Department, police officers arrived just as a green Challenger was fleeing the bank’s parking lot. A pursuit was unsuccessful, as officers “lost sight of the vehicle” on Interstate 88, police said.

No weapon was ever shown in the Wilmette robbery and no physical contact was made with the teller or anyone else, Murphy said.

According to Murphy, at least two other Chicagoland bank robberies on Monday shared similarities to the robbery of Byline Bank. 

Witnesses told police the suspects were wearing hooded sweatshirts and facemasks and fled in a vehicle, Murphy said. 

It is the first bank robbery in Wilmette in about a year. In January 2020, Reiquon Gaines, of Skokie, was charged with the robbery of Bank of America, 171 Green Bay Road.

The FBI is offering a $1,000 reward for information that “directly” leads to the arrest the suspects. Anyone with information on the incidents is asked to contact the Chicago FBI Office at (312) 421-6700.

Stay tuned to The Record as this story develops.