(Above) Westin Chicago River North at right, across Dearborn Street from Marina City.

24-Mar-16 – After telling his passengers their fare was going up, a driver for Uber was assaulted outside Westin Chicago River North on Dearborn Street last month.

On February 21 at about 8:30 p.m., the driver, a 53-year-old man from Rogers Park, picked up two men and four women outside the Westin. When he told them the price to take them to The Signature Room at John Hancock Center would be higher because of the number of passengers, Chicago police say the two men “began to strike him in the head and throw bags of chips throughout the vehicle.”

All six passengers, described as black and in their mid-to-late 20s, got out of the Uber vehicle and ran north on Dearborn. They were otherwise staying at the Westin and a responding police officer was able to get their room numbers.

Shots fired in Grant Park Two men fleeing in a Jeep Grand Cherokee were forced to the curb by Chicago police after a report of gunshots in Grant Park on a Saturday afternoon. Kevin Billingslea (above left), age 27, and David Calvin (above right), age 20, both of the 4500 block of North Clarendon Avenue, near Montrose Beach north of the Loop, were both charged with discharging a firearm from a vehicle. The shots were fired in the park at about 2 p.m. on March 19 on East Balboa Avenue, southwest of Buckingham Fountain. Police found a weapon and spent shell casings in the Jeep. Billingslea and Calvin were in Bond Court on Monday.

Police warn of armed robberies on Near North

Over the past week, Chicago police have warned Near North residents about five robberies of victims on the street in the late night or early morning hours.

In two incidents, police say two or three black men, each 20-30 years old, approached a victim, produced a handgun, and demanded property. They happened on March 5 in the 200 block of West Grand Avenue (above) and March 13 in the 1400 block of North Halsted Street.

On Thursday, Chicago Police Department issued a Community Alert about three more robberies, these committed by one man who approaches and demands property. The incidents happened on March 12 in the 400 block of North State Street, March 14 in the 600 block of North Fairbanks Court, and March 17 near the intersection of West Hubbard Street and North State Street.