It's become all too common in Chicago -- with robberies reported from Wicker Park to Hyde Park and the Mag Mile.
Alderman were considering an ordinance Thursday that would attempt to make cellphones of no value to thieves.
Second hand dealers would have to check the serial number of any phone they buy, against a database of stolen phones.
They wouldn't be allowed to buy phones from a minor.
And they would have to notify police if someone tries to sell them a stolen phone.
Any business that violates the ordinance would face a fine of up to $2,000 and could lose its license.
Last year more than 14,000 cellphones were lost or stolen in the Chicago, according to the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.
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"Many of those phones were taken in robberies, direct physical confrontations that pose a serious public safety threat, especially to our most vulnerable citizens," the department said in a statement.
The secondary market for stolen cellphones fuels thefts and robberies and the proposed ordinance gives police and BACP the tools to take out bad businesses, the department says.
