The Salt, Please

Thieves steal $32,000 worth of road salt

Perhaps the thieves were just trying to get a head start on winter. Or maybe they hate slugs.

But somebody managed to steal a whole lot of salt from an Aurora storage facility over the past three weeks.

According to an Aurora police report, between Oct. 1 and this week, 120 tons of salt were taken from a storage facility in the 2300 block of West Indian Trail. The salt was worth $32,000, police said.

The police report noted how difficult the theft would have been from a locked facility. Twelve large concrete blocks and a tarp had to be moved to take the salt, which likely would have been moved by truck, police said.

Only a limited number of people had access to the area.

The salt is owned by Tovar Snow Professionals, a company that uses the salt to clear private companies' properties.

Representatives from Tovar declined to comment Thursday, other than to say the salt was not intended for municipal use in Aurora.

According to police, the missing salt could be connected to similar robberies from Tovar storage sites in Bolingbrook and Lombard.

With shortages expected this winter, road salt has become as valuable as gold.

Many local cities have struggled to ensure they could provide enough salt for the upcoming winter because -- in some cases -- the prices have doubled since last year.

For example, in Oswego, the price for the village went from $42 a ton to $100 a ton this year.

Copyright CHIST - SunTimes
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