Around 3 a.m. on Jan. 24, 23-year-old Rogers Park resident Genevieve Dominick left to go to work at the Great Lakes Naval Base when she noticed shards of glass scattered outside of her house at the intersection of Newgard and Albion — in the same place she had parked her car the night before.
Around 3 a.m. on Jan. 24, 23-year-old Rogers Park resident Genevieve Dominick left to go to work at the Great Lakes Naval Base when she noticed shards of glass scattered outside of her house at the intersection of Newgard and Albion — in the same place she had parked her car the night before.
“I was horrified,” Dominick said. “I rely on my car every day to get to work, that’s my lifeline.”
After her car was lost, the 2022 Loyola alumnus said she decided to post on the Rogers Park Neighborhood News Facebook group with the intention of warning other neighbors.
Just two hours after posting, Rogers Park local Anastasiya Nieves commented on the post, alerting Dominick her car was behind her house a few streets over on West Wallen Avenue, with a photo of the car attached. She said came across Dominick’s post coincidentally.
“I was like ‘No freaking way,” Nieves said. “Of all things, this is the car in my backyard right now.”
Dominick responded promptly — “HOLY SHIT.”
Motor vehicle theft across the 49th ward has skyrocketed in recent years, with 441 recorded incidents in 2023, compared to 2022’s 200, according to the City of Chicago. In 2024, there’s been 31 cases of motor vehicle theft.
Nieves’ husband Javier, a police officer in Wrigleyville, noticed the car after coming home from a night shift at 4 a.m., Nieves said. The car had been left running overnight, and when he returned to check on it later in the morning, he told Nieves he noticed broken windows and a torn out steering column.
The couple notified police around 11:30 a.m. and 15 minutes later, Nieves said she saw Dominick’s post, which has since garnered enthusiastic reactions from neighbors.
Another local resident Caitlin Lee had her car stolen off of West Greenleaf Avenue in July 2022. Under Dominick’s post, she advised neighbors to get a steering wheel lock to help prevent car theft.
“Rogers Park really is a community that looks out for one another,” Lee said.
After being alerted by Nieves of her car’s location, Dominick said she went to her house with a friend while waiting for a towing company.
“I owe [Nieves] so much because she has just been so great through all of this,” Dominick said. “I had no idea who she was, she was a total stranger. I was inconsolable because my car had just been ransacked, and she invited me into her apartment to warm up.”
As a full-time mom with her family in Rogers Park, Nieves said she regularly checks neighborhood Facebook groups to stay as vigilant as possible.
“This is what neighbors are for and why we have such a good community in Rogers Park,” Nieves said. “Yes, bad stuff happens, but this is the turnaround of it.”
On Jan. 29 Dominick posted an update to the group, telling neighbors she will be buying a new car instead of repairing her old one at a higher cost.
Featured image by Hanna Houser
