🚨 FORD CITY MALL MASS BREAK-IN: DOZENS SEEN RUSHING INTO SHUTTERED BUILDING

CHICAGO — Ford City Mall may be closed, but apparently some folks decided the plywood over the doors was merely a suggestion.

Video circulating online shows dozens of people breaking into the shuttered portion of Ford City Mall on Chicago's Southwest Side, renewing concerns about security and the dangerous condition of the massive vacant property.

And city officials say this isn't just about trespassing.

There are serious concerns about what's underneath that building.

🚨 VIDEO SHOWS CROWD ENTERING THE MALL

According to NBC Chicago, video from the incident shows a large group pulling plywood away from the mall's doors and running inside the vacant building.

Ford City's main mall building has been closed following a court battle over safety conditions. Earlier this year, city officials cited problems including flooding, exposed wiring, a defective fire-suppression system and concerns about possible sinkholes or structural failure.

So this isn't an abandoned playground.

This building was closed because officials considered parts of it potentially dangerous.

😳 PEOPLE ARE GOING INTO UNDERGROUND AREAS

18th Ward Ald. Derrick Curtis says people have been getting into underground chambers beneath Ford City.

That's particularly concerning because the Ford City property has a network of underground areas dating back to its history as an aircraft-engine manufacturing site.

Curtis called the situation a serious safety hazard and said neighboring Tootsie Roll representatives reported hearing banging against an underground wall separating their property from Ford City.

Now THAT changes the conversation.

Breaking into an empty storefront is dangerous enough.

Exploring underground chambers beneath a condemned mall?

Baby, this ain't an escape room. 😩

👀 BUT THERE'S ANOTHER SIDE TO THIS STORY

The person who posted video of the mass entry told NBC Chicago that the incident was intended as a protest.

The poster connected it to an earlier confrontation involving two self-described urban explorers and a Ford City security guard. Video from that September incident appeared to show a security vehicle striking an 18-year-old riding a scooter. Another man alleged that the guard struck him with a metal object. Chicago police said the incident was under investigation, and Ford City's owner said the conduct shown in the videos did not reflect its security protocols.

The mall's security guard was subsequently suspended pending the investigation.

That controversy may explain why some participants were angry.

It does not make entering a potentially hazardous closed building safe.

🏢 CITY WANTS THE OWNER TO STEP UP SECURITY

The City of Chicago is now pushing Ford City's owner, New York-based Namdar Realty Group, to secure the property.

According to NBC Chicago, the company was supposed to submit a security plan by September 28, but the city says that didn't happen.

At an October 5 court hearing, Chicago's Department of Law is expected to demand a comprehensive security plan that includes a stronger physical security presence and restrictions on access to the parking lots.

Curtis says he wants something even more obvious:

Put a fence around the closed portion of the mall.

🏗️ FORD CITY'S DAYS ARE NUMBERED ANYWAY

The old Ford City property is already headed toward a dramatic transformation.

Plans call for the former shopping mall to be demolished and replaced with an industrial warehouse and distribution development. The redevelopment proposal has included four industrial buildings, infrastructure improvements, a public plaza and transit-related improvements.

Demolition is expected to begin as the property changes hands.

For generations of South Side and Southwest Side Chicagoans who remember Ford City packed with shoppers, that's already the end of an era.

But until the building actually comes down, keeping people out of dangerous sections has become another problem entirely.

🤦🏾‍♀️ THE BOOM BOTTOM LINE

Look.

We understand curiosity.

Some of us remember when Ford City was FORD CITY. Stores open, food court jumping, parking lot packed and everybody knew somebody who worked there.

But if the city closed a building over flooding, electrical hazards and structural concerns...

DO NOT GO UNDER THE DAMN MALL. 😭

A viral video ain't worth getting trapped underneath Ford City somewhere nobody can find you.

And if dozens of people can peel plywood off the entrance and run inside?

The city has a point:

Somebody needs to secure that property before curiosity turns into tragedy.

730 BOOM RADIOIT HITS DIFFERENT. EVERY TIME. BOOM! 💥