When baby Jesus was stolen for the first time from the Nativity scene at Daley Plaza in 1999, an anonymous tipster directed police to the figure, which had been stashed in a locker at Union Station. In 2004, the Christ child was stolen again, this time by a 19-year-old student at the Art Institute of Chicago who was caught a few blocks from the plaza and charged with misdemeanor theft.On Saturday morning, while volunteers known as the "God Squad" constructed the lifesize Nativity scene, a black cable in a cardboard box was a reminder of the heightened security concerns surrounding the baby Jesus. Since the thefts, organizers have wrapped the cable around the figure's waist, bolted it to the manger floor and covered it with hay. "It's firmly in place," said Jim Finnegan, co-chairman of the Nativity Scene Committee, which sets up the display each year. "There's no way you'd ever be able to get it out."
But he expressed regret that such measures even were necessary at a depiction of Jesus' birthplace. "How sad that we're even talking about this," Finnegan said. "People do this for who knows why."
There is much speculation about the motivation behind such thefts, including pranks and dares involving alcohol, religious animosity and the economics of stealing the figures, which can cost thousands of dollars. Regardless, thefts of Nativity scenes are becoming increasingly common around Chicago and have prompted increased security measures, Finnegan said.
Last December, 32 plastic baby Jesus dolls were stolen from Nativity scenes in people's front yards then lined up along the fence of a South Side woman's lawn. In 2004, after a Nativity scene arranged by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7706 in Barrington was repeatedly vandalized, including thefts of the baby Jesus and the immolation of the entire set, the display was encased in Plexiglas and monitored by video cameras.
In other countries, officials have offered incentives for the return of a stolen Christ child. In 2004, when baby Jesus was stolen from a Nativity scene in Australia, a brewing company offered six cases of beer to anyone who returned the statue, The Associated Press reported.
Dan Gura, who volunteered on Saturday with the God Squad, jokingly suggested placing an electric shock device in the manger so potential thieves "could see Jesus firsthand."