This could be bad. WGN TV reports:
Chicago police are investigating a “significant theft” of computer equipment from the Dept of Family and Support Services.
Someone stole about $41,000 worth of computer equipment from a city office building on the West Side in a burglary, police said.
Police could not comment on what information may have been compromised.
A spokesperson for DFSS was also unable to comment saying “Because this matter is under investigation by Chicago Police, it would be inappropriate for us to comment on any of the details that could be a part of that investigation.”
The Chicago Tribune has a bit more on the burglary, including the fact that not all of the equipment stolen was new equipment.
If any unencrypted PII or PHI were on the stolen computers, the police would not want to tip the burglars to the presence of usable information. But by the same token, if there are PII or PHI on it, DFSS cannot afford to wait long to alert clients, who will need to protect themselves.