'Cub Fan Bandit' Only the Latest in Long Line of Chicago Robbers

Yates said the FBI increasingly relies on the public's help to catch suspects, because improved surveillance camera technology makes it easier to circulate images of suspects, and FBI resources have been diverted to anti-terrorism duty.

The Goatee Bandit, suspected of 13 robberies, was caught after being featured on a "Chicago's Most Wanted" segment on Fox News. In November, three witnesses caught a suspected bank robber, stained with an exploded dye pack, who was fleeing through an alley. They held him until police arrived.

But the FBI is still searching for a number of Chicago serial robbers. An armed, aggressive suspect nicknamed the Wheaton Bandit tops the list, with at least 16 robberies netting more than $100,000 in the past four years. The FBI is offering $25,000 for tips leading to his arrest. The robber, thought to have military or law enforcement training, enters suburban banks wearing a mask and carrying a gun, then orders everyone to the floor.

Chicago federal agents also want to nab the Carjack Bandit, who steals getaway cars from bank employees or customers; the Newspaper Bandit, who wraps stolen money in a local paper; and the Hardhat Bandit, who has worn a yellow construction helmet in at least five robberies. "Maybe he does it on his way home from work," Chicago FBI spokeswoman Cynthia Yates said.

Chase, the most-robbed bank company in Chicago, has tried to improve security, including adding more bulletproof glass to its facilities, spokeswoman Calmetta Coleman said.

But fatalities in bank robberies are rare; in Chicago last year, there were no deaths or serious injuries. It is not a particularly lucrative crime, with most robbers netting only a few thousand dollars and facing about 75 percent odds of getting caught, Yates said.

Chicago robbers are continuing a long tradition. The city was where Depression-era bandit John Dillinger, perhaps the nation's most famous bank robber, was gunned down in an alley in 1934 after being betrayed to federal agents by a companion.

Other notorious robbers included "Baby Face" Nelson and George "Machine Gun" Kelly. Even current City Council member Walter Burnett Jr. served two years in prison as a young man for his role as a getaway driver in a bank robbery. He was later granted clemency.