Crime Stoppers seeks tips after tire slashings in Jacksonville

A string of tire slashings across Jacksonville left vehicle owners facing repair costs, missed work and the unease that comes with not knowing whether the damage was random vandalism or part of a wider pattern.

Jacksonville police said the damage happened sometime between Thursday and Sunday of last weekend. The department has not named a neighborhood or identified the owners of the damaged vehicles, but the scope of the incidents has been enough to bring Crime Stoppers of Morgan, Scott & Cass Counties into the case.

Police are asking anyone who noticed suspicious activity, recent tire damage or a person lingering around parked cars during that time window to call the Jacksonville Police Department at 217-479-4630. Crime Stoppers can be reached at 217-243-7300, and tips may also be left anonymously through its Facebook page, website or anonymous tip form. The organization says anonymity is protected.

Crime Stoppers says cash rewards can be offered if a tip leads to an arrest, and its website says rewards can go up to $1,000 under IRS rules. The group says its anonymous tip line has served the community for more than 30 years, a sign that local property-crime cases still depend heavily on neighbors noticing what officers may never see firsthand.

The Jacksonville Police Department lists its address as 200 West Douglas Avenue, Jacksonville, Illinois 62650. Doug Thompson is listed by the City of Jacksonville as chief of the department.

For drivers, even a small act of vandalism can quickly become a major disruption. A slashed tire can mean a tow, a repair appointment, a missed shift, a delayed school drop-off or a canceled errand, and repeated damage can leave residents wondering whether they are parking in the wrong place or whether someone is deliberately moving through town at night.

Crime Stoppers’ crime-of-the-week archive shows the group regularly handles Jacksonville-area burglary, theft and criminal damage cases, including recent entries in 2025 and 2026. That makes the tire slashings part of a familiar local pattern, one in which ordinary street damage turns into a wider call for public help before the next round of repairs begins.