Cons Rappelled, Took Cab In Jail Escape

Convicted bank robbers Kenneth Conley and Joseph Banks apparently broke their cell window, then rappelled down about 20 stories using a makeshift rope made of bed sheets. They then changed clothes and caught a cab out of downtown.

This week's daring escape from a downtown Chicago jail bore striking similarities to the last time anyone broke out of the high-rise facility, nearly three decades ago.

Sometime before 2:45 a.m. Tuesday, authorities say, convicted bank robbers Kenneth Conley and Joseph Banks apparently broke their cell window, then rappelled down about 20 stories using a makeshift rope made of bed sheets. They then changed clothes and caught a cab out of downtown.

During the 1985 escape, two convicted murderers used a weight to break a cell window, then shimmied down the side of the Metropolitan Correctional Center using bed sheets and an electrical cord. A car was waiting to take them to Milwaukee.

Read the full ABC News story.

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