Since as you say, hangin’ is what teens really wanna do, structured activities are hardly likely to attract more of them, especially more rebels without a cause. If anything, it will drive them away. It’s only common sense, given what happened last year, to at least try offering activities that are targeted to that age group. Adults have ample alcohol and tribute bands, little kids have face painting and bouncy-houses. What’s wrong with trying to acknowledge that we do have residents over 10 and under 18 on the premises? It was rather disturbing last year to see comments here and elsewhere suggesting that youth be banned from public places unless accompanied by a parent. Perhaps they don’t know that peaceful assembly is in the Bill of Rights? It’s only warful assembly that needs controlling. We have Citizens Patrol and CERT volunteers who I’m sure could be deployed to help keep an eye on things at Hinkley, and extra paid personnel from the various supporting entities is also appropriate. Please try to look beyond the ‘get off my lawn!’ contingent and think about the value — beyond the almighty dollar — of bringing Park Ridge residents of all ages together in one big community celebration of summer.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Last July about 50 teens reportedly migrated from some “structured activity” on the Library lawn to hang out at Hinkley after the “structured activity” ended around 9:30 p.m. While there is no evidence that any of those migrants became enemy combatants at Hinkley, they definitely contributed an extra 50 bodies to what was already a 100-150 person incipient mob that may have emboldened the “rebels without a cause” to act out.

If the volunteer Citizens Patrol and CERT volunteers can substitute for police in controlling, or at least pacifying, these crowds of youths, great. But where were they last year? On and around the TOPR grounds where it was fun and non-confrontational, that’s where. And then they went home.

This isn’t a “get off my lawn” situation as much as it’s a “if you want to stage an event, do it righ and make it safe” situation. And that applies to the TOPR folks, the MCYAF folk, the Police Department and the Park District.

Kumbaya.

Pax Vobiscum.

Actually, these citizen-y group members, whether young men who used to work for Blackwater or older ladies who used to work for Catholic Charities, have never been etc. about running toward trouble, to the extent that the police have had to remind them that they are not supposed to risk life and limb taking on too much responsibility in a crisis situation. under the same rules as other employees even tho If they had known about the fracas at Hinkley, I believe they would have waded in or at least shown up.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Which is why the uniformed and armed sworn officers who showed up in response to two separate telephone complaints about fireworks and vandalism at Hinkley should have hung around and “socialized” a bit with the assembled youths – which probably would have been enough to disperse a number of those who prefer to hang out without adult supervision of any type.

In one of your posts (I think it was related to the Thillens Moylan race) you wrote about Mel having no real governing principles and simply looking for approval and/or votes. Maybe reading that post caused me to focus on it more but I am sure noticing it now. He does not seem to be consistent and if he is involved in something in any way he sure wants to make sure people are aware of it to get that approval.

On the topic of this thread he posted on his FB page…..”I’m happy to have helped gather this group of very committed Park Ridge volunteers” and linked to the story. Like “Hey in case you missed this look what I did!! Yeah for me!!” It’s like he is still running for office

EDITOR’S NOTE: If self-promotion was a crime, there’s a number of folks in this town for whom orange would be the new black. But from your previous criticisms of Mr. Thillens you seem to have some “issues” with him that transcend mere politics.

anon 19.15

What do you expect they TOPR to do?

food, music, what more do you want?

Now I’m not gonna say ban the teen crowd though I agree with PW it doesn’t make sense to try to encourage more people from a certain age group to come when they’re gonna cause trouble.

EDITOR’S NOTE: To be clear here, we didn’t say “they’re gonna cause trouble.” We just question the wisdom of making it a goal to bring in more people from that segment of the population that arguably has a greater propensity for bad judgment than the general public.

Your whole premise is whack with no perspective on reality?

How many incidents have occurred since that one event? Should we cancel the Friday night concerts in the park because of potential roaming mobs? Should we cancel Santa going to the library because teenagers might attack folks. Should we cancel church fundraisers, selling of pumpkins, city wide picnics, parades because of what might happen?

Usually you are insightful or at least have an objective premise. This one sounds like it was written by the inquirer.

EDITOR’S NOTE: “Whack”? You from da hood?

We haven’t suggested that anything be cancelled, but we can understand your concern about any assembly of more than 10 elderly people with walkers or on Rascals and sporting black leather vests bearing the “Metamucil M.C.” colors.

I agreed with your position last summer and I agree with it now.

MCYAF had teen programs at last year’s Taste but once they were over MCYAF “went home” and left the kids to fend for themselves. Neither MCYAF nor the Taste people followed them to Hinkley, and neither did the police, and neither did the CERT people and neither did the Citizens Patrol.

From what I’m reading and hearing, other than more police being deployed and maybe being told this year to actually hang around and observe a crowd instead of just stopping by, the plan is the same. Get more teens to Uptown to spend money at the Taste, and then let somebody else worry about where they go afterward.

Is this the same thing as Midnight Basketball?

EDITOR’S NOTE: Yes, but the Wonder Bread version.

You’re missing the point. The situation was entirely peaceful until the nutjob (and probably drunk) father showed up and instigated a fight with a bunch of teenagers.

The lesson to be learned from this is to keep that nutjob “tough guy” father as far away from these kids as possible.

EDITOR’S NOTE: That must explain why two of those “kids” were charged as adults with aggravated battery and mob action, and why another “kid” faces the same charges in juvenile court, while the “nutjob” “tough guy” father was not charged.

@9:22….. really? So that as you say “drunk” parent looking for his kid deserved to have fireworks thrown at him and be kicked in the face by a mob? really? Here is one of the many videos… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRGV7HLVuKQ

There are people who lose their tempers and make bad judgement calls in every large group, so I hope we will just take PubDog’s advice and make sure the paid experts show up and stay around when 911 calls are made, that there are enough adults hanging around Taste-related environs to inhibit “guests” with impulse control issues, and that those of us with teens remind our loved ones that we want their word they’ll be part of the solution, no drama, when they’re in these situations. Silver bullet? No. But a whole lot better than bans or throwing up of hands.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Exactly.

To the ignont comment by park ridge serf who is probably one of the atendees of Hinkley that night based on his handle that is a huge accustion to say the father was drunk. Did you see a blood alochol level of this man? Do you know him and his background?? doubt it. NOBODY deserves to be beaten mob style regardless! Like all hoodrats of society they hve some lame parent/friend telling them it is justified. Excuses are the problem. I hope these awful 4 kids get the punishment they deserve!!

EDITOR’S NOTE: No punishment is “deserve[d]” until these 4 “kids” are competently prosecuted (something which is not guaranteed here in Crook County, the land of the wink and the nod), then tried and convicted.

Also, these are not necessarily “awful…kids” but, rather, young adults and/or old juveniles who acted like feral animals in on particular situation. And they probably aren’t all that much more “awful” than many of their peers who stood around and emboldened them with those chants of “U-S-A!” – as if it were Lake Placid in 1980 with the Russians squaring off against Team USA on the ice.

It’s also a bit curious that our police department and our local media don’t appear to have made any effort to identify and recognize the one individual who intervened, perhaps sparing that dad more serious injuries than the concussion.

The goal isn’t to bring more teens to the area, although we do recognize that might occur. Teens have been congregating on the library lawn for as long as I’ve been associated with the Taste. They like being near the action, but not necessarily in it. MCYAF, years ago, began a program to try and get the good kids to engage in fun activities as opposed to drinking and causing trouble. They have run bags tourneys and crossfit competitions. This year, in light of what happened at Hinkley last year, I thought it was a good idea to get more discussion going about how to make that effort more effective, and include the police department, the Taste folks, MCYAF, the Youth Commission and others.

The hope is that a better effort will keep those good kids entertained, and perhaps the structure will cause the bad kids to go elsewhere.

I don’t think that it will result in a windfall of revenue for the Taste. There will be no charge for the Teens to participate and the action will happen a ways away from the vendor booths. In fact, it will likely cost more money to throw these events than it will bring in. I know MCYAF has committed to a $1000 contribution to hire entertainment.

Also, the police were already calling all-hands-on-deck for the event, and the Park District is now well aware of the security needs post event at the nearby parks.

The only goal here is to give some direction to the group who traditionally hangs out near the library. Our goal, like yours, is “to do it right and make it safe”.

EDITOR’S NOTE: We appreciate you engaging in this discussion, Mr. Thillens, but we must take issue with several of your points.

First, we question your implied premise that “good kids” need “fun activities” to dissuade them from “drinking and causing trouble.”

Second, if your and MCYAF’s goal is to prevent “what happened at Hinkley last year,” bringing more teens into the Uptown/Taste venue by adding musical entertainment, or to Hinkley Pool for an open swim, would appear to make that task more difficult by adding more potential players to the game.

Third, TOPR’s and MCYAF’s efforts do not appear even to address the period of time AFTER the TOPR closes, when the denouement of last year’s event occurred.

Fourth, we aren’t buying the argument that TOPR isn’t expecting “a windfall of revenue” from the additional teens that the event will draw. In fact, that argument – combined with “MCYAF has committed to a $1000 contribution to hire entertainment” and “the police were already calling all-hands-on-deck for the event” – sure sounds like TOPR’s rationale for not including the cost of those extra police in TOPR’s bill from the City.

Finally, if TOPR and MCYAF truly want to “give some direction to the group who [sic] traditionally hangs out near the library,” we would love to hear their plans for dealing with that group AFTER the TOPR closes down for the evening instead of just while TOPR is operating.

Park Ridge Serf is a creep. He’s probably a dad of one of the thug kids that he spawned off to society.

Here’s a problem I have:

The Park Ridge Park District has reduced hours that park can be in use because of a few morons. Why should taxpayers, or lawful park users be penalized for unwatched children?

The thugs (many not from Park Ridge) are at Hinkley all summer, not just during TOPR. They shout and swear at adults and in front of young kids. They smoke, and travel in packs. The park should hire more security. Summer is short. Lawful users should feel safe in the parks for the few months we have.

There should be quick and harsh prosecution of these punks it would stop. In fact, parents names should be “leaked” so maybe then they would give a damn about how their kids have become dregs of society.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Don’t get into the same unfounded assumptions that diminish PRS’s credibility.

While we believe our police department does an overall fine job of serving and protecting Park Ridge, we are aware of too many incidents and situations where they seemed about as effective as “Lt. Shrank” and “Officer Krupke” in dealing with the Sharks and the Jets. Some improvement in that area would appear to be required.

12:38:

“Lawful users should feel safe in the parks for the few months we have”.

I have to surmise from this comment that you have lived in PR all your life. I mean my god what a crazy comment!!! Are you really claiming that a significant group of PR residents do not feel safe at Hinkley, or any where else in PR?? If these people really do exist I would urge them to seek counseling. I would also urge them to perhaps take a trip outside of PR to see how other folks live.

By the way, teenagers traveling in packs…..now there is a shock!!

What do you mean by the PRPD reduced hours because of what happened.

EDITOR’S NOTE: If you can translate your comment we’ll try to respond.

PD:

If I may be so bold as to serve as translator, I believe the poster was questioning 12:38, who stated, “The Park Ridge Park District has reduced hours that park can be in use because of a few morons”. He/She was asking about that statement.

EDITOR’S NOTE: According to an article in the 12.30.14 edition of the Park Ridge Herald-Advocate, Hinkley’s closing hours were reduced to 10:30 p.m. in response to the TOPR-related incident.

12:38 here….
So lights off on beautiful summer nights because parents don’t understand what their little scumbags are doing. That’s my point. It’s a shame.

Hey 2:01pm – do you think it’s ok for 6 kids to walk/ride across the middle of a boys baseball game? Then when asked to moved, they yell “F*** You”..would you consider that threatening? Please get out and see these kids once summer starts before you sit hear and talk about stuff you clearly have no idea about.

I have lived here for a long time, and what I do notice, is many parents think just because they grace us with their presence in Park Ridge that their kids are a joy. They start that way as toddlers disrupting everyone, to teens disrupting everyone.

3:47:

First, I do get out in PR and am out and about all summer long. I have met and interacted with a pretty big cross section of kids in and around PR and find in better here than in most places I have lived and I have attended many ball games at hinkley and other parks around, and, being a bit of an insomniac, I have walked the dog all over town well after dark on some summer nights.

Second, let me answer your question. No, I would not find it threatening. Rude, yes. Would it piss me off? Hell yes! But threatening?.
God no.

Finally, you’re last paragraph says it all about where your head is at. “Grace us with their presence…..start that way as toddlers”. please!!!

By the way, just to reinforce the stupidity of your statements, you want the PD to have enough security to prevent the “threatening” and apparently terrifying event you wwnt through? Do you have any idea how to do that or what that would cost?? These utes could have come from any border of the park so how many guards do you want. Also, what do you want them charges with??

Finally, toddlers disrupting everyone?? The generally accepted definition of toddler is a child at the age when they are just beginning to learn to walk, hence the term “toddle”. That generally happens at approximately the age of one. So you are bitching about a one year old being disruptive?!?!?! So these outsiders come to PR, grace us with their presense, with their toddlers that disrupt everyone. Oh my god!

I will go back to what I advised in my original response. Seek counseling.

I wonder if their parents are among the far too many who hell F*** you when a car is in the way of their progress on the road? Kids learn more from what we do than from what we tell them to do….

FYI the sentences for these misguided but upstanding young men were handed down today. Three years for one and four for the other in IDOC. There really are two tiers of justice in this county, where poor urban teens get multiple get out of jail free cards with supervision, and probation, before they finally spend any signficant time in prison; but wealthy teens from the north side of chicago and park ridge have one, arguably minor infraction, and receive significant jail time. And the article in the Trib repeatedly said “it had an impact on all of Park Ridge” so these teens are being sentenced, essentially, for committing a crime in too good of a neighborhood. Pretty ridiculous if you think about it.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Maybe the view of the justice system is that kids of relative privilege – those from “the north side of chicago [sic] and park ridge [sic]” – are more culpable because of that privilege.

We doubt any tough guys from the mean streets of Park Ridge want any part of the south or west sides of Chicago, so the justice system has to take their crimes where they find them.

Serf:

All I can say is I hope that your post was meant as some kind of strange attempt at irony or some kind of sick joke. If not it may be the most stupid thing I have ever read.

By the way, kelp me out here. Were these kins “wealthy.” There are many people who live in PR who do not qualify as wealthy.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Whoa, let’s not be hasty here – the Serf has written some really stupid comments.

We’re not aware of anybody referring to these two young “men” as “wealthy.”

It’s immaterial whether the Chicago Tribune, or someone quoted therein, thinks this incident had an impact on all of Park Ridge.

It had an impact on the victim. Two young men attacked another man, violently, and go to jail as a result. The justice system worked.

We should take no pleasure in any of this. It’s hard on the victim, hard on the perpetrators and hard on their parents. That said, here’s hoping there IS an impact on the community: We all think hard about the examples we set for our children.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Exactly.

And in view of the adverse consequences to the victim and to both these two perps, this should once again call into question the effectiveness of the police department in visiting Hinkley on two separate occasions that evening in response to telephoned complaints of fireworks (two patrol cars at exactly 7:58 p.m.) and vandalism/gathering crowds (three patrol cars at exactly 8:33 p.m.), without a public report of exactly how long those officers stayed at Hinkley or when they left (allegedly for still-unindentified “other calls”).

And it also should call into question the reported police dispersal of more than 50 teens from the Library grounds between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m., who then supposedly migrated en masse over to Hinkley – without any monitoring by the police – to further swell those Hinkley ranks shortly before the incident.

Would a longer and more active police presence at Hinkley that night have prevented this incident? Nobody can say. But it surely couldnt’t have hurt, which it sounds like the Police Department is backhandedly acknowledging by its plans to put more police on the streets around Uptown and Hinkley the nights of Taste of Park Ridge.

I made this argument last summer, but I’ll reiterate it again now. I strongly urge anyone who is still viewing this 48-year-old man as an innocent “victim” to watch the extended version of the video that was posted on this blog last summer and make up your own mind. I know it’s very neat, easy and sensational to watch the edited versions that were aired on the news (as one poster linked to above) that conveniently cut off the start of the fight and support the “poor innocent dad minding his own business, strolling through the park and jumped by rabid teens” narrative, but lets try some reality for a minute and go beyond the headlines…

https://publicwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/MOV_19371.mov

Even turned sideways it is indisputable that the dad makes the first physical contact while the kid in the white shirt with the cast on his arm is still in defensive posture. Then yellow shirt jumps in and what we have is a bondafide fight on our hands folks!

Are we really buying that this constitutes aggravated battery? Does anyone who is familiar with IL statute Sec. 12-3.05 feel like the definition fits and justice was served for the accused today as they head off to serve their prison sentences?

Maybe I’m old fashioned and naive, but when a group of grown men willingly choose to get into a fight in public (as the main subjects in this video all clearly did), and no one is seriously harmed or disfigured, I think the police should arrest everyone involved and charge them. Maybe the charge is only something as minor as disturbing the peace, but the message needs to be clear: whether you win or lose the fight, you still chose to break the law. In Park Ridge the message instead seems to be that you can break the law willy-nilly as long as the public perceives you as an “upstanding” member of society.

If you have doubts about that then lets consider the case of Jason Leavitt, the PR police officer who was allowed to rejoin the force, become commander and is still walking free as of 5/27/15, nearly nine years after he assaulted two 15-year-olds. In case anyone needs a refresher:

“Prosecutors alleged that Leavitt gave chase, knocking one boy to the ground with a blow to the head and then straddling the teen and punching him in the face. Another officer arrived at the scene and pulled Leavitt off the boy, but Leavitt again struck the boy as he was put in a squad car, they alleged.

Minutes later, the second boy was arrested nearby by responding officers. When Leavitt arrived, he repeatedly kicked the boy in the back of the head while he was handcuffed behind his back and lying facedown on a concrete driveway, according to prosecutors. After the boy had been put in a squad car, Leavitt ordered the door opened, reached into the car and punched him five to 10 more times in the face and also choked him, prosecutors alleged.”

So the irony is here we are years later, after that case culminated in an FBI investigation of the entire Park Ridge police force for covering up misconduct and a new police chief had to be brought in to clean up the department, and we have Judge Warnick trying to paint this little skirmish at Hinkley as the event that “had an impact on all of Park Ridge”. Give me a break Judge, it’s offensive!

I think the question everyone who lives in and cares about Park Ridge needs to be asking today is have we made any progress at all in the last 10 years or does the law still only apply to some of us? It’s fine for the entire police force to go through the sappy symbolic gesture of reaffirming their oath’s, but let’s see them actually put those big-boy pants on and wear them now.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Your argument was wrong a year ago and it’s still wrong today, as can be seen from the video posted on this blog that begins with the image of the white-shirted perp already in physical contact with, and in the face of, the victim before the victim pushes him away. We also understand that other videos not posted online show an earlier portion of this altercation with more incriminating evidence against white shirt, which would explain why the prosecutors proceeded as they did, why the perps pled guilty rather than went to trial, and why the judge sentenced them as he did.

You’re not “old fashioned and naive,” you’re just an idiot – or a shill for the perps.

We’re going with “idiot,” however, because you compounded your stupidity about this case with an irrelevant analogy to the Jason Leavitt case.

Serfster, you are scary-wrong. Stop listening to Faux News. Poor kids who get in trouble for even nonviolent infractions are tossed in the clink, sometimes for months or longer, because they and their families can’t afford bail, adequate counsel, etc. They’re imprisoned with lots of badasses even though they haven’t been adjudged guilty, simply because they’re poor. Google “modern debtors’ prisons” and see what you find. Now imagine even one night of such incarceration for a teenager, let alone a month or months. Park Ridge kids would get bailed out the same day they were hauled in. Nobody, but nobody, is discriminating against affluent white yutes, especially not our criminal justice system.