Messages on ground, equipment at Adeline Geo-Karis Skate Park appear to target two Fox Lake police officers
By Marco Stendardo & Dick Johnson ••
The skate park in far northwest suburban Fox Lake will be closed until next spring after vandals spray painted anti-police messages on the concrete and the equipment in the park.
"It had to be somebody angry with our police department," said Fox Lake police Lt. Mark Schindler
The messages, many of which are not suitable for publication, appeared to target two officers in particular -- Officer Russell Zander and Officer William Golden -- and were on every piece of equipment in Adeline Geo-Karis Skate Park on South Route 59.
Among the messages discovered Friday morning:
""F*** the police"
"Zander is a f****** pig"
"Should I not be doing this? Ehhh f*** it"
"Smoke more weed"
"Golden you b****"
"Officer Zander f*** you"
Village crews dismantled the entire park and stored it. Schindler said public works crews would make an attempt to clean the graffiti.
"This graffiti indicates a lack of respect for the park, as well as the purpose for which it was built," said police chief Mike Behan. "Vandalism such as this is costly, time-consuming and is unfortunate for those that enjoy the park in a safe and responsible manner."
Village parks and recreation coordinator Amy Serafin said that if the equipment can't be repaired it'll cost about $80,000 to replace.
Officials said they're hoping the children who used the park will be so angry about the vandalism that they'll find out who did it and tip off the police.
