Unlocked Burr Ridge Village Hall Becomes Issue

BURR RIDGE, IL — Several times over the last few weeks, Burr Ridge police officers have found Village Hall unlocked. The instances have been reported in the police department's regular blotter, which is released to the media.

On Tuesday, Village Trustee Zach Mottl wrote to Village Administrator Doug Pollock about the situation, saying he has seen at least three instances reported of unlocked doors. "And these are just the instances that we know about because the police found them," Mottl said.

He said he questioned the Village Board's recent approval to spend thousands of dollars on a security system at Village Hall.

"Instead of wasting the people’s money on a fancy system, shouldn’t we start by simply locking the front door?" Mottl said. "That would be a vast improvement in security for Village Hall and it wouldn’t cost a penny."

Asked about Mottl's email, Pollock said he would address the issue at Monday's Village Board meeting.

On May 5, a police officer saw that the front doors to Village Hall were unlocked. The officer secured the doors and found no signs of criminal activity.

About 12:30 a.m. May 14, a Burr Ridge police officer checking the Village Hall premises, which is next door to the police department, found the outer front door unlocked, according to a police report. The officer checked the vestibule and bathrooms and found them clear.

Later that same day about 7:30 p.m., the same officer found the same outer door unlocked and checked the inside, finding everything was fine.

On May 30, a rear door to Village Hall was found ajar about 5 a.m.

The Burr Ridge's media reports are highly detailed compared to most towns. The problem of unlocked doors could happen elsewhere, but likely would not be reported. That's because Burr Ridge releases far more information about its police department's activities.