Man Bothers La Grange Park School At Least Twice: Cops

LA GRANGE, IL – A man living near a La Grange Park campus bothered the school a couple of times recently, police said.

Through a public records request, Patch obtained the police reports on the man. La Grange District 102 said the man worked in the local schools before 2015.

The first incident took place during a mid-morning recess April 21 at the campus of Forest Road and Barnsdale Road schools. The suspect walked among children outside Forest Road School, according to the reports.

The principal told officers she found the behavior alarming and that she would soon equip recess staff with radios for faster communications.

The man, who lives nearby, was told not to enter the campus. He promised not to do so, police said.

When school was dismissed about 3 p.m., the man was near the campus yelling at people and doing pushups, police said. He was said to have yelled profanities as students loaded buses.

He told officers he was on public property and that he didn't feel he was doing anything wrong. He was given a notice not to trespass at the school.

About 1 p.m. April 24, the man was walking on Garfield, which goes by the campus, when he yelled and became belligerent, according to the reports. Officers calmed him down, and his parents picked him up for an appointment.

A day later, officers visited the man's house, where he lives with his parents. The man is deemed a "clear and present danger," with his firearm owner's identification card, or FOID, revoked, police said.

The man's father, who lives with him, holds a FOID card and said he understands his son is not supposed to have access to guns, police said. The father said he did not have any guns now, but if he did, he would not tell the police, according to the reports.

The district and La Grange Park police plan to share the costs of an officer stationed on campus during school hours for the rest of the school year.

Police said the man broke no laws.

At a school board meeting, parents expressed concerns about their students' safety in light of the man's visits.