Tinley Park resident Mary Mullen said the village’s response represents the silver lining in a recent graffiti spree on backyard fences lining 167th Street east of 84th Avenue.
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Mullen said her daughter-in-law’s structure was one of approximately 10 fences defaced with vulgarity and Nazi and street gang symbols on the night of July 21-22.
Mullen, a Tinley Park resident since 1999, said the village dispatched a five-person crew to the Farmview Estates subdivision the following day “and they cleaned it right off.”
Police reported that the graffiti in Farmview Estates and the Tanbark Hills subdivision was centered on fences of houses backing up to 167th Street. In the 8300 block of Michelle Lane, the words “white power” and swastikas and a crude saying directed at the village were reported the morning of July 22, police reported.
They said another victim in the 16700 block of Richards Drive reported a vulgar saying painted on her fence and a swastika painted on the back window and front hood of a Porsche.
Two houses in the 8100 block of 167th Place also had crude expressions painted on their back fences, according to police.
They said additional damage included an American flag desecrated by someone painting a black “X” on its surface and an image of a penis in the 16700 block of Old Barne Court and two damaged stop signs at 167th Street and 84th Avenue.
The vandalism was a jarring contrast to the area’s tranquil atmosphere, weedless lawns and children selling lemonade Wednesday afternoon.
Bill Lynch, who has lived in Tanbark Hills, immediately north of 167th Street, since 1989, said he and his wife heard about the vandalism “the next day and it was already gone.
“It’s very surprising to see any kind of graffiti or defacement,” said Lynch, whose fence was spared. “This has always been a quiet neighborhood, and 167th is probably one of the most well-lit streets in the area.”
Residents interviewed Wednesday believed the graffiti was the work of local teens. Two of Lash’s neighbors, who declined to give their names because their fences were vandalized, said that often as late as 3 a.m. “kids are walking down the street talking and laughing loudly,” the man said.
“It’s not a busy street,” said the woman, who has lived in her home for 30 years. “I think they (vandals) were just walking by.”
She said a neighbor heard unusual noises about 3 a.m., which is when the spray painting likely occurred.
“I don’t know why they (kids) were out so late,” the woman said.
The man said he painted over the graffiti on his fence, which was installed in May, but it’s not as complete as he would like because automotive underbody coating was used to deface the fence.
Back in Farmview Estates, Mullen’s neighbor, Florian Iglinski, said he’s “had no reason to call the police” in his more than 15 years in Tinley Park.
“I didn’t call them this time,” said Iglinski, a retired Chicago police officer. “They responded on their own.”
Iglinski acknowledged that such vandalism is a problem but, short of setting up surveillance cameras, there is “not a lot you can do about it.”
Dennis Sullivan and Kate McCann are freelance reporters.