A picnic table at a Park Ridge public park was recently vandalized with swastikas and what appears to be the beginning of a racial epithet.
A Park Ridge Park District representative told Pioneer Press in an email that district staff had removed the table within hours of finding out it had been vandalized. The park district is seeing an increase in vandalism and misuse of parks overall, according to recent social media posts.
A series of texts between 5th Ward Alderman Joseph Steinfels and Park Board Vice President Cindy Grau obtained in a Freedom of Information request depict graffiti in marker and spray paint that show swastikas, the first three letters of a common racial slur and other vulgar imagery.
Steinfels texted Grau asking if she had heard about “today’s discovery in Hidden Park,” also referred to by its official name, Rotary Park.
“Thanks,” Grau replied. “We’ve had a big uptick in vandalism. This is not bad compared to the fires.”
Steinfels said he had learned about the graffiti June 19 from a resident who was at the park with his children.
He said he sent the images to Grau and went over to the park that evening to find that the picnic table had already been removed.
Park District spokesperson Margaret Holler said a resident had reported the incident the afternoon of June 19 and the Park District Buildings and Grounds Department went to pull the table out of the park at 2:30 p.m.
In a Facebook post June 22, the Park District said it had seen increased vandalism at Centennial, Hinkley and Southwest Parks and said the district had increased its security presence in response to the misuse of the parks.
“When staff or park security address these individuals or groups, they do not abide (by) the authority’s direction when asked to leave, reply with harassing comments, and even physical assault,” the post reads.
The post also noted that the district would suspend people from parks, seek monetary compensation and press charges where appropriate in response to inappropriate use of parks.
The post also included one of the pictures of the vandalism at Rotary Park: a list of names written on the picnic table with marker.
Holler said the Park District has extra picnic tables and that it takes district staff between one and two hours to rehab a damaged picnic table. When Pioneer Press staff visited the park July 6, it contained benches but no picnic tables.
The Park District commissioners receive a monthly vandalism report as part of their board meeting packets, available online.
Park Ridge Police did not immediately respond to questions regarding the incident.
Park Ridge and neighboring Niles residents found antisemitic flyers in plastic bags weighed down with grains of rice on lawns and driveways in February 2022.
