Results tagged “vandalism”

Some people seem to have taken the "blow stuff up" aspect of the holiday a bit too far. Chicago Police are still looking for the person who used explosives to blow up a porta potty at the Lakefront yesterday morning before the crowds showed up. Police say no one was injured and only the toilet was damaged. [WBBM]

The rebellion against the city's parking meters continues even as the Mayor, City Council, and private company running the meters continue to all tussle over the issue. Last night, a group of 50 parking meters stretching across the neighborhoods of Andersonville, Edgewater and Uptown were vandalized. From Chicago Breaking News:

Yesterday was Earth Day, so to demonstrate the need for more clean energy, some people from Greenpeace attached 16-foot mini stationary windmills to the railing on the west side of the Michigan Avenue bridge. They were put up around 9:00 a.m., and they were taken down by 11:00 a.m. because the organization did not have a city permit. Also, CDOT spokesperson Brian Steele said that the windmills were a danger to pedestrians and to the movable bridge's delicate weight balance. (Uh, just how delicate? Should we be worried?)

A North Side home has been searched by federal agents in connection with a series of attacks on area synagogues. Agents were seen carrying items such as a computer from the residence, located on the 6000 block of North Artesian Avenue, and a pair of vehicles were also confiscated by agents. No arrest has been made in connection with the attacks. Four synagogues in the area have been vandalized since the beginning of the year.

A Bridgeport church was vandalized and had two fires set nearby overnight and officials are calling at least one of the fires an arson. The incident happened at All Saints St. Anthony's Church very early this morning. One of the fires damaged a stained-glass window. In addition to the fires, the phrases "GOD IS A LIE," "RAPE," and "IT HAPPENED HERE" were displayed across the doors of the church in red duct tape. The church's pastor, Rev. John Parker, said earlier today, "We didn't receive any warnings or threats or anything of that nature...I'm trying to figure out what the message means and what it means to the person who did it."

Is there no decency in the world? With Mayor Daley the enemy of graffiti artists everywhere, the kids these days have gone to new lengths to deface the city's property. Sometime in the last day or so, someone scratched the name "Peters" (or "Peter S") on The Bean (proper name "The Cloud Gate"). The name was six inches long by one inch tall and was found "on the northeast quarter of the sculpture on the outside facade, about 3 feet off the ground." A park security officer discovered the vandalism yesterday afternoon and police are currently investigating the incident. So remember, children: bulldozing giant X's on a runway = okay, but scratching your name on an iconic work of art = bad.

Last summer, we talked about Timur Serebrykov, the now-former guard at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museum who slashed the Vija Celmins painting "Night Sky #2", on loan from our own Art Institute and valued at around $1.2 million. Now, we at least have closure. Timur pleaded guilty yesterday to institutional vandalism for the act and is due to be sentenced April 7. His lawyer said he was suffering from mental stress and Timur himself told police at the time he slashed the painting because, "I didn't like the painting.'' The painting has been returned to Chicago and, in spite of efforts to repair it, the painting has lost almost a quarter-million dollars in value. We have a few Pittsburghers on staff who are now no longer allowed near any precious works of art, at least until the Steelers win the Super Bowl.

Sammy Sosa's boom box. Dugout electrical fans. Now we can add "Dodgers plumbing" to the list of things that frustrated Cubs players have taken out their aggressions on. Who broke the water pipe that caused the dugout to flood? No one's fessing up - and Cubs GM Jim Hendry doesn't give a rat's ass. He told the Trib:

Barrington Community Unit School District 220 canceled its classes today because its fleet of school buses were vandalized. Unknown culprits slashed the tires on "24 to 26 large buses and 15 to 17 smaller ones," apparently with an ice pick. School bus tires cost about $200, which means someone's on the hook for a lot of damage. A note from the district's superintendent says about 7,000 of Barrington's 9,200 K-12 students take a school bus...