Soft Lockdown :::
Update:
Lyons Township High School South Campus was under a soft lockdown for
approximately 2 ½ hours this morning. At
7:10am
we found a threatening message in a restroom at South Campus. In
consultation with the Western Springs Police Department, we decided to go to a soft lockdown at the
start of the school day. In a soft lockdown students and teachers are confined to classrooms and no
one moves throughout the building. The police department and the Cook County Sheriff’s Department
Bomb Squad searched the building with negative results. We take all threats seriously and will
continue to work with the police department as they continue their investigation. More information
will be available on our website later today, and a letter will be going home outlining the issue
in more detail. Thank you for your cooperation.
Letter to Parents:
April 29, 2008
Dear Lyons Township High School Parent/Guardian,
Last Friday, I convened a meeting of all of the superintendents and police departments in
Lyons Township. We met to discuss the steps we should take in the event of a real or perceived
threat to safety in any of our schools. At the time, I didn’t think we would be using our plan
quite so soon.
We had a lockdown at South Campus this morning that lasted approximately 2½ hours after
finding a threatening message in a restroom. The school day resumed at approximately 10:30am after
taking all the usual precautions, including a thorough search of the entire building by the Western
Springs Police Department and the Cook County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad, which yielded negative results.
Officers from the Western Springs Police Department and surrounding police agencies will provide
closer patrols to the school, and a criminal investigation continues to find the person
responsible.
We take all threats seriously and continue to work to ensure the safety of students. Our
counselors are available to speak with any student who might need support; their doors are always
open.
This threat did more than just disrupt the school day; it unnecessarily disrupted our
students’ and staff members' sense of security. We do not take this lightly and will prosecute the
responsible guilty party to the fullest extent of the law.
As you no doubt know, there has been a rash of similar incidents throughout metropolitan
Chicago. We believe the best approach is to develop a plan in advance of any problem utilizing all
of the professionals in our community. We intend to follow the plan during an emergency, and we
also will hold debriefing sessions after any event to discuss ways we can improve our response.
There is nothing more important to us than the safety of our students and employees and we will do
everything we can to ensure a safe school environment.
Sincerely,
Dennis G. Kelly, Ph.D.
Superintendent