Police had issued 178 tickets to Bloom Trail students from the start of the 2018-19 school year through March. Almost all of the tickets were for fighting, and almost all went to Black students.The police chief in the village of Steger said that if the school asks for help with a more serious matter, officers with juvenile training will work with students and try alternatives such as requiring community service.
For instance, at Dundee-Crown High School in Carpentersville, police issued 649 tickets for truancy from January 2019 through Dec. 7, 2021, the largest number of truancy tickets that reporters documented. At $75 each, the tickets totaled nearly $50,000, police records show.A spokesperson for Community Unit School District 300, which includes Dundee-Crown, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
“The General Assembly has made clear its intention that schools not fine students for misbehavior, though they did leave the door open for schools to let police fine their parents for some activity,” comptroller’s office spokesperson Abdon Pallasch wrote in an emailed statement. “But the legislators put serious restrictions on schools’ ability to let law enforcement fine students’ parents for truancy. We agree with that policy.
A ticket book on the desk of the school resource officer at Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School.