Vandals hit United Way sculptures

Insanity is often described as doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.

Every year since it's inception these sculptures have endured some form of vandalism or theft.

While decent, law-abiding citizens would never deliberately do harm to another persons property much leas a work of art we do have a society today composed of people with differing views and values.

It is unknown exactly how much adolescent boredom and/or less than clear thinking drunks contribute to what is happening. Certainly part of the problem includes clueless children (and their ignorant parents who do nothing to stop or restrain them) who show about as much respect to street art as playground equipment.

It does seem reasonable that after several years of bad experience that the committee that makes the annual decision would have moved to select types of objects or themes that were less prone to having parts broken off. Certainly bolting the art to the ground has resolved most of the theft which seems to suggest it may have been more impulsive than premeditated.

What is amazing is how many street crimes in other cities are being solved by the police because of video cameras; some cameras owned by the city and some privately owned to protect businesses which just happened to be in the right spot at the right time. Seems part of the solution may be for the police, the downtown business owners, and the United Way to work together to identify all of the locations where cameras currently exist and update the list annually before the street art is distributed to select as many locations as possible where nearby camera's are present. Possibly some of the "revenue" from the to be installed "red light" camera's could be used to pay for and install some "blue box" type camera's like Chicago uses in the areas that seem to have the most recurrent vandalism?

Considering the value of downtown Naperville in terms of tax dollar revenue the installation of "blue box" type street cameras would be a smart thing to do in terms of enhancing overall safety and security. If the camera's also happened to catch a few punks along the way that would be even better.

To Anonymous on June 2, 2008 6:56 AM

I wish this board had a thumbs up rating system. Your post hit the nail squarely on the head.

What I find sad is that people can't take more pride in their community than they do. From negligent parents and drunken boors to teenagers that think vandalism is cool, the sense of community pride is proven to be lacking every year at this time.

I say bring on the cameras.

Did anyone else notice during the early release day for the middle schools last week the influx of kids in the downtown area? I saw a large group of kids humping and doing other really lewd things in broad daylight to one of the frogs right across a street from Walgreens. Those sculptures can't handle that kind of abuse, they are just made out of fiberglass.
I don't understand how parents can let their young kids wander around downtown Naperville for so many hours during the day un-supervised and not expect trouble to happen. It's ridiculous. Walgreen's should have an anti-loitering rule, that place is not the baby sitter of all of these kids, yet that's what it seems like.

How very sad. We have purchased 2 sculptures over the past few years not only as a contribution to the United Way but also as meaningful, whimsical pieces of art. I actually wouldn't mind seeing a couple of cameras in the downtown for this and other issues I've encountered (most in the daytime hours). It's a fine idea really.

Yes, Walgreens is an annoying teen hangout.

To: Naper Mom on June 2, 2008 9:59 AM

How about we just go ahead and approve the installation of cameras on the top of EVERY street light within the city limits.

That should cover it, don't you think?

Let's hope they don't catch you or your fine upstanding neighbors breaking the law.

I also vote for the cameras. A little more police presence would be nice too.

Oh Ron- -Chill out.
If there are cameras located in areas where there have been vandalism, fights, and other issues, what's the big deal? So afraid of Big Brother watching, are you? What do YOU have to hide, Ron?

I agree with the others that have posted- - Bring on the cameras.

Last night, I cried until I couldn't sleep. Who would hurt the frogs? Who, I ask you?

God help us.

Seeing how this is most likely the last year for this campaign since the Naperville United Way is going out of business and is being taken over by United Way of DuPage in Oak Brook, I don’t think we need to worry anymore about how to protect the sculptures in the future.

As for the "Blue Box" Police cameras, whenever I see those in Chicago it tells me I am in a high crime neighborhood and I should move along out of there quickly. I do not think that is the message we want to send about our downtown Naperville. Even though we do have a teenager/drunk (or drunk teenager for that matter) problem downtown and along the river walk I do not think we should advertise that fact.

I saw the broken frog Friday afternoon at 3, so it was much earlier than even the article states.

Why does this surprise anyone and why is this news? The Century Walk statutes, made of bronze, have taken a beating for years. Does anyone remember that statute of the lady in front of Barnes & Noble used to have glasses? The glasses were replaced a couple of times and then they gave up. And the ones of the children across from Sullivan's have had their eyes poked out.

Destroying public art is par for the course in this community.

That doesn't make frog desecration appropriate, but it does beg the question of why anyone would be surprised. It's been happening for years.

Cameras in the downtown areas to deter vandalism and increase safety is a long way away from cameras on every streetlight.

Really Ron, if you're so afraid of being filmed peeing in the bushes along the Riverwalk, you should cut it out.

How many businesses in Naperville have have not installed security camera's inside of their establishments by now? All who have installed them did so to reduce theft and liability and to better protect their business interests. Some have even installed camera's to monitor the exterior as well.

What is wrong with installing public camera's to protect our public interests as well? Law abiding citizens have nothing more to fear from public camera's any more than they have to fear from the private security systems they encounter on a daily basis.

I support street camera's. Bring 'em on! I'd rather see camera's now than let things deteriorate to an awful level like they did in Chicago. This is something Naperville can do proactively to help maintain a low crime rate.

I am not afraid of the cameras!
All I am saying is install the cameras everywhere!

Let's catch all the people breaking the laws.

ALL OF THEM!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck trying to get Naperville moms to put down their lattes for a minute and rein in little Madison, Ashton, Jackson and Devon. Everywhere I go, they're in groups of three to four, chatting away with their girlfriends and absolutely ignoring their hellspawn while they run wild and destroy property. I'm not talking about teenagers, here, I'm talking about preschool to grade-school aged brats who should absolutely know to behave better at their age. Well, if they were raised properly, that is.

Forget spanking the kids, the parents are the ones who need it more.

Maybe if we took away all of downtown's Starbucks we would see less of this kind of property damage...?

Cameras? To protect fiberglass frogs? Are you people serious?

Of course you are. You and YOUR kids would never do this, never THINK to act lewd, or break any petty law or ordinance in public. What's there to be afraind of?

Instead of cameras, why not make sure there are road blocks coming IN to Naperville, so you know just who is coming in and out of town? Because surely it must be the outsiders coming into town--you or your children are so completely perfect and ready to live in a police state there's NO WAY you could be caught littering, swearing, talking too loud on your cell phone, smoking w/in 15 feet of a public entrance, throwing your cigarette butts on the ground like it's NOT littering, spitting, not picking up your dog's poop, jaywalking or anything else that could be deemed offensive/illegal in public. I hope each and every one of you jaywalking in the middle of Jefferson Ave. or crossing against a DON'T WALK sign gets fined when you are caught on camera. Especially if you are pushing your big baby stroller in front of you like it's a shield that protects you from getting hit by a car when you walk in front of it.

Or, if you are driving and you don't yield to pedestrians like you are supposed to when they are in the cross walk, I hope you too get a ticket from the cameras that will be watching you.

Cameras? Please. Be careful what you wish for. You may not be vandalizing anything but you can be sure you are NOT doing everything perfectly and it's only a matter of time before you're caught. Even if it is for jaywalking or littering or not cleaning up after your dog. Someone's gonna try to make a buck off of it. I thought that became clear when you all were griping about the traffic cameras.

Good luck with that.

Install cameras, arrest the criminal caught destroy the sculpture, sent them a bill to cover the cost of the camera and award them a year in the penitentiary for destroying the sculpture.

I think we need more bike patrols to monitor the downtown area. A good police presence will help deter the vandals and make the citizens feel safe.

To: anonymous on June 2, 2008 9:26 PM

And if it was your property being destroyed, would you just chalk it up to 'boys will be boys' or would you like an honest effort to help catch those responsible? Cameras are cheaper than patrol officers.

It's someone's property and it's being vandalized. Catch them, I don't care how.

How about grouping more of the statues together? A camera could then be set up to monitor 5-10 statues. This same portable camera could be used at other venues as well - similar to the portable speed monitoring device I occasionally see. Apparently the camera idea passes muster as Naperville is installing them at various intersections.

Ken is correct that a mobile force, on foot or bicycle, is probably the best option of deterring the vandals.

To: By anonymous on June 2, 2008 9:26 PM

Wow. I have a feeling you've got a little bit of skin in this game. Look, I'm sorry that you or your child likely have been in trouble with the law. But, for the vast majority of law-abiding citizens in this community, that certainly isn't the case. I just don't understand the privacy right of a vandal.

I'm willing to take the chance that I get fined for jaywalking in return for a nice, safe downtown.

Hello Joe and Stinks….

While I do understand your empathy for the people victimized by the vandalism, I do believe you are taking my post out of context and completely missing its point. Nowhere did I chalk this up to “boys will be boys.” And to STINKS I don’t have kids, and the only trouble I have ever been in with the law is a ticket I got 2 years ago for speeding. So try another theory out. I am in fact one of those law abiding citizens who lives and pays taxes here.

The main concern of my post was even LAW ABIDING citizens are NOT ALWAYS as law abiding as they think they are. My main concern of my post was LAW ABIDING CITIZENS willingness to throw their own privacy and freedom to walk public streets without being watched 24/7 aside. In all of this knee-jerking I was hoping the few of you to actually THINK about what you are asking for, before you ask. I was hoping people realize that even if they don’t THINK they are doing anything wrong, there are so many laws/ordinances/things that could be deemed public annoyances out there, if you are caught doing ANY one of them on a public camera, YOU TOO could become criminalized for the many things I listed above. You may not be vandalizing everything, but if you are being watched by a camera 24/7 you can sure bet you will be “caught” doing something offensive/illegal. And it’s only a matter of time before the city decides to USE the cameras not just to watch frogs but to “catch” you doing numerous things. And pretty soon the city might decide to make a little revenue off of it. Just like traffic lights, just like seat belts.

And if you are thinking “I don’t do any of that…” well how about your kids? (not your kids in particular if you have them Joe but in general) If you are letting them walk around the downtown area you can bet one of them is going to throw their Coldstone cup on the ground, swear to their friends on their cell phone way too loudly, jaywalk, and a million other little things. Do you want tickets and fines to show up in the mail with a picture of your kid littering? Do you want video of your under 18 kid smoking “illegally” in the downtown area as he or she hangs out with their friends to show up on the news/public access channel so they can be identified? For all your friends to see—and you didn’t even know your kid smoked in the first place? Wouldn’t you rather take care of that issue on your own, in your own home without the whole town intervening? Wouldn’t you rather try to teach your kid on your own that littering/vandalism is wrong?

Maybe Hillary Clinton WAS right, it does take a village. A village of cameras to keep an eye on your kids. Or to keep an eye on us, to make sure we are all perfect and do absolutely no wrong every second of the day, even when we are LAW ABIDING citizens. Fear is a great motivator.

And yes, Joe, actually my property HAS been vandalized/damaged in downtown Naperville. Vandals/drunks/kids/whoever have done damage to my new car which I have only owned for 18 months on 3 separate occasions in public lots. One incident happened just last week as someone drew a lewd picture on my windshield (luckily that washed off, but the damage to my bumper and side view mirror cost money to fix.) And yes, it would be nice if the people who damaged my car would be caught. Yes it made me angry and yes I did go to the police to report it—which IS within my power to see if they could catch the culprits.

However, I am not going to get hysterical about it and DEMAND the whole downtown area be put under surveillance. DEMAND that the town keep an eye on each and every one of you because you just might be a vandal/litterer in disguise.

I file a police report and I go about my business. Yes, it makes me angry, but it parking my car in a public place, just like parking statues in a public place puts them at risk for these things.

The question is why this stuff actually doesn’t happen MORE OFTEN. Why not? Because Naperville is already a good, safe place to live. And we are lucky enough to have the socioeconomic backgrounds to live, work, and entertain ourselves here. While the stories in the sun about the statues are sad and moving, I hope they open conversations for people to realize the extent of damage that was done, for you to open conversations with your kids about WHY things are bad and let YOU raise your kids/police yourself and not a town full of cameras.

My apologies to the Sun for such a long post, but I felt it necessary to clarify not only my position but the WRONGFUL ASSUMPTIONS about me that were made that I, or any children I don't actually have may have been in trouble with the law just because I am concerned about civil liberties.

I'd worry more about getting automatic charges to your CC everytime the IPASS system calculates you must have been speeding before I'd worry about an automatic jaywalking ticket from the City of Naperville.

Too many parents just dump their kids off downtown for the day like it's some public daycare and they have no idea what they are up to. Many get dropped at Centennial Beach in that fashion only to change into street clothes, leave, do who knows what who knows where and come back 10 minutes before pickup and put back on the bathing suit, get wet and pretend to mom or dad they've been good little citizens right where mommy and daddy left them.

I agree. When I found out about the frogs, I haven't cried like that since my dog, Peercy, died three years ago. I mean: Why would people be so careless and harsh?

Now that my tears have dried, I know we can make a difference and start making more butterflies and frogs.

To anonymous on June 3, 2008 10:21 AM

Speaking of WRONGFUL ASSUMPTIONS:

You made a mistake assuming privacy in a public place.
You cast it aside when you step out of your home.

Everyone is free to walk the public areas. No one has suggested otherwise.

We don't need less public art.

We need less vandals.

We don't need to strip these kinds of amenities away from our community and leave it culturally barren.

We need more public respect.

Creative minds can usually come up with a much better and a more lasting solution than the impulsive actions of a few punks. The quality and value we get as a community from public and street art is worth the brain power we need to expend to develop that solution.

Let's never give in to the punks and quit. Rather let's pull together and work to find solutions that will work.

Just make it so that the frogs explode if vandalized. Nothing like a little shrapnel to curb anti-social behavior

I like the grouping of sculptures idea. We could group them all in one place. Maybe in Frontier Park and put a 10’ fence topped with razor wire around them. Then mount a few live cameras around them that can be monitored by everyone in Naperville via the internet. That would surely keep them safe from vandals. We could all participate in keeping the sculptures safe. We could put pictures of them on the internet if anyone feels the need to look at any of the sculptures up close. I think this is a great idea because expecting people to be more conscientious or responsible is just plain silly.

Did anyone read Bill Mego yesterday in the Thursday Sun? A lot of what Bill has written lately has been just a lot of dribble and this was no exception.

Here is a quote from part of his article: "Unfortunately, when one of them hopped up from the chair, she lost her balance and fell against it, not hard but apparently with enough force to snap off the fragile tongue."

So what did Bill REALLY see here? Did these "little girls", no indication of parental supervision by the way, really snap off the frog's tongue that easily? Or had it already been broken off previously and repaired in such a way that it just did not withstand this next bump?

Having spent the better portion of my adult life working with these kinds of materials I highly doubt that a "bump" as Bill described would have indeed snapped off the tongue. Not impossible, just very, very unlikely.

If it had been previously repaired even these girls may mistakenly believe they broke the tongue. Not everything we see is always the full picture and it is possible that what Bill reported was not indeed the full picture. In all fairness to Bill he probably assumed the statue was fine until these girls bumped it.

While Bill does his best to paint a picture of "innocent girls" having "harmless fun". Then Bill becomes a bit obnoxious and goes on a tear that whoever designed the sculpture was to blame for not putting a 25 cent steel rod in for reinforcement! Nice try Bill, and by the way, better luck next time with attempting to shift the burden of responsibility.

First off this is art. It is on display. It is not your property. If you want to bid on it fine. Once you submit the winning bid and pay for it the art, it then becomes your personal property. At that point in time if you no longer choose to treat it as art and prefer to treat it as furniture; by all means be our guest. Until then everyone, including little girls, need to be taught and learn how to practice simple respect to other people's property.

Vandalism is defined as: "willful or ignorant destruction of artistic or literary treasures." And yes, even little girls displaying a lack of knowledge or training can be considered ignorant.

So I won't "leap" to a wrong conclusion over vandalism, I just hope Bill doesn't either.

Little girls as downtown vandals? Maybe we do need those Police cameras downtown. In all seriousness I thought those frog tongues were goners the first time I saw them. Sticking up like that just waiting for a hand, little girl or otherwise, to come along and give them a pull. After all the years this activity has been going on downtown what did the designers think was going to happen?

As for art and personal property I believe that public art designed and placed to attract interaction by children can and should be used for the purpose intended. These sculptures and not private fine art pieces placed in a private museum to be enjoyed from a distance. These are fancifully painted fiberglass figures from a mold that were designed specifically as children’s playthings. The frog chair is made for kids of a certain size, not adults. And only children can fit inside the play house if they have any hope of coming out again. The benches too are designed to accommodate children. And while I do firmly believe that parents need to teach their children to respect the property of others, and they need to supervise their children when going around town, it is a bit of a stretch to expect children to keep away and not interact as children with objects specifically designed, painted, and placed to draw the attention and play of children. This is one of the reasons that Naperville is considered one of the best places around to raise kids.

The designers of this year’s sculptures did a great job crafting objects that would draw kids, and through them their parents, to the pieces. And most importantly, parents and others can see how children love to play on and in these pieces and hopefully drive up their value at auction to raise money for the United Way which is what this whole thing is about in the first place.

So let’s not consider little girls as vandals. Let’s consider them for what they are. Little girls.

Let's not be too quick to dismiss what is actually happening to United Way property. Maybe some don't agree or even like to hear it but the truth remains that this is still art and it still is not their property. The murals painted on buildings downtown is someone else's property. So are the automobiles parked a few feet away in the street. We would not tolerate these "little girls" taking crayons or markers or whatever and drawing on the murals, would we? Yet it right there in the same public atmosphere. We certainly would not expect or tolerate it if these "little girls" took it upon themselves to sit or otherwise crawl all over someone's automobile. Yet there is no real difference, both the automobile and the street art are someone else's property. Just because art is placed in the public right of way does not make it a jungle gym. What kind of public manners are children being taught these days?

The art is placed around town to encourage everyone to view it and to encourage people to buy it later in the year. There is nothing to indicate that any of this art has been or is intended to be playthings or even what might be considered "interactive" art. In fact, in years past it has been necessary to place sign reminding clueless people to keep off and not to touch. Why? Because way too many people are simply rude, inconsiderate, and can't seem to demonstrate respect without being told these days. Let's not forget this art is headed for an auction that will be a major United Way fund raiser. What logic is there to even suggest all of these children crawling all over publicly displayed art is acceptable when the wear and tear will only decrease the value of the art at auction?

Little girls are little girls. Little girls need better role models from their mothers and fathers or whoever is supervising them when they are downtown. Little girls and little boys and big girls and big boys and adolescent girls and adolescent boys and teenage girls and teenaged boys and adult women and adult men should all demonstrate respect to public art and other peoples property. If they don't know what to do then they could try learning and practicing the Golden Rule.

“There is nothing to indicate that any of this art has been or is intended to be playthings or even what might be considered "interactive" art.”

This statement is absolutely not true. The sculptures this year were specifically chosen and designed to be played on and in by children around the downtown area and the River Walk. I am very close to many of the members of the board of directors of the Naperville United Way and have been privy to the discussions concerning this year’s sculptures since last year. Logic suggests that having these children crawling all over the publicly displayed art is not only acceptable but actually raises the value of the sculptures themselves.

I agree in past years with the bears and horses and sea animals we needed to place signs reminding clueless people to keep off and not to touch. This was because the sculptures were not practical for placement in a highly trafficked public space like our downtown. Especially the downtown of a city that promotes itself as a very kid friendly place to be. This reduced the value of the sculptures since a great number of the people buying the sculptures at auction have young children or grandchildren and having an untouchable art showpiece in their backwards that children could not touch was just not reasonable.

The sculptures this year will fetch premium prices at auction precisely because the people doing the buying have seen children happily playing on and in the sculptures all summer long. These parents and grandparents will want to be able to bring these fun sculptures home for their children and grandchildren to enjoy for years to come.

So let’s let our children be children and do what children do with things meant for children. Let’s show them that art is not only something to be admired and enjoyed from a distance. Paintings and sculptures in a museum should be respected and protected in keeping with their intended purposes. As should public monuments and memorials. But the Naperville United Way sculptures are art that is intended to be enjoyed with hands on. And that is a beautiful thing to teach our children.

Quote from today's Naperville Sun:
"Naperville United Way wishes to thank Jackson for 8-years of continuous sponsorship of our annual public outdoor art event. Jackson safely & expertly transports & stores our fragile art sculptures."

"... public outdoor art event."

"... fragile art sculptures."

Despite some very permissive and overly tolerant, liberal views being expressed regarding what is appropriate public behavior for children one will never go wrong by teaching their children restraint and respect for other people and their property. Learning how to control impulsive behavior is something all children must deal with. It appears that many of the parents of the children we see downtown are still learning to deal with this concept as well as other parenting skills.

Children do not understand the fine lines between paintings and sculptures in a museum and paintings and sculptures on public display and paintings and sculptures at a public art fair. Do we really expect children to be allowed to crawl all over the United Way sculptures and then take them somewhere like the Old Town Art Fair and then expect them to behave differently?

Whether it is a $2,500 frog sculpture in downtown Naperville or a $20,000 sculpture in Old Town; if little "Emily" or "Jacob" climbs all over it and does any damage then mommy and daddy better be prepared to make immediate financial restitution for any damage that results. The old saying..."you break it, you bought it applies". If parents aren't financially prepared to compensate for damage caused by their children then they should teach their children to respect other people's property and make sure they are not "acting like a bull in a china shop".

None of the sculptures that have been damaged will still be able to command premium prices and the bids will reflect that reality. What is really obnoxious is that some people are attempting to blame the United Way, the sculptor, or the artist because the sculptures were "too fragile" or "broke too easily". What a fine kettle of poison that is. People making comments like that must slither around on the ground without spines.

Eyes do not cause damage to other people's property. Hands do. Feet do. So do other body parts. If any of your or your children's body parts caused damage to someone else's property it is your responsibility and no one else's. If you are unable to accept your responsibility then change your behavior.

"Look but don't touch." That was great advice and I heard it frequently when growing up. I could never go wrong and get in trouble if I followed that simple statement. What was true then is still true today.

A child who is taught by their parents to respect other people and other people's property is learning an important lesson for life.

This is a simple debate about kid play to solve.

Post the minutes of the meetings or anything official from the United Way that says they are intended to be played on by children and the breakage resulting from that will increase the sculpture's value.

Short of that, parents need to keep tabs on what their kids are doing.

Your neighbor's kid bouncing on the hood of your car causing damage or swinging from the mirrors like a baboon and breaking them does not raise the car's value. Little Johnny busting off the hood ornament and wearing it like some prize dangled on a chain around his neck doesn't make your car more sought after on the used market. Quite the opposite.

It's not their property, they should respect it and parents should know the difference between what is intended for public abuse and what is not.

These types of comments are exactly why I have in the past chosen to not participate in these blogs. Rather than engaging in reasoned debate about an issue, commenters typically resort to obfuscation, misdirection, and personal attack. I hope that in addition to teaching our children respect for other people and other people's property that we also teach them reason, to think, and how to present their ideas without humiliating or attacking other people. Something that may be lacking in the current generation.

Hmmm, yes, well, ahh, moving on then...

I see it everyday in my Naperville sub-division.

Kids are not respecting their neighbor's property, parents not paying attention, and not caring until of course the disrespect happens to them and then look out!!!! These parents need to keep an eye on their kids!!!!!