A resident told the Village of Oak Lawn Board of Trustees on Tuesday that groups of juveniles have been harassing houses near Memorial Park and asked the village to place an officer in the park during the evening hours.

"They've become progressively more, let's say threatening. They haven't actually done anything violent yet, but they have started to throw rocks and different objects at people and people's houses," Jennifer said during public comment, asking for an officer to be present "from at least 5 p.m. until when the park is closed."

The request covered a roughly two-block area, from about 100th Street to 90th Street and from Central to Stony Creek Golf Course, where the resident said the juveniles congregate and have been intimidating neighbors.

Mayor Terry Vordererer acknowledged the problem and asked the police chief to increase attention at the park. "We're aware of the problem. The chief's aware of the problem. They're gonna address it and hopefully we can solve it," the mayor said during the meeting.

Chief of Police (Oak Lawn Police Department) told the board that the park district funds an overtime detail that typically starts after Memorial Day and can be split between Memorial and Centennial parks. The chief also said bicycle patrols are not being restarted at this time.

Jennifer also asked the trustees to contact the Oak Lawn Park District about park debris she said was being used as projectiles: "There was a large boulder ... that was split in half ... and that is what the kids are using to throw rocks at our house with." Mayor Vordererer suggested bringing the matter to Tom Hartwick, whom he identified as director of the Oak Lawn Park District, and urged the resident to file a complaint directly with the park district as well.

The board did not take a formal vote on the request during Tuesday's meeting. Trustees and staff indicated the issue would be handled through police patrol adjustments and coordination with the park district; no specific schedule or new ordinance was proposed.

Residents who raised safety concerns were invited to continue reporting incidents to the Oak Lawn Police Department and to submit a complaint to the Oak Lawn Park District about the broken boulder near the parking-lot entrance.

The resident noted the problem has escalated over the past month and expressed concern that the behavior could worsen with warmer weather and more park use this summer.