Racist fliers left at homes in Tinley Park neighborhood

TINLEY PARK, Ill. (WLS) -- Racist fliers were left on the doorsteps of several Tinley Park homes a week ago, the mayor said Sunday.

Officials in the southwest suburban village said they are looking into who is behind the messages.

Late Sunday morning last week, a resident on 71st Avenue found a badly printed flier inside a plastic baggie weighed down with apparent aquarium gravel on their front lawn.

The first words on the page say "White Pride doesn't mean hate." The White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan took credit for the fliers and invites others to join them, the flier said.

"The entire scenario is just flat out disgusting and evil," said Mayor Jacob Vandenberg.

Vandenberg, along with the police chief and members of Tinley Park's ministerial alliance, spoke out against the incident and said they are investigating where the fliers came from.

"Tinley Park is welcoming, safe, diverse and a thriving community and we have zero tolerance for bigotry and evilness. You flat out are not welcome here," Vandenberg said.

The resident who found the fliers said she and her husband collected 10-15 of the baggies on people's lawns along a single block of 71st Ave. They immediately called police and let others in the neighborhood know what happened. It appears only their block was targeted.

"It's very disturbing to me to have that kind of hate message going around in our community," said resident Carol Tracy.

It was not clear what, if any, charges, the person or person responsible for distributing these fliers might face.