District 74 statue still missing after theft

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This statue, dedicated in 2004 after its purchase though a student fundraising campaign, was stolen some time this weekend. Community fundraising efforts are underway to replace it. | Photo courtesy Lincolnwood School District 74

Updated: March 3, 2012 8:08AM

Lincolnwood police Monday still are investigating the theft of a memorial statue stolen sometime Jan. 21-23 from Todd Hall Elementary School.

A building and grounds staff member reported that the metal statue of two children reading a book was missing when he arrived at the school at about 7 a.m. Jan. 23, said principal Ellen Shankar.

The bronze-colored statue was affixed to a metal bench bolted to cement in the front of the school, 3925 W. Lunt Ave. The bench remains.

Shankar said staff searched school grounds, including the building’s roof, but did not find the statue or any remnants of it.

She then reported the theft to the Lincolnwood police.

“I have no idea what happened,” Shankar said, adding that the memorial hasn’t been vandalized or damaged in the past.

The statue was part of the elementary school’s “Wall of Courage,” a memorial for District 74 students who died young.

The memorial was dedicated in May 2004 following the passing of two students, Ayla Asif and Sammy Shapiro-Rosenberg, who succumbed to cancer in 2003.

The memorial honors all the children who died while students in District 74, including Sean Sophier (1998), Anfal Hussain (1995) and Michelle Mollet (1973), who also were named in the memorial.

Students raised money by collecting pennies to create the statue in on honor of their classmates, Shankar said.

Shankar said though the statue doesn’t have a high monetary value, someone may have mistaken it for bronze and wanted to make a “quick buck.”

Lincolnwood Police Lt. John Walsh said police have made arrests for metal thefts in the past.

“It is an intricate piece of art,” he said. “This may have been a crime of opportunity for (the thief’s) home or yard.”

Walsh said police are searching for suspects.

Shankar made a plea on Todd Hall’s website for people to contact her if they have information about the missing statue.

“We are just waiting,” she said.

Shankar said if the statue doesn’t turn up in the next few months, plans will be made “replace or put something in that space that is meaningful,” she said.

The theft comes at a time when Lincolnwood School District 74 officials and administrators are under fire for various expenses related to their activities.

Earlier this month, the school board’s approval of three administrators’ contracts was immediately followed by the resignation of the school board’s vice president.

However, Walsh said there is no evidence to believe the theft is connected to those events.

“Nothing would lead us to believe anything like that,” he said.

Anyone with information about the missing statue and its whereabouts are encouraged to contact the Lincolnwood Police at (847) 673-2167 or Todd Hall Elementary School at (847) 675-8235.