Candlelight Vigil for Sandy Hook School Victims Set for Thursday, Dec. 27

Mayor Dave Heilmann announces community candlelight vigil for Newtown, CT school shooting victims for Dec. 27 on Village Green.

Worry and Fear Grips Schools and Parents in Wake of Newtown Shooting and Local Threats

Random and disturbing threats in the Chicago area followed the Newtown school killings, underscoring vulnerabilities and prompting discussions of gun control and guns for teachers.

The first day of school after the Sandy Hook school massacre brought a wave of fear, worry and outright threats to Chicago-area communities as educators and police sought to reassure people that efforts to protect their children would be redoubled. x Parents and educators everywhere were talking about school security even as incidents locally in the last three days underscored potential vulnerability. Here's a glimpse of what's taken place in the past few days. In Downers Grove, parents discovered that schoolhouse doors were unlocked and flooded the district with calls. The school district decided to lock the doors this week and install temporary buzzers. Administrators will consider installing an advanced system. A buzzer and badge system…

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Village To Hold Candlelight Vigil for Newtown Shooting Victims

Holiday lights on Village Green will go dark for 27 minutes in honor of 20 children and seven adults killed in Connecticut during candlelight vigil planned for Dec. 27.

The village will hold a community candlelight vigil for the victims of the Newton, CT, on Dec. 27 on the Village Green. The holiday lights on the Village Green will go dark for 27 minutes honoring the 20 children, six teachers, and shooter's mother, who lost their lives in the Sandy Hook Elementary School and Newtown, CT shootings. Read Newtown, CT, Patch's complete coverage of the Sandy Hook School shootings. "All over this country people are in tears. You see the faces of little children, you htink about those teachers and how hard they fought to protect them, you think about these families, Christmas, the pain must be unbearable for them," Mayor Dave Heilmann said. "I have four children under 10 at home. I cannot imagine dropping them …

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Lorraine Swanson

1:34 pm on Wednesday, December 19, 2012

The mayor is including the shooter's mother, as noted in the article.   more ›

Oak Lawn Students Return to 'New Reality' After Sandy Hook Shootings

Local school officials spend Monday reviewing building security, helping students ease back into school on first day back since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.

Oak Lawn’s public and parochial students returned to school on Monday to an increased police presence around local campuses on their first day back at school since last week's Connecticut school shootings. “The increased police presence was at all of our buildings just to serve as reassurance for our families,” Oak Lawn-Hometown Dist. 123 spokesman Ben Grey said. While students eased back into schoolwork and met with counselors, school administrators around Oak Lawn were reviewing building security, particularly external doors, to see if anything more could be done to prevent a possible shooter from entering their respective buildings. The horrific Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings that left 20 children and six adults dead also …

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