District 300 condemns students' racist video

The superintendent of Community Unit District 300 said he was "disappointed and frustrated" at seeing a video on social media showing several high school students chanting racist slurs.

The video was made more than four years ago and included students from Hampshire High School. It was posted Tuesday on Twitter and garnered more than 40,000 views by Wednesday.

"I speak for our entire school board and organization when I state emphatically that the behavior exhibited by these individuals is both appalling and disgraceful. In addition, this behavior is not reflective of our core values or beliefs," Superintendent Fred Heid said on Twitter.

"However, it is clear that we have work to do as an organization and community if we are going to truly address the issues of economic, cultural, racial, gender, and religious bias."

One of the students is the son, now 20 years old, of Elgin Police Deputy Chief Colin Fleury, who posted a statement Wednesday on the police department's Facebook page. His son also posted his own apology on a District 300 Facebook page.

Fleury said he watched the video for the first time Tuesday and "was literally sickened."

"More importantly, the video has caused pain to the minority communities who have been fighting so hard to get away from racism and to stop this racist nonsense," he said, adding this is "a profound learning moment" for his son and his family.

Police Chief Ana Lalley and City Manager Rick Kozal also made public statements condemning the video and stating their confidence in Fleury.