Racial graffiti mars Palatine park

As he does every week or two, Robert Elster made his way to the picnic pavilion at Margreth Riemer Reservoir in Palatine Friday.

But instead of a serene morning with his newspaper, he came across what he called one of the most repulsive sights of his life: racial epithets aimed at whites, blacks, Asians and Jews, drawn on and etched into the tables and benches.

"This is a disgusting hate crime," said Elster, of Hoffman Estates. "This is an attack on everyone."

Neither Palatine police nor the Palatine Park District, which operates the 91-acre park at Palatine and Quentin roads, had been aware of the vandalism when contacted Friday.

Police Cmdr. Al Stoeckel said officers have launched an investigation and were on their way to photograph the scene. Park district staff plans to clean the graffiti Saturday.

In addition to racial slurs, Elster said the drawings included a swastika measuring about 2-by-3 feet and a poem about killing Jews. He added that the word Asians was misspelled.

"These are clearly not intelligent people," he said.

It's not clear exactly when the vandalism occurred. The picnic area is not visible from the street or parking lot. Elster said the vandalism was not there when he last visited the park last week.

Stoeckel said no other racial epithets have been reported around the village.