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Vandal destroys Hoffman Estates family's Christmas display

It was a gesture only a Scrooge could appreciate.

The Michaels family of Hoffman Estates received a rude awakening early Saturday morning.

As he was going to work at 3 a.m. Saturday, Jeff Michaels discovered that the Christmas lawn display, which the family lovingly tended for 24 years, had been destroyed by vandals.

“You could see the tire tracks; They just drove right up on the lawn,” his wife Joan Michaels said Sunday. “We just can't believe how close they got to the house. Somebody rode across my lawn and just ruined all my Christmas stuff. It's been a rough weekend.”

The family has put out a sign in front of the lawn in the 400 block of Mohave Street offering a reward for information about the offenders.

They also filed a police report and said they were told a detective will contact them to investigate.

The devastation included a manger, a Christmas train and a gingerbread house.

“Every year I would buy a piece, and my latest piece was my Snoopy inflatable, which I just loved, and they ran right over it.”

Not only did it ruin her Christmas, Michaels said, but it will also eat up the $1,000 deductible on the family's homeowner's insurance, she said.

“I just think it's really sad,” she said. “I know kids are kids and they ride on lawns, but to run over somebody's Christmas is really sad. There is no respect any more from kids.”

She estimated the damage at $1,500 to $2,000.

But, she added, “It's not the value, it's what you put into it for 24 years of marriage.”

Michaels said the damaged display will remain on the lawn the way it is, to serve as a reminder.

She added that the family will no longer be putting up displays in future years.

“Christmas is done. We're not doing it anymore, because it's just not worth it.”

  Jeff and Joan Michels of Hoffman Estates feel they have had their Christmas ruined by a vandal who drove a car over their lawn destroying their Christmas display at their home in the 400 block of Mohave Street. The display included a nativity and several inflatable decorations. The crime happened sometime between midnight and 4 a.m. Saturday morning, they said. The Michels’ are offering an reward in hope of catching the perpetrators. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
  Jeff and Joan Michels of Hoffman Estates feel they have had their Christmas ruined by a vandal who drove a car over their lawn destroying their Christmas display at their home in the 400 block of Mohave Street. The display included a nativity and several inflatable decorations. The crime happened sometime between midnight and 4 a.m. Saturday morning, they said. The Michels’ are offering an reward in hope of catching the perpetrators. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
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