Warren student apologizes for racial remarks

A Warren Township High School student arrested last month and accused of making racially charged comments about blacks is asking for forgiveness.

With his parents at his side, Curtis Hiett attended Tuesday's school board meeting and apologized to the school, community, the two girls he offended and his parents.

Carolyn Waller, spokeswoman for Warren Township High School District 121, said Hiett admitted he made a mistake and said he regrets everything that happened.

"I want to try to heal the damage that has been done, and I ask for forgiveness," Waller quoted Hiett saying.

Attempts to reach Hiett on Wednesday were unsuccessful. His mother, Mary Hiett, said the family's attorney has advised them not to comment on the situation.

Hiett, 17, was arrested at his Gurnee home Sept. 27 and charged with disorderly conduct after making racially charged comments, police said.

Police say Hiett also drove to the Almond Road upperclassman campus with a noose hanging from his rear-view mirror and a Confederate flag displayed inside the vehicle.

The disorderly conduct charge is a misdemeanor. Waller couldn't say if Hiett has been suspended or expelled from school, but said he hasn't been on campus since the incident.

Greg Garner and Marvin Bembry, both black, also addressed the school board Tuesday. They said they want to heal any damage that has been done and see students learn from the experience.

Garner, a Gurnee village trustee, said he knows the Hiett family and knows they are distraught over this.

"This is not a family that manufactures that kind of hate in their home," Garner said. "Curtis did what he did; he can't take it back. What we do now is what makes all the difference."

Bembry, whose daughter is a sophomore at the high school, said he was very impressed by Hiett's sincerity Tuesday.

"He was physically moved as he was talking," Bembry said. "His voice was shaking, and when I did catch a glimpse of him, it looked like his eyes might have been a bit moist. He gave what I felt was a very appropriate, heartfelt apology for the harm he caused at Warren."