'Would you feel safe working in a fast-food restaurant?'

Originally published Jan. 11, 1994

Linda Baylen, 38, Rolling Meadows, grocery store checker: "I would feel safe. It was an isolated incident, and it could have happened anywhere. I don't think I would be afraid to let my child - and my oldest son is 15 - work at a fast-food restaurant. If there had been a string of them, then I would worry."

Tim Felch, 18, Arlington Heights, student: "I would feel safe because the Palatine murders were a rarity. Also, there weren't many people there. Normally, there are a lot of people at a fast-food restaurant. I generally feel there is safety in numbers. I feel I would have a greater risk of dying in a car accident than being killed on the job."

Donna Madziarek, 37, Palatine, unemployed: "I don't think I would feel safe. I went on an interview a few weeks ago across the street from (the Brown's Chicken & Pasta restaurant). When I realized the Brown's Chicken was across the street, I was really petrified. When I was living in the city, I was thinking about applying at a Burger King restaurant, and this definitely changed my mind."

Arnold Schneider, 71, Barrington, retired: "I think they (the murders) were happenstance, and, therefore, I would not object to my children or grandchildren working in a fast-food restaurant. My children worked in them years ago, and I wouldn't object to it again."

Erich Elendt, 28, Streamwood, toolmaker: "Sure. Something like that doesn't happen that often. It's happening more across the country, but you have to look at how many fast food restaurants there are. Something like that, you can't prevent. If somebody wants to come in and rob you or shoot you, they are going to do it."

Rachel Berman, 21, Schaumburg, administrative assistant: "It was probably an isolated incident, but I still would prefer not to be working at one because of what's happening across the country. You never know what's going to happen. I do think about things like that happening. I think about it often - just how random these things are."