An Illinois man has been arrested for acting out the Grinch’s shtick on Whiting City Hall’s Christmas decorations last Sunday afternoon.
Whiting Police arrested the man Thursday after officers identified him from video footage, Whiting Mayor Steve Spebar said Friday. The man, who Spebar didn’t identify, also has a warrant out of Illinois, he said.
Holiday decorations on the east side of Whiting’s City Hall were untouched when a lone vandal came through Sunday night. (Michelle L. Quinn/Post-Tribune)
Video footage of the incident from a City Hall camera showed a younger man in a knit beanie, black coat and khaki pants walking west on 119th Street around 4:50 pm December 14. He disappeared from view, then came back into view appearing to be fighting with light cords and a candy cane.
Spebar said the man broke one of the reindeer decorations, and though maintenance tried to piece it back together, it’s nonfunctioning. The damage will cost the city $300 to replace, he said.
“Someone has to be in a really bad state of mind to wreck Christmas decorations,” Spebar said.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
