West Cook News

Chicago’s Morning Answer radio host Dan Proft said the culture of Oak Park and River Forest High School has led to outbreaks of uncontrolled violence.

“And so how is that going? Well, it’s not just what your kids see on Tik-tok. It’s become so pronounced at Oak Park River Forest, the violence that even a local Chicago affiliate, CBS affiliate (covered it)," said Dan Proft, radio host of Chicago's Morning Answer.

“They were way ahead of the learning curve when it came to new segregation, congratulations,” Proft said. CBS reported OPRF has not responded to requests for comment. “I don’t care. The most important thing is their ideology,” Proft said. “And they’re not acting consistent with who they say they are. Act in accordance with your thinking. Get rid of the security guards and then security guards won’t be injured. That’s my understanding of the philosophy. So practice it. Right. And all those OPRF parents, similarly enlightened, would applaud it, wouldn’t you? The wonderful school board members there, the village elders in River Forest and Oak Park. Strap on your Birkenstocks and live your values. By the way, in response to these fights at OPRF. Well, the wall of silence goes up.”

A female security guard has filed a police report after she was injured trying to break up a fight that was going on between students at Oak Park and River Forest High School, CBS Chicago reports. The guard suffered injuries to her arm and head. This fight occurred just a week after the last fight in which a male security guard was injured as well. The school is dealing with ongoing violence as well as other issues, such as racism. Last year, on May 3, a student brought a gun to school and just a few days later, racist graffiti was found in the school bathroom, according to CBS Chicago.

According to Illinois Report Card, Oak Park & River Forest High School has been slipping in comparison to peers nationwide. Of OPRF sophomores who took the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) 38% failed, according to the Illinois State Board of Education. Black students had an OPRF failure rate of 77%, Hispanic students of 49%, Asian students of 27% and white students of 25%. According to Illinois Report Card, 57.6% of juniors were meeting or exceeding the performance level in ELA last year, compared to 65.6% in 2019 and 51.4% were meeting or exceeding the performance level in math last year, compared to 58.5% in 2019.

The Oak Park River Forest School Board is being criticized for not doing enough to stop school violence by retired former Riverside police chief Thomas Weitzel. A fight at the school in November 2022 resulted in a lockdown, reported West Cook News. “This is exactly what OPRF & the school board wanted - no police, no criminal charges just detention, & an atmosphere of everything is okay - and it’s not. Sweep it under the rug -What is being done to stop fights at Oak Park and River Forest High School?” Weitzel said on Twitter, according to West Cook News.