Robbins seethes after library’s air conditioner is gutted

By Ryan Haggerty, Chicago Tribune reporter July 12, 2012

The public library in south suburban Robbins stands next to an abandoned house and across the street from another boarded-up home, a cool, quiet oasis in a village beset by poverty and unemployment.

But the William Leonard Public Library wasn’t as cool as usual Wednesday. Sometime late last week, a vandal or vandals climbed onto the building’s roof, pried open a commercial air conditioner and stripped it of its interior metal parts, leaving the building without air conditioning.

The library — which doubles as a cooling center during the summer — is still open. But its director, Priscilla Coatney, said it might have to close if it gets any warmer outside. And she said the library simply can’t afford to pay for a new air conditioner.

Robbins seethes after library’s air conditioner is gutted