Illinois Police Crack Down on Homecoming Pranks

Homecoming season is bringing back some classic high school traditions in Illinois, but one recent prank in Plainfield took things to a whole new level.

women in white and red uniform dancing on stage during daytime — Photo by Rojan Maharjan on Unsplash

Illinois Homecoming Traditions

There are certain things about high school homecoming that never seem to change.

The football games. The school themed dress up days. The dance, trying to figure out what you're going to wear, and who you are going to go with. There's also the time-honored tradition of teenagers making questionable decisions in the middle of the night in the name of school pride.

Do you know what has changed, though? How some Illinois police departments are handling reports of "harmless" school pranks.

Plainfield, Illinois Police Make Big Homecoming Prank Seizure

Back when I was in high school, homecoming pranks were pretty simple. You stole some toilet paper from home, found your friend's house and turned a few trees into a winter wonderland of one-ply decorations. There was always that one kid who wanted to throw eggs into the mix too, but I was never a fan of that.

The goal was usually to have enough fun that your friend knew exactly who did it, but not so much fun that someone's parents called the police.

Police in Plainfield, Illinois recently found themselves dealing with a rather unusual homecoming-related problem: 650 rolls of toilet paper.

Yes, 650.

According to the Plainfield Police Department, the great toilet paper seizure came after officers "received double digit calls for service specific to juvenile related complaints between 7:15 PM and 9:15 PM in the PNHS "footprint".

Apparently, 20 to 25 teens wearing ski masks and hoods were throwing a whole lot more than toilet paper at people's houses. They were adding eggs, ketchup, laundry detergent pods and other messy things into the mix as well.

Evidently, homecoming pranks have gotten way more ambitious these days... And you don't have to be connected to the high school to fall victim to the pranks.

Zero Tolerance for Homecoming Pranks

Some people might think the Plainfield Police Department took the pranks far too seriously, but the department did warn students and families two days prior that they wouldn't be playing along.

I think most of us would agree that homecoming should create memories you'll laugh about years later, but those memories should never be made at someone else's expense.

Just stick to TPing your best friend's house with just three rolls of toilet paper, and leave all the other gross stuff at home.