Erica Graham confessed in a handwritten statement to starting the fire with matches, saying she was angry that a librarian would not let her sleep in the library or allow her and her boyfriend to use the same computer at the same time, according to the June 23 Chicago Tribune. “It was an act of revenge,” said Bomb and Arson Detective Kevin Flanigan in the June 22 Tribune.
The fire damaged 90 books in the library’s gay and lesbian collection, which had led to speculation that the arson was a hate crime. Ten books from the branch’s African-American history collection were also damaged. The paper reported that Graham had chosen that range of shelving because it was out of view of library staff.
Graham was charged June 21 with aggravated arson. Bond was set at $75,000.
Posted June 23, 2006.