Parental responsibility

TCF National Bank has filed a civil suit seeking to hold theparents of eight teenagers responsible in a $90,400 robbery of a TCFbranch in Naperville.

In this case, a supervisor at the branch, now in federal custody,allegedly enlisted teenage employees to take part in his robberyscheme. One of them already has pleaded guilty to misdemeanorembezzlement.

Less than half the money stolen has been recovered. "Under theparental responsibility act," TCF Senior Vice President David Creelsays, "we have an obligation to recover the money in any possible waythat we can." The civil suit also seeks lawyers' fees and $2,500from each of the parents whose children were involved in the robbery.The lawsuit has been described, even by Creel, as unusual. And itmay be. But why should it be? We do have parental responsibilitylaws. And - particularly in a time when parental responsibility isall too often absent and shunned - these laws ought to be asenforceable, and enforced, as any law.