Crystal Lake High School District 155 officials must be please with the pat on the back they received from the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board in a piece entitled,

School and police officials made the right call at the time. They protected the safety of the many, and, given time, carefully assessed the risk posed by Lee.

The Tribune has this advice for students:

…here’s something for all students to know: Words have power. Use them responsibly. We’re not talking about censorship here. We’re talking about common sense. Expressing thoughts on paper, even for a class assignment, can carry consequences.

Students can’t count on threatening essays or behavior being dismissed as harmless juvenile ranting worthy only of a trip to detention. Those who threaten violence may find themselves in front of a judge, trying to explain what they really meant.

Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper, on the other hand, headlined his column Thursday:
What exactly
did teen write
that was illegal?
Prosecutor insists arrest was
merited—but drops charges

The headline and sub-headline pretty much explain Roeper’s conclusion that the “charges clearly WEREN’T warranted.”