Introduction
There has been some discussion lately around the UFO grapevine that MUFON may initiate a new investigation into the famous case of the 'Tinley Lights.'

The sightings of the Tinley Lights is not one case, but consists of at least four different sightings of unknown objects. According to Wikipedia, Tinley Park is a village located primarily in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Will County.


The population was 56,703 at the 2010 census. It is one of the fastest growing suburbs south of Chicago.

Chicago is best known in Ufology from the The O'Hare Airport Event occurring in 2006. Also see The Illinois Triangles.

Many Reports of the Lights

The mass sightings were reported to various UFO groups and websites, along with local newspapers, radio and television stations. In March, 2007, an article in the Chicago Sun Times appeared, growing the notoriety of the sightings. In May, 2008, NBC joined the parade, airing '10 Close Encounters Caught on Tape,' which included the Tinley Lights. Also in November, 2008, the History Channel included the events in a 'UFO Hunters' episode.

We are very much aware that UFOs can be seen anywhere, from a small country setting to a major city. One of the major aspects of the events in and near Tinley is that they were always multiple witness events, which of course seems to lend more credence to the sightings.

Personally, I don't regard a single witness sighting any less than I do a mass sighting, but the cases with more witnesses seem to gain more publicity.

The Sightings Begin

The story of the Tinley Lights began on August 21, 2004. They were seen again on October 31, 2004. Then another sighting occurred on the 1st day of October, 2005, and again on October 31, 2006. Some of the reports also came from Oak Forest, which along with Tinley, is a suburb of Chicago. It is very odd that two of the major sightings occurred on a Halloween, which of course, saw many parents out at night with their children Trick-or-Treating, and increasing the number of eyes on the skies.

"The Tinley Park sightings are among the well-documented cases that we have seen," Peter Davenport, director of the National UFO Reporting Center, said. "With (each event), you have multiple witnesses, multiple videotapes, eyewitness reports, and Federal Aviation Administration and law enforcement documentation."

Characteristics of the Lights

The vast majority of eyewitnesses claimed to have seen 3 lights in the sky. These lights, whatever they were, made no sound as they either sat motionless or slowly moved through the sky, which would eliminate the possibility of a man- made craft. The objects were also lighted within themselves, often being orange, red or white in color. Some witnesses reported a 'roundish' object,' others more of a 'spherical' shape.

Oddly, today these would be quickly dismissed as Chinese Lanterns, but there was no evidence of anyone reporting individuals launching these devices, and no one admitted to the same. Almost without exception, the objects appeared in threes, usually a triangle shape, and when one light moved, the three moved in unison.

This begs the question: Were there three lights moving together, or were the three lights part of one larger object, such as a triangle? Many of the present day sightings also spawn this same question. But one big difference in the Tinley reports is that the objects often were visible for as long as 30 minutes, much too long for a lantern. The longevity of the time in the sky helps rule out a man-made or man-launched object, especially with no reports of any sound being heard.

Explanations for the Lights

The objects in question also went through their motions at a low altitude, and at times could be seen as far as 10 miles from the observer. This, of course, was dependent on sky conditions. Another thing that helps to rule out conventional craft is the fact that none of the objects reported had any sign of the FAA-required navigational lights for night flight.

Just like the Phoenix Lights, some debunkers assigned the lights to flares... parachute-carried illuminations that were launched by the military, and slowly drifted to the ground, brought down by gravity. Exercises like this are often carried out by our military, but in this case, there were no reports of the objects making a slow descent to the ground, like a flare. They stayed up in the sky, and moved horizontally for the most part; away from witnesses' eyes.

Sometimes a whole block of residents would come outside to watch the lights, especially on the Halloween events. Many opinions were given; balloons, lanterns, remote-controlled helicopters, helicopters, military flares plus UFOs As a result of many watching the lights, a number of photographs and videos were taken. These normally showed a triangle formation of red, orange or white lights.

Rock Concert Begins Reports

One more thing that caused the events to be so publicized was that one of the sightings occurred after an Ozzie Osbourne concert. Occurring on August 21, 2004 at the 28,000 seat Tweeter Center, the concert let out and viewers filled the streets and parking lots.

The lights also made their appearance on this night. Some observers also reported military craft in the area, allegedly chasing or observing the unknown object (objects?). Some believed they were seeing a large, black triangle with lights at each corner. Others believed the lights were actually three separate UFOs. Some claimed to have seen the objects move independently of each other.

When the 'UFO Hunters' episode aired in November, 2008, a careful examination of video footage was done. The group used GPS locations of the lights, relative angles, and movement of the objects. They concluded that the objects were indeed part of one object, and that the triangle object was about 1,500 feet across. This would be an enormous craft. Estimates of the size of the Phoenix lights object were similar.

With the sightings being mostly in the Tinley Park area, reports also were logged as far south as Texas, and far north as British Columbia. Only a few days later, a similar object was caught on video in Australia. At this time, no definitive conclusion has been made as to what the enigmatic lights were.