Some residents think this branch has too much security and sends the wrong message. Any comments on the safety for the employees and customers or how this should be handled?

Personally, I'm a proponent of security vestibules. Admittedly, I don't think like a non-banker, but I think the message conveyed to customers is "We're here to serve you, and we're not going to let some nut with ill intentions keep us from that goal."

We installed a security vestibule in one branch in response to a rather troubling robbery. After the robbery, our customers were concerned for the safety of our staff, as well as themselves, and were very glad to see that we took steps to address their concerns.

And unless you're customer lines are too long to fit in your lobby, forcing one-at-a-time entry is simply a non-issue. And it's not difficult to accomodate adults accompanied by their children, physically handicapped customers, etc.

This sounds like ridiculous PC criticism to me. We can't admit that this branch is in a bad part of town and that additional security is needed - it might hurt the feelings of people in that part of town. Nevermind the actual physical safety of employees and customers.

While they're at it, why not ask the police not to patrol the neighborhood and drivers to leave their cars open?

I assume taking the sign down is part of a compromise. But some state requirements may be that to enforce the no-gun law you must have a sign posted. I don't know IL law.

Also, are these metal detectors set to a fairly high tolerance? I know at the airports I can't even go through with my watch on. If the thing went off every time I entered the bank and they had to tell me to step back and get wanded, I and the other (now frightened) customers would be upset. Setting it to detect objects with more mass seems logical.

While I don't want to discuss specifics of our settings on a public forum, suffice to say that we recognize that our needs are different than those of the airport. And conversations with my vendor lead me to believe that our approach is in line with the approach taken by other banks.