Congressman Dan Lipinski (D-3rd) walked and handed out candy in the annual Lockport Canal Days Parade on Friday, June 16. (Chronicle Media)

Buffalo Grove

Police Dept. places first in Illinois Traffic Safety Challenge 

The Buffalo Grove Police Department recently was awarded first place in the 2016 Illinois Traffic Safety Challenge. The competition, an annual event coordinated by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, recognizes law enforcement agencies for their efforts in identifying and addressing traffic and highway safety issues in their communities. Agencies are judged against other agencies of similar size and type throughout the state. Agency applications for the award include efforts to address impaired driving, speed-related issues and seat belt/child safety seats. Departments are required to document policies, officer training, enforcement efforts and public education. The goal of the Illinois Traffic Safety Challenge is to save lives and reduce traffic-related injuries. The 2016 award marks the 15th consecutive year the Buffalo Grove Police Department has received recognition in the Illinois Traffic Safety Challenge. For more information, call (847) 459-2560 or visit www.vbg.org.

Schaumburg

Village hosting workshop on regional plan for alternative futures

The village is inviting the public to attend a workshop regarding the ON TO 2050 regional plan, an initiative that could shape the region for decades to come, from 6:30-8 p.m. June 22 at Schaumburg’s Prairie Center for the Arts, 201 Schaumburg Road. The event, co-hosted by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), will include information on the following alternative futures: changed climate, walkable communities, innovative transportation, constrained resources and transformed economy. Attendees will be encouraged to share feedback on how planning today can help shape the future of the region. CMAP will carefully consider all input while drafting the comprehensive regional plan prior to its adoption in October 2018. For more information, call (312) 454-0400 or visit www.cmap.illinois.gov.

Palatine

Village seeks nominations for Hometown Pride Awards 

The village is seeking nominations for the 2017 Hometown Pride Awards, designed to honor properties in Palatine that feature beautiful landscaping and exceptional curb appeal. Residents may nominate any property (including their own or a neighbor’s), subdivision entrance/cul-de-sac island, multi-family residence, business or “Doors of Palatine” (decorative front entrances of residential buildings that include plantings, pots and potted plant, statuaries, etc.). Nomination forms can be completed and submitted online (www.palatine.il.us) or printed and mailed to: Village of Palatine, Beautification Commission, Hometown Pride Award, 148 W. Illinois Ave., Palatine, Ill. 60067. One photograph (4-by-6 inches minimum size), taken within the last 30 days, must be included with nomination forms. Online submission of the nomination form with an attached digital photo will be accepted. Nomination forms are due by July 21. Judging will take place July 24, and all nominees will be notified of the results shortly thereafter. For more information, call (847) 358-7500 or visit www.palatine.il.us.

South Holland

Library to receive grant for new elevator

The village announced that the South Holland Public Library, 16250 Wausau Ave., will receive a $125,000 grant through the Illinois Secretary of State’s Live and Learn Construction Grant program, which assists public libraries with construction costs to improve facilities. The library will use the funds to install an ADA-compliant elevator. The library was built in 1971, pre-dating the Americans with Disabilities Act, and its current elevator will not accommodate anything larger than a standard wheelchair or stroller. Providing access to the lower level of the library (housing the South Holland Historical Society, the Youth Services Department, a teen area and a large meeting room where a majority of programming is held) for all patrons is the main goal of the initiative. The library hopes to have construction of a new elevator completed by the end of the year. For more information, call (708) 210-2900 or visit www.southholland.org.

Evanston

City offers Man Up! men’s health event

The city announced that the second annual Man Up! men’s health event will be held from 6-8:30 p.m. June 23 in the west parking lot (near the basketball courts) at James Park, located at Dodge Avenue and Mulford Street. The program — hosted by the City of Evanston’s Health and Human Services Department and the Recreation and Community Services Department — includes free health screenings from a variety of local providers (insurance not required), 3-on-3 basketball, soccer, tennis and pickle ball, and a meet-and-greet with members of the history-making 2016-17 Northwestern University men’s basketball team. The registration fee is $5, and includes an event T-shirt. For more information, call or text (847) 448-4311 or visit www.cityofevanston.org.

Willow Springs

Village earns 7th Safest Community in State ranking

The village reported that Willow Springs was recently ranked the 7th Safest Community in the State, according to a 2015-16 crime statistics report conducted by the National Council for Home Safety and Security, an organization comprised of companies and individuals in the home safety and security industries. Methods used to identify the safest cities in Illinois included the review of the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics, along with factors such as population and internal research. The study eliminated any cities that failed to submit a complete crime report to the FBI, as well as cities with population under 5,000. For more information, call (708) 467-3700 or visit www.willowsprings-il.gov.

Des Plaines

Oakton tech director Churchill earns Jeff Award

Oakton Community College, 1600 E. Golf Road, announced that Performing Arts Technical Director Anthony Churchill earned a Joseph Jefferson (Jeff) Award for production design at the 44th Annual Non-Equity Jeff Awards ceremony, held June 5. Churchill — a graduate of Oakton who also holds degrees from Northern Illinois University and the Academy of Art, in San Francisco — designed the set and projections for the Stage Left Theatre production of “The Body of an American,” which ran for two months at Theater Wit in Chicago. Churchill oversees the Oakton Performing Arts Center tech crew, which provides hand-on experience in carpentry, metal and plastics, scenic art, electric and automated lighting, state-of-the-art digital sound production, new media and special effects in a team environment throughout the school year — and often leads to professional work for the program’s alumni.     

–Cook County News Briefs–