The Chicago Cubs World Series championship trophy is scheduled to be on display from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Saturday at Naperville’s City Hall, 401 S. Eagle St.

COUNTY

Fines double for crossing under closed rail gates

Penalties have now doubled for people who try to cross railroad tracks after the grade crossing systems have activated.

In July 2016, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law an amendment to the Illinois Vehicle Code that increases fines for drivers who disregard activated railroad gates and warning lights from $250 to $500 for a first offense and from $500 to $1,000 for a second or subsequent offense. This amendment became law on Jan. 1.

Illinois, which ranked second in the nation in 2015 for highway-rail fatalities, will now have some of the strictest penalties in the nation for these types of vehicular offenses. Nearly 75 to 80 percent of vehicle/train collisions occur at crossings with active warning devices, including lights, gates and bells, according to Illinois Operation Lifesaver.

The legislation was initiated by Metra last spring as part of a larger initiative to help promote rail safety awareness and eliminate preventable injuries and deaths at highway-rail grade crossings.

Forest district offers chance to learn about coyotes

Learn about coyotes in Kane County on Saturday, Jan. 21, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Pingree Grove Forest Preserve in Hampshire.

The session features a guided tour and opportunity to search for coyote tracks, scat and other evidence of their activity. Along the trail, you’ll learn about the coyote behavior and their role in ecology.

And who knows, maybe you’ll even see one along the way.

Advance registration is required for this free, all-ages program. Call 630-444-3190 or e-mail programs@kaneforest.com to register.

Pingree Grove Forest Preserve is located at 14N187 U.S. Route 20, Hampshire.

For more information on Forest Preserve District nature programs, visit www.kaneforest.com

NAPERVILLE

World Series trophy coming to City Hall

The Chicago Cubs World Series trophy is  hitting the road this week starting with a Saturday stop at Naperville’s City Hall.

Fans will get a chance to view the trophy and take photos between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the municipal facility, 400 S Eagle St.

The hardware — won by the Cubs in November with a Game 7 World Series triumph over the Cleveland Indians — will also make separate stops in Freeport and Rockford on Sunday.

Appearances are also planned in Bloomington, Champaign, Elgin and the Quad Cities along with stops in Indiana and Iowa. It will also be on display during the annual Cubs Convention in Chicago from Jan. 13-15.

The World Series Trophy, also known as the Commissioner’s Trophy, was originally created by Major League Baseball in 1967. Each year, one full-sized trophy is constructed and presented to the winner of the World Series by the Baseball Commissioner.

More information on the trophy tour is available at http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/chc/fan_forum/trophy-tour/

ELGIN

ECC nominated again for Bellwether Award

Elgin Community College has been named a finalist for the third time in five years for the Bellwether Award by the Community College Futures Assembly.

The college is among 10 finalists for the 2017 award, which is judged competitively and is awarded by a panel of national experts in each category. ECC was the only Illinois community college selected as a finalist this year and was chosen out of more than 200 applicants.

ECC was nominated in the “Planning, Governance and Finance” category for its “Integrated Career and Academic Preparation System (ICAPS)-A Story of Success, Sustainability, and Scale.

Established in 1995, the Bellwether Award focuses on cutting-edge, trendsetting programs that other colleges might find worthy of replicating. ECC won the Bellwether Award in 2013 for its Alliance for College Readiness initiative. It was a finalist in 2014 for its financial education program.

ST. CHARLES

Special recycling event at branch court Jan. 14

If you get that new electronic gadget you asked for this holiday, you can ditch the old one at the electronics recycling event Jan. 14.

Bring in books, electronics, holiday lights and more to recycle at: Kane County Branch Court, 540 S. Randall in St. Charles, 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 14

If you can’t wait for Jan. 14, three sites will accept old TVs at drop-off locations, including: 517 E. Fabyan Parkway, Batavia, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.;  735 Martin Drive, South Elgin,  on the south side of the building, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.;  900 Angle Tarn, West Dundee, Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.

There is a $25 fee for TVs/Monitors with screens under 21 inches (measured diagonally) and a $35 fee for screens 21 inches and over.

GLEN ELLYN

Former Aurora official to oversee COD finances

Dr. Brian W. Caputo has been selected as the new Vice President of Administration and Treasurer (CFO) at College of DuPage, subject to Board of Trustees approval.

Caputo is currently the Chief Financial Officer/City Treasurer for the City of Aurora, a position he has held since 1998. Previously, he was the Director of Finance/Treasurer for the Village of Mount Prospect and Assistant Director of Finance for the Villages of LaGrange and Hoffman Estates. He also worked as an auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Chicago.

He’ll begin new duties on March 13.

Maputo holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy, a Master of Science in Accountancy from DePaul University, and a Master of Public Administration from Northern Illinois University.

He also earned a Ph.D. from NIU with public administration, public policy, and government finance as fields of study. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Public Finance Officer, and he currently is an adjunct professor of public finance at NIU.

Caputo is a past president of the Illinois Government Finance Officers Association and a past chair of the IGFOA’s Technical Accounting Review Committee. In 2015, he became a member of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB).

In 2004, Caputo retired from the United States Army Reserve as a lieutenant colonel after more than 22 years of active and reserve military service, during which he specialized in financial and human resources management.

–Kane County News Briefs–