ComEd and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus Award Grants to Advance Public Safety Initiatives in 25 Northern Illinois Communities

ComEd and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus have come together to award Powering Safe Communities grants to 25 Illinois municipalities – each receiving up to $10,000 to fund local public safety projects.

In the program’s third year, ComEd has increased both funding and the number of projects supported through their Powering Safe Communities Program.

“ComEd serves nearly 4 million customers throughout northern Illinois, and our dedication to these customers goes beyond providing energy to power their everyday lives. Keeping our communities safe is ComEd's number one priority, and therefore, we knew it was essential to expand the program this year in order to help communities maximize the impact of their public safety initiatives,” said Fidel Marquez, Senior Vice President of Governmental and External Affairs, ComEd.

These grants will provide additional resources to help each winning municipality improve the efficiency and delivery of public safety programs, increase community resiliency, and address unmet safety needs. The Metropolitan Planning Council reviewed all of the applications, and grants of up to $10,000 were offered to support the most innovative, impactful, and essential public safety projects.

“From purchasing lifejackets at a community pool to installing a new emergency tornado siren, all of the municipalities receiving grants through this program have proposed innovative ideas to help enhance safety for the people they serve. We commend them for championing this important effort,” said Marquez.

The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, a regional council of governments that fosters collaboration to improve the quality of life for communities in the region, will administer the Powering Safe Communities grants.

“Municipal governments throughout the area are constantly seeking resourceful ways to keep their communities safe. We applaud the tireless work of our public servants who are dedicated to assuring the safety and well-being of community members where they live and work,” said Jim Holland, Mayors Caucus Executive Board Chairman and Mayor of Frankfort. “Thanks to ComEd's generous partnership, over two-dozen municipalities will be able to address unmet safety concerns, thereby protecting both public servants and the residents they serve.”

Additional information on the Powering Safe Communities Program can be found here: http://mayorscaucus.org/initiatives/environment/psc/

The 25 Powering Safe Communities grant recipients for 2017 are:

Village of Ashton

The Village of Ashton’s grant will support the purchase of information display signs that will protect the lives of residents, guests, and those passing through the Village in emergency situations and during festivities.

Village of Beach Park

The Village of Beach Park’s grant will help support the purchase and installation of an outdoor early warning siren system. The funding received will be used for the research and bidding process, purchase of the controlling equipment and two sirens, and the installation of the sirens. The Village currently has no outdoor warning siren system.

Village of Brookfield Police Department

The Village of Brookfield Police Department’s grant will fund the purchase and installation of high-quality HD video cameras in selected locations throughout the Village. The cameras will enhance public safety efforts in the community, giving residents a sense of security and allowing law enforcement to follow-up on incidents that may jeopardize public safety.

Village of Buffalo Grove Police Department

The Village of Buffalo Grove Police Department’s grant will be used to fund the installation of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in patrol vehicles, increasing the chance of survival for those who experience cardiac arrest. The Police Department’s goal is to add one AED to their patrol fleet each year.

Village of Burr Ridge

The Village of Burr Ridge’s grant will fund the installation of two new flashing beacons adjacent to the existing Wolf Road pedestrian crossing. The crossing is located between Pleasantdale Middle School and the Walker Park Recreation Center. The beacons will be placed to provide increased pedestrian visibility and advanced warning to motorists that pedestrians will be entering the crosswalk.

DeKalb Park District

The DeKalb Park District’s grant will fund two public safety initiatives at Hopkins Pool. The first will purchase personal floatation devices (life jackets) that will be made available at no charge to pool users during open swim, as well as for educational programs during swim lessons. The second initiative will overhaul the public address system at the facility for making safety and evacuation announcements.

Village of Elmwood Park

The Village of Elmwood Park’s grant will fund the purchase of a radar speed/traffic collection device and LED traffic control signs to post around the neighborhood's parks and schools. The device and signs will keep drivers attentive of their speed as they enter areas populated with children.

Fox Lake Police Department

The Fox Lake Police Department’s grant will fund the purchase of three Aluminum Custom Ford Interceptor Mobile Command Centers that will be installed in the trunks of command cars and can be utilized as tactical operation centers during multijurisdictional police activities.

Village of Franklin Park Fire Department

The Village of Franklin Park Fire Department’s grant will fund the replacement of two Thermal Imaging Cameras (TICs). The TICs will allow the Fire Department to conduct faster searches in order to locate possible victims for rapid maximizing the survivability of those victims. In addition, the TICs can be a vital tool in the identification of live power lines located near fallen trees, especially during severe weather.

Village of Glencoe

The Village of Glencoe’s grant will fund the purchase of multiple solar powered, pole mounted vehicle activated message displays that will provide a cautionary reminder to drivers. The displays will be placed throughout the Village in areas with higher concentrations of traffic, with particular attention paid to park and school district facilities.

Village of Hawthorn Woods

The Village of Hawthorn Woods’ grant will support the purchase of Livescan Technology for the Hawthorn Woods Police Department. Livescan is an inkless, electronic means of capturing fingerprints in a digitalized format and then transmitting them to the Illinois State Police and/or the FBI. The technology will eliminate the Police Department’s use of costly, outdated, and less secure alternatives.

City of Highland Park

The City of Highland Park’s grant will support the purchase of 45 voice amplification units which will attach to respirators used by firefighters during atmospherically hazardous emergency responses. These units will replace existing voice amplification units which are failing, and they will allow the firefighters to communicate with one another, especially in emergency conditions with loud ambient noise.

Lake Forest Fire Department

The Lake Forest Fire Department’s grant will support the replacement and expansion of Thermal Imaging Cameras (TICs) for department operations. The acquisition of new TICs will allow the Fire Department to conduct faster searches in order to locate possible victims for rapid removal, maximizing the survivability of those victims. In addition, the TICs can be a vital tool in the identification of live power lines located near fallen trees, especially during severe weather.

Village of Lincolnshire

The Village of Lincolnshire’s grant will fund the purchase of four LED “School Speed Zone” signs and two LED school crossing signs.

Village of Lincolnwood

The Village of Lincolnwood’s grant will fund the purchase of two patrol bicycles so the Police Department can ensure safe passage for residents and visitors utilizing the bike paths that were constructed in late 2016. The grant will also fund the purchase of a panic button and automated external defibrillator (AED) to be placed inside of the vestibule in the public area of the Police Department. The device can be utilized by visitors during emergency situations when the building is not staffed.

Village of Lyons

The Village of Lyons’ grant will support the installation of four flashing LED pedestrian crossing signs at the intersections of Ogden Avenue/Shakespeare Avenue and Lawndale Avenue/42nd Street. These intersections receive heavy pedestrian traffic because of their proximity to the Cook County Forest Preserve Salt Creek Trail System and various public parks. These beacon signals will use pedestrian activation buttons to engage pedestrian traffic and keep drivers aware of hazard signs.

Village of McCullom Lake

The Village of McCullom Lake’s grant will support the purchase of a new emergency/tornado siren. The Village’s current siren was damaged beyond repair by a lightning storm in the spring of 2015.

Orland Park Police Department

The Orland Park Police Department’s grant will help fund the Village’s Residential Burglary Reduction Program through the acquisition and placement of ten surveillance cameras. The cameras will aid in the identification and apprehension of felonious offenders by allowing investigators to view encrypted video from reported burglaries in real time.

Palatine Police Department

The Palatine Police Department’s grant will fund the acquisition of electronic display message boards that will assist the Village in directing substantial pedestrian and vehicular traffic at over 30 major outdoor events throughout the year. The message boards will free police officers from informational posts, allowing them to be placed at more critical safety/security or busy traffic direction assignments.

Village of Richton Park Police Department

The Village of Richton Park Police Department’s grant will fund the purchase of Crime Fighter BEAST, a current day, user-friendly and widely accepted property/evidence inventory system. Crime Fighter BEAST will replace an outdated records system that makes the process of evidence collection and documentation complicated and time-consuming.

Village of South Chicago Heights

The Village of South Chicago Heights’ grant will support the purchase of a 12 Lead Cardiac Monitor, a life-saving cardiac monitor/defibrillator, for their Fire Department. The vital tool will be used in the Department’s Advanced Life Support ambulance to perform lifesaving procedures on patients in critical condition and send vital patient information to the transporting hospitals.

Village of Steger Police Department

The Village of Steger Police Department’s grant will support the purchase of a handheld thermal imaging camera. The Village is surrounded by Forest Preserve and heavily wooded land, making searching for victims and/or offenders difficult at night. The camera will enhance officers’ ability to serve and protect the community, as well as help officer safety-related issues.

Village of Summit

The Village of Summit’s grant will fund the purchase of lifesaving smoke and carbon monoxide detectors for seniors in the community. In addition to providing the aging population of Summit with the detectors, the Fire Department plans to train seniors on how to use them, thereby reducing accidental deaths and injuries.

Thornton Fire Department

The Thornton Fire Department’s grant will support the purchase of a Stryker Power Cot for one of their ambulances. The power cot uses a battery-powered hydraulic system that raises and lowers patients without paramedic assistance. The device virtually eliminates patient drops, greatly enhancing the safety of both patients and paramedics.

City of West Chicago

The City of West Chicago’s grant will help support the installation of a new outdoor warning siren in the area of Atlantic Drive and Illinois Route 64. There are currently seven warning sirens in the fifteen square miles of West Chicago, but none cover the proposed area.

About Metropolitan Mayors Caucus

The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus is a membership organization of the Chicago region’s 275 cities, towns and villages. Founded in 1997 by then Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and leading mayors from nine suburban municipal groups, the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus pushes past geographical boundaries and local interests to work on public policy issues. The caucus provides a forum for metropolitan Chicago’s chief elected officials to collaborate on common problems and work toward a common goal of improving the quality of life for the millions of people who call the region home. For more information visit http://mayorscaucus.org/

About ComEd

Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation's leading competitive energy provider, with approximately 10 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.9 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population. For more information visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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