Dear Neighbors,
Like you, I have found the recent acts of violence in Hanover Park to be greatly disturbing and deeply troubling. Even though these are isolated incidents, our residents do not feel safe and the good name of our hometown has been tarnished. Together, we all can work to change this. Over the last two days, I have been in the neighborhoods where these acts have occurred along with Village Clerk Eira Corral and Trustees Rick Roberts, Ed Zimel, and Bill Cannon. The people have been supportive and appreciative of the work of our police force.
There is one key point that I want to emphasize about these incidents. That is that these are isolated, unrelated acts of violence, not acts of a madman or group of organized gangs. The value of Hanover Park is vested in its residents who work together, play together, and participate in our schools and youth in activities.
Sunday, June 7th, marked one month since the new Village Board of Trustees was sworn into office. A key part of our platform was public safety and giving the police department the support they needed. Since taking office, we have worked to take the first steps in fulfilling these goals.
First, as of June 5th, we have a new Acting-Village Manager, (former Police Chief) Ron Moser. There is no one who better understands the needs of our police department and no one who is better able to weigh the needs of police department against other village needs. He has the respect of the Department Heads and employees alike.
Second, we have removed several unneeded management positions from the Village administrative structure. This has created an opportunity for additional officers.
Third, we also applied for COPS Stimulus grant dollars to fund three new officers. We are hoping for grant approval, and I’ve been in touch with Congressman Roskam for assistance. His office has worked this weekend to validate our application and make sure we don’t lose the grant if we hire additional officers right now.
Fourth, as police staffing increases, we will be working to reestablish the Crime Prevention Unit within our police department. Over the past few years, I have been disappointed that our previous Village Board did not provide necessary staffing levels or funding. We will aspire to achieve greater relationships with the schools and residents via community outreach in our neighborhoods.
Fifth, now that we have achieved some staff reorganization within the Village, the Board will be revisiting our housing and our nuisance ordinances. I also believe we need more alternatives for youth to engage in community and educational activities. I speak to this issue whenever I have an opportunity to have an audience with parents in the schools.
Sixth, this Village Board will support my long-term concerns regarding HUD housing. While I support affordable housing, the action of the previous Village Board has ensured that Hanover Park has more than its fair share when compared to other communities in our region. We have initiated an Ordinance to inspect all rental residential last year at my persistence. This has been functioning for only a few months, and it is beginning to have an effect as owners are being held accountable.
Right now, we have suspended officer training, administrative positions held by sworn officers, and vacations to push more officers to the street patrols. The people will be served as efficiently and effectively as possible.
I understand that the residents of Hanover Park are nervous after this violence. It is entirely normal to be concerned over events like this in our hometown. This has been a challenging week for Hanover Park, but now, we must come together to take action. People have asked what they can do? I’m suggesting block leaders (you) organize Block Parties to meet their neighbors, invite the Fire Dept and the Police Dept, they will come and add to the fun. We have a check sheet to help in Village Hall. The Police Department is working extra hours, and the Village Board is working to give them the support they need. But, adding officers is only part of the solution. We need our residents to step forward and communicate to us. We are all reaching out to the people in our neighborhoods to open up lines of communication to ensure that public safety is our number one priority.
On Wednesday, June 10th at 6:30 we will have a town hall meeting at Laurel Hill Elementary School. We hope that you will take the opportunity to join us at this event to address these issues. Also, Trustee Carter is organizing a Domestic Violence Forum (more information will be shared on that in the near future).
Rod
