Darien Direct Connect E-Newsletter: March 7, 2024

The following email provides timely information on news and services

from the City of Darien.

City of Darien Website

Weekly eNews - March 7, 2024

Mayor's Message

“Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the

things you never want to lose.” - From the Wonder Years

Loss is something we all experience in life; the loss of a parent, a friend, a sibling and maybe even a child. As we grow older, we often find ourselves saying “goodbye” to the many who have entered our lives. These are the individuals who touched our lives in a positive way, and we mourn their loss, because their presence in our lives brought so much happiness and love into our lives, and in effect left a “gaping hole” in our hearts.

Every year as I approach my birthday, I reflect back not only on the past year, I think about people and events in my life that have made me the person I am today. As I have said in previous writings, I believe we are all a composite of all of our past experiences. When I go through this reflective exercise there are many individuals, now gone, who come into to my mind, and I think about how they touched my life, no matter what small role they played in my life.

As I play this “memory movie” in my mind, there are many who played a significant role, such as my parents, while there are others who briefly touch my life, but left a lasting memory and a sense of loss. One young man always comes to mind, a student who I met my first year in teaching, when I worked in a high school program for “early school leavers”. His name was Pat, a very troubled young man, who came into our program with a big grudge on his shoulders. His attendance and academic achievement was spotty at best and he lacked any ambition for the future. During that year we spent together, we talked frequently, and while I saw some improvement in his attitude, nothing really changed until he met a young woman who came to love him, and encouraged him by coming to class with him every day. Her encouragement led to his academic success, and as we approached the end of the school year, he qualified for graduation with the knowledge that she would be part of his future. Unfortunately, one week prior to graduation, he was killed in a motorcycle accident, and I found myself mourning for a young man who lost his life, just when his future looked so bright. Pat’s loss taught me to not only look for the good in my students wherever they were in life, but to adopt the same belief in those who I would work with throughout my career as a parent, educator, elected official and friend.

There is a short essay I have kept in my office over the last fifty years, and there is a line that captures my thoughts when I reflect on my past and think about people such as Pat who have touched my life; “You find that you are made up of all the bits and pieces of all who have ever touched your life, and you are more because of it, and you would be less if they had not touched you.” May you appreciate all the “bits and pieces” of all those you have lost who have touched your lives, and who have touched your heart.

Daylight Savings - Spring Forward!

Daylight Savings begins on Sunday, March 10. Changing your clocks is also a good time to test your smoke alarms. Be sure to change replaceable batteries if needed. The National Fire Protection Association offers the following tips:

Smoke alarms with non-replaceable 10-year batteries are designed to remain effective for up to 10 years. If the alarm chirps, warning that the battery is low, replace the entire smoke alarm right away.
Smoke alarms with any other type of battery need a new battery at least once a year. If that alarm chirps, warning the battery is low, replace the battery right away.
When replacing a battery, follow manufacturer’s list of batteries on the back of the alarm or manufacturer’s instructions. Manufacturer’s instructions are specific to the batteries (brand and model) that must be used. The smoke alarm may not work properly if a different kind of battery is used.

Food Pantry Collection

In celebration of our 2024 Citizen of the Year, Valerie Kazich, items will be collected for a food drive at the Citizen of the Year event tomorrow evening. Items collected will be donated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel food pantry in Darien. Donations can also be dropped off at Darien City Hall through tomorrow (Friday). Find out what items the pantry is collecting here.

Police Department 2023 Annual Report

This week, Chief Thomas presented the Police Department’s 2023 Annual Report at the City Council meeting. Though the report is an extensive overview of the Police Department's efforts over the past year, here are some highlights:

Crime is Down: Please see page 3 of the report it explains the difference in reporting requirements, but the importance of the graph shows crime is down and continues to trend downwards. The graph shows data for 28 years.
Safety of the Driving Public (as measured by crashes): Please see page 5 of the report, it shows the frequency of crashes have decreased from prior years but has now have been consistent over the past couple of years.
Page 7 shows those areas of concern the public has brought to our attention and what the police did to resolve the matter.
Honor: Accomplishing safety and service goals (above) is extremely important—you’re safer when we meet our goals. However, those goals have to be earned within strong moral, ethical, and legal parameters. Pages 12 (recognition), 13 (discipline), and 14 (training) discuss how we hold ourselves accountable to a set of high moral, ethical, and legal requirements.
Return on Investment: An odd phrase for government, maybe, it is typically used in business indicating that we invested in personnel, pieces of equipment, etc. to allow officers to work safer, work more efficiently and effectively, help solve crimes, etc. When I say “we invested,” it means you invested. You should know how your tax dollars are used. The items 1, 2 & 3 above show the results of your investment. You can look at items that were purchased (either through tax dollars or Equitable Sharing Funds) on pages 17 & 18 to show how the investment was appropriate.

View the Police Department 2023 Annual Report

National K9 Veterans Day

Wednesday, March 13 is National K9 Veterans Day. Let's take a moment to remember and honor the service of American military and working dogs throughout history.

Indian Prairie Public Library Survey

IPPL needs your help planning for the future. Your opinion counts! Complete the Indian Prairie Public Library survey here by Friday, March 29. The library also invites you to attend a focus group session during the week of March 11. Sign up here. Participants will be entered to win a $100 Visa Gift Card. Winners will be notified the week of April 1.

Get Emergency Alerts from the

Darien Police Department

In our continuing effort to keep Darien residents informed, the Darien Police Department is introducing Emergency Notifications via text. Please visit our Direct Connect Signup page and provide your cell phone number to receive text notifications in case of an emergency. These texts will be sent at any time (day and night) when an incident within the City may impact the community (e.g. police activity, accidents where there are road closures, etc.). There is no cost to sign up for this service. The Police Department will continue to use X/Twitter for non-urgent notifications.

Election Signs

As a reminder, election and other temporary signs are not permitted on City property. The City does remove and dispose of signs on a daily basis. Many of these signs are placed on roadways and the road rights-of-way and violate city code section 4-3-8-S: EXEMPT SIGNS. Election signs on county roads, such as 75th Street, Plainfield Road, Cass Avenue and Lemont Road are regulated by DuPage County and not the City.

Economic Development Committee Meeting - Rescheduled

The Economic Development Committee meeting scheduled for March 7 has been rescheduled for March 14. Check the community calendar for future meeting information.

Be in the Know - Help Spread the Word

Darien’s Direct Connect E-Newsletter (DC) is the City’s primary source of information for residents and businesses. Please tell your friends and neighbors about DC, forward this email to them, and ask them to sign up. Signing up is simple and can be done here.