Palos Park Police Chief Joe Miller is hoping the village can pick up some grant money for bodycams. (Photo by Jeff Vorva)
Palos Park seeks grants to help pay for police body cameras
By Jeff Vorva
Per a mandatory law by the state, smaller communities’ police forces are required to equip their officers with body cameras starting Jan. 1.
Larger and mid-size towns have been using bodycams in recent years and now towns such as Palos Park are preparing for it.
The problem is that while it is state-mandated, the communities have to foot the bill for the equipment and data storage.
The Palos Park Village Council voted July 22 to award Miami-based Axon Enterprise Inc. a $44,882 deal for purchase, training and implementation of body cameras.
For now, village officials figure to foot the bill.
But Police Chief Joe Miller is hoping to get some state grants to defray some of the cost.
“There are a number of grants out there,” Miller said. “Those grants move forward once you actually actively buy the cameras and use them. They are basically grants that will reimburse you for a portion of your cost.”
Mayor Nicole Milovich-Walters is crossing her fingers that Palos Park can get some money back.
“This was an unfunded mandate from the state and [outgoing state representative] Mary Flowers said all of the towns and all of the villages in the state would be reimbursed for the cameras and the storage.
“We haven’t seen that as of yet. But hopefully these grants will offset at least a portion of it. This is a good thing to protect everyone. We just want to be able to keep that storage because that is the expensive part of this project.”
Police Commissioner Dan Polk said the law requires police forces to keep the video records for 90 days.
“You can imagine three officers on the street 24/7 times 90 days and that’s a hell of a lot of bytes,” Polk said.
State of the Village
Milovich-Walters will present a State of the Village Address via video, which will soon be available on the village’s website.
“I don’t believe there has ever been a State of the Village in Palos Park,” she said. “But in this past year, we have done a lot of work, and I would like to share those details with [the residents].
“I can be rather lengthy because there is a lot to share. Instead of taking time at a meeting, I’m going to do a separate video and you can watch it at your leisure.”
Local News
Pro soccer report: Red Stars clinch playoff spot; Fire names new coach
If the Red Stars had their choice, they would rather have beaten Gotham on Sept. 12 to secure a spot in the National Women’s Soccer League playoffs. Instead, the Red Stars suffered a 2-0 loss to the defending NWSL champions at SeatGeek Stadium, and 24 hours later clinched a spot in the playoffs when Washington…
Saquan Commings’ pick-six highlights Curie shutout of Mather
Slowly but surely, Curie is learning how to win again. The Condors were one of the Public League’s top football programs earlier this century, advancing to the IHSA playoffs 11 times from 2005-19 and winning 41 games between 2014-17. But before first-year coach Jarve Lewis-Bey arrived this fall, Curie had only four victories in the…
Universal hires Mustafa Sulaiman as boys basketball coach
Mustafa Sulaiman wasn’t looking for another job, but one came looking for him. Sulaiman is a familiar figure in Chicago-area prep basketball circles as the creator of the Xposure Runs podcast and the Chitown Showcase for uncommitted players trying to raise their recruiting profile. Now he’s also the head coach at Universal. Sulaiman was hired…
AJ Powell does it all for Evergreen Park in win vs. Reavis
Anything you can do, chances are AJ Powell can do better. The 5-foot-9, 150-pound senior demonstrated that in a 21-13 Week 7 win against Reavis in South Suburban Red action. Playing running back and cornerback, Powell rushed 11 times for 83 yards. On defense, he had 9.5 tackles and two interceptions. Powell also blocked an…
Jack’s back: Elliott leads Mount Carmel past Joliet Catholic
Welcome back, Jack. Senior quarterback Jack Elliott missed Mount Carmel’s loss to Brother Rice in Week 6 with an injury. But he was back in the Caravan lineup for Week 7 against Joliet Catholic in Chicago. How much of an impact did Elliott have in Mount Carmel’s 35-21 triumph over the Hilltoppers? A significant one.…
Argo loses to Eisenhower on touchdown in closing seconds
A 19-14 South Suburban Red road loss to Eisenhower in Week 7 gave Argo coach Phillip Rossberg a bad case of déjà vu. Two weeks earlier, the Argonauts traveled to Tinley Park for a South Suburban crossover and lost to the Titans by the same score in a similar fashion. In both games, a big…
Bridgeview firefighter’s haunted house returns to spook locals
Bridgeview firefighter Tony Roeback’s graveyard-themed haunted house display is back for locals and neighboring townies to enjoy this Halloween season. The go-to haunted house at 7216 W. 72nd St. is back, featuring popular animatronics from Halloween movie classics, unique light fixtures, projection shows, and live performances to get neighbors into the Halloween spirit. Ringleader Tony…
Vulcan pays McCook $1.5 million to settle dumping lawsuit
Charging a company $4 for each truckload of clean debris dumped into a former quarry may not sound like much, but when you do the math, as McCook Mayor Terrance Carr said last Monday night, those truckloads add up. “It’s nothing, but when you’ve got thousands of trucks and years of dumping, it can add…
Cheerio! Lyons bars can open at 7 a.m. Sunday for early Bears game
By mayoral decree, Bears fans can start drinking earlier Sunday at bars in Lyons. The Bears play Jacksonville in London and the kickoff will be at 8:30 a.m. Chicago time Sunday. Usually, Lyons bars can’t open until 10 a.m. on Sunday. But they will be allowed to open and start serving at 7 a.m. With…
Oak Lawn United Methodist Church to open Pumpkin Patch this weekend
Every year about now, the First United Methodist Church of Oak Lawn celebrates the season by trucking in thousands of orange gourds for its Pumpkin Patch. People look forward to the return of the Pumpkin Patch, which this year runs from October 13 to October 31 on the church grounds at 100th Street and Central…
Neighbors
Pro soccer report: Red Stars clinch playoff spot; Fire names new coach
If the Red Stars had their choice, they would rather have beaten Gotham on Sept. 12 to secure a spot in the National Women’s Soccer League playoffs. Instead, the Red Stars suffered a 2-0 loss to the defending NWSL champions at SeatGeek Stadium, and 24 hours later clinched a spot in the playoffs when Washington…
Saquan Commings’ pick-six highlights Curie shutout of Mather
Slowly but surely, Curie is learning how to win again. The Condors were one of the Public League’s top football programs earlier this century, advancing to the IHSA playoffs 11 times from 2005-19 and winning 41 games between 2014-17. But before first-year coach Jarve Lewis-Bey arrived this fall, Curie had only four victories in the…
Universal hires Mustafa Sulaiman as boys basketball coach
Mustafa Sulaiman wasn’t looking for another job, but one came looking for him. Sulaiman is a familiar figure in Chicago-area prep basketball circles as the creator of the Xposure Runs podcast and the Chitown Showcase for uncommitted players trying to raise their recruiting profile. Now he’s also the head coach at Universal. Sulaiman was hired…
AJ Powell does it all for Evergreen Park in win vs. Reavis
Anything you can do, chances are AJ Powell can do better. The 5-foot-9, 150-pound senior demonstrated that in a 21-13 Week 7 win against Reavis in South Suburban Red action. Playing running back and cornerback, Powell rushed 11 times for 83 yards. On defense, he had 9.5 tackles and two interceptions. Powell also blocked an…
Jack’s back: Elliott leads Mount Carmel past Joliet Catholic
Welcome back, Jack. Senior quarterback Jack Elliott missed Mount Carmel’s loss to Brother Rice in Week 6 with an injury. But he was back in the Caravan lineup for Week 7 against Joliet Catholic in Chicago. How much of an impact did Elliott have in Mount Carmel’s 35-21 triumph over the Hilltoppers? A significant one.…
Argo loses to Eisenhower on touchdown in closing seconds
A 19-14 South Suburban Red road loss to Eisenhower in Week 7 gave Argo coach Phillip Rossberg a bad case of déjà vu. Two weeks earlier, the Argonauts traveled to Tinley Park for a South Suburban crossover and lost to the Titans by the same score in a similar fashion. In both games, a big…
Bridgeview firefighter’s haunted house returns to spook locals
Bridgeview firefighter Tony Roeback’s graveyard-themed haunted house display is back for locals and neighboring townies to enjoy this Halloween season. The go-to haunted house at 7216 W. 72nd St. is back, featuring popular animatronics from Halloween movie classics, unique light fixtures, projection shows, and live performances to get neighbors into the Halloween spirit. Ringleader Tony…
Vulcan pays McCook $1.5 million to settle dumping lawsuit
Charging a company $4 for each truckload of clean debris dumped into a former quarry may not sound like much, but when you do the math, as McCook Mayor Terrance Carr said last Monday night, those truckloads add up. “It’s nothing, but when you’ve got thousands of trucks and years of dumping, it can add…
Cheerio! Lyons bars can open at 7 a.m. Sunday for early Bears game
By mayoral decree, Bears fans can start drinking earlier Sunday at bars in Lyons. The Bears play Jacksonville in London and the kickoff will be at 8:30 a.m. Chicago time Sunday. Usually, Lyons bars can’t open until 10 a.m. on Sunday. But they will be allowed to open and start serving at 7 a.m. With…
Oak Lawn United Methodist Church to open Pumpkin Patch this weekend
Every year about now, the First United Methodist Church of Oak Lawn celebrates the season by trucking in thousands of orange gourds for its Pumpkin Patch. People look forward to the return of the Pumpkin Patch, which this year runs from October 13 to October 31 on the church grounds at 100th Street and Central…
