ComEd’s Powering Safe Communities program provides grants funding 24 local safety initiatives
CHICAGO–(ENEWSPF)–August 5, 2016 – ComEd and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus have awarded $170,000 in grants to fund projects in 24 municipalities to improve local public safety through ComEd’s Powering Safe Communities program.
In the program’s second year, ComEd has both increased funding and the number of projects it is able to support through their Powering Safe Communities Program.
“ComEd serves nearly 4 million customers in hundreds of Illinois communities and we know the extremely important role safety plays in our everyday lives – for us, it is our number one priority. Recognizing the increased need to help keep our communities safe, we knew it was essential to expand the program to help communities maximize their impact and resources,” said Fidel Marquez, senior vice president of Governmental and External Affairs, ComEd.
These grants will provide additional resources to help each winning municipality improve efficiency and the delivery of public safety programs, increase community resiliency, rollout public safety education programs and address unmet safety needs. Grants of up to $10,000 were offered to support the most innovative, impactful and essential public safety projects.
“Every day at ComEd, we work hard to ensure that we are doing our part to keep our communities safe and are excited to celebrate the neighborhoods that are committed to doing the same,” said Marquez. “Each and every community that was awarded this grant is focused on the safety of their residents and we commend them for their heroic efforts.”
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.
“Public safety is a paramount concern for municipal government. Public servants in law enforcement, fire, emergency medical services, emergency management, public works, traffic safety, and public health, work to assure the safety and well-being of residents round-the-clock,” said Jim Holland, Mayors Caucus Executive Board Chairman and Mayor of Frankfort. “ComEd’s generous partnership allows two-dozen communities to both address unmet needs and innovate to improve public safety for more than 700,000 residents served by these local governments.”
Additional information on the Powering Safe Communities program can be found here: http://mayorscaucus.org/initiatives/environment/psee-2/
The 24 Powering Safe Communities grant recipients for 2016 are:
City of Aurora
The City of Aurora’s grant will fund the new Neighborhood Group Support Program Team to educate and empower residents to take an active role in the safety of their neighborhoods. The grant also will fund purchase and distribution of 100 LED, solar-powered, motion-sensor lights to brighten up back yards and alleyways in low-income neighborhoods.
Village of Bartlett Police Department
The Village of Bartlett’s grant will fund the purchase and installation of six Tapco® School Speed Limit blinker signs on roadways surrounding Bartlett Elementary School and Eastview Middle School. These signs will help to slow down traffic in school zones, making walking and bicycling to school safer.
Village of Beecher
The Village of Beecher’s grant will fund the installation of a generator to provide back-up power for the Village’s Emergency Operations Center located in the Village Hall. This will allow emergency services to be offered without interruption in the event of a disaster.
Village of Burnham
The Village of Burnham’s grant will fund the purchase and installation of a clean-burning, fuel-efficient back-up generator for the Community Center. This will provide a heating and cooling facility for residents in times of natural disaster and other safety and health related emergencies – when residents’ personal utilities are not operable or are non-existent.
Channahon Park District
The Channahon Park District’s grant will go towards replacing 3 Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) and to purchase a matching training AED to enable the fastest response for sudden cardiac arrest emergencies at park district facilities.
City of Chicago Heights Police Department
The Chicago Heights Police Department’s grant will help purchase 2 Airstar 600W LED lighting systems to illuminate accidents and incident scenes to improve emergency response.
Chicago Ridge Emergency Management Agency
The grant to Chicago Ridges’ Emergency Management Agency (EMA) will help upgrade the emergency warning devices to notify residents, business occupants, malls, schools, etc. of impending danger to the area.
Village of Deer Park
The Village of Deer Park’s grant will allow for the installation of a backup power source for the emergency operations centers that will allow emergency services, as well as shelter, to be provided during disaster.
City of Des Plaines Police Department
The Des Plaines Police has recently created the “Rescue Task Force,” which reduces the amount of time it takes to provide immediate lifesaving aid to victims in emergency situations. The grant would be used to purchase a medical emergency bag to store in the trunk of every dedicated patrol car in the fleet, allowing police to administer aid to victims immediately.
Village of Downers Grove Fire Department
The Downers Grove Fire Department’s grant will help support the replacement of hydraulic rescue tools on its heavy rescue unit, used on important regional crossroads in the village. These tools are used to disentangle vehicle crash victims as well as perform functions in specialized rescue situations.
Village of Hanover Park Police Department
The Hanover Park Police Department grant will equip 10 marked police vehicles with automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) allowing officers to greatly improve survival for victims of sudden cardiac arrest throughout the village and along its important regional crossroads.
Village of Kildeer
The Village of Kildeer in cooperation with Ela Township and the Citizens Emergency Response Team will use their grant to purchase a portable light tower that will help protect the motoring public and personnel at traffic crash scenes, crime scenes as well as in vulnerable areas throughout the communities that experience power outages or other natural related disasters.
Village of Lemont Police Department
The Lemont Police Department’s grant will be used to purchase a Stalker SAM Radar Trailer and Traffic Statistics Software to reduce the number of speeding vehicles within the Village of Lemont.
Village of Lynwood Fire Department
The Lynwood Fire Department’s grant will help fund the purchase of a Thermal Imaging Camera (TIC) that enables fire fighters to see through smoke and other obstructions to locate victims and find the seat of a fire. It will also purchase a 600′ firefighting attack hose for use on the “first-out” and mutual aid engine
Mundelein Police DepartmentThe Mundelein Police Department’s grant will support The First Chance program, which collaborates with other law enforcement and public health agencies throughout seven communities in Lake County, IL (Mundelein, Gurnee, Lake Forest, Libertyville, Round Lake Beach, Round Lake Park, and Grayslake). The program will offer immediate assistance to those experiencing drug addictions by connecting them with treatment services.
Village of Northfield
The Village of Northfield’s grant will allow the installation of three outdoor mass notification sirens to warn residents and visitors in disaster situations.
Village of Oswego
The Oswego Police Department’s grant will allow for the purchase of two POWERMOON LED portable light towers and a gas power source to be used in numerous applications including nighttime crime scenes and accident reconstruction.
Village of Park Forest Police Department
The Park Forest Police Department’s grant will provide funding for 8 AEDs: one for each on-duty marked police vehicle, and 2 for important police facilities allowing rapid response to victims of sudden cardiac arrest. The initiative will also two officers to become certified AED trainers to further train all officers and civilian staff to use the devices.
Village of Schiller Park Fire Department
The Village of Schiller Park’s grant will greatly improve the learning experience of its fire prevention/response training program by purchasing and utilizing a Live-Fire Extinguisher Training System. Fire-extinguisher training will be offered to school personnel and to residents through community programs and events.
Village of South Barrington Police Department
The South Barrington Police Department’s grant will fund a handheld thermal night vision unit to assist in searching for missing and endangered children or adults and to identify and locate potential threats to the safety of those in the village.
Sublette Fire Protection District
The Sublette Fire Protection District’s grant will replace essential ladders, lights, and tools lost in this volunteer fire district’s heroic response to the F-2 tornado in 2015. The tools will equip its new, replacement fire engine.
Village of Westchester Fire Department
The Village of Westchester Fire Department’s grant will help purchase an E-Hydraulic extrication-cutting tool for its Heavy Rescue Squad vehicle that is used on serious vehicle accidents, in the village and its important crossroads. It will also support extensive staff training on the.
Village of Woodridge Police Department
The Village of Woodridge’s Police Department’s grant will purchase a second radar speed sign for the Speed Zone Enforcement Project. The project will simultaneously target multiple areas of town by enforcing speed limits and traffic laws in “hot spot” areas and school zones to increase motorist and pedestrian safety throughout the community.
City of Woodstock Police Department
The City of Woodstock grant will help purchase 32 Police Body Cameras to increase public safety by instilling trust and cooperation between the public and law enforcement in the county seat of McHenry County.
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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 3.8 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.
Source: http://mayorscaucus.org/