BRIDGEVIEWS Volume 29, No. 1 Highlighting Community News & Events January 2021

VILLAGE OF BRIDGEVIEW Waste Hauler Switch Complete! MAYOR Steven M. Landek Trustee James Cecott is proud to BOARD OF TRUSTEES report that all Bridgeview residents have received the new trash and re- Norma Pinion James Cecott cycling containers. This was the first Patricia Higginson step towards great new changes in Mary Sutton waste hauling for Bridgeview. TRUSTEE CECOTT Michael Pticek Claudette Struzik VILLAGE CLERK As of January 1st over 6,000 cans have already been distributed. Any John Altar concerns raised by residents were VILLAGE CUSTOMER SERVICE HOURS handled by our top notch Commu- Mon: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. nity Service Crew whose goal is to Tue: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. deliver 100% customer satisfaction! Wed: 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Thu: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Fri: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Looking ahead, during the months of January and February you Sat: 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Sun: CLOSED will continue to follow your regular pickup schedule. A calendar of 7500 South Oketo Ave. service days for the next two months is included on pages 4 and 5. Bridgeview, IL 60455 (708) 594-2525 On MARCH 1ST, we can all throw away the calendars and just @VillageofBridgeviewIL www.Bridgeview-il.gov remember one thing;

PUBLIC WORKS BUILDING DEPT. & COMMUNITY SERVICES “Every Monday All Cans!” (708) 594-2525 FIRE AND POLICE Nice and easy! The new scavenger contract, approved by the Emergency: 911 Village Board, will provide weekly pickup of trash and recycling. SEATGEEK STADIUM That means recycling will be picked up 100% more often than the previous contract. Furthermore, for the first time in history, the Red Stars soccer, concerts, entire town will be picked up on a single day. Better service, new special events & cans, and one day pickup all means better service for us all. festivals! (708) 594-7200 (See pages 4 & 5 of this BV’s, for your January and February pick up calendar.) Page 2 January 2021 Bridgeview Welcomes New Fire Fighters!

Mayor Landek administered the oath of of- Furthermore, at the December board meet- fice to our newest recruits of the Bridgeview ing, Fire Committee Chairman Patt Higgin- Fire Department. Firefighter/Paramedics son made the motion to approve the hiring Meagen Washington and Justin Bobor stood of another firefighter to begin in January. proudly in front of fire engine 416 as they According to Trustee Higginson, the current repeated their oath to fulfill their sworn hirings are to replace firefighters who are obligation. retiring in addition to filling long vacant po- sitions. Both recruits were selected from a list de- veloped by the personnel board chaired by Mr. Gary Lewis. In order to make the list and be eligible for selection, recruits must pass written, oral, polygraph and psychological tests. Mayor Landek recommended these recruits and the Village board reviewed their qualifications before voting to approve their hiring. TRUSTEE HIGGINSON Personnel Chairman Lewis said, “the hiring procedures are strict and there is “Whether its police, fire, water, sewers, a lot of testing. Not everyone makes it trash pickup, and various other services, through all of the tests, but we want to safety for our residents is our top priority”, assure ourselves as residents that we concluded Trustee Higginson! are hiring the best available individuals.” Page 3 January 2021 SWEEPING IN THE NEW YEAR!

The Village Board made the decision to purchase a new sweeper, given our great re- cord of making each vehicle a good value. The board, through the state purchasing program, It’s time for our two old street sweepers to re- approved the acquisition of a new Elgin 3 wheel tire. That’s right, after 20 plus years they will sweeper. The made machine will cost soon be sweeping their last curbs! Despite the nearly $250,000. It is currently being assem- valiant efforts of Public Works Director Gary bled and when it is complete in March it will be Crossman and Head Mechanic Paul Kinney, delivered to it’s new home in Bridgeview. the old work horses just can’t take any more re- pairs. The public works department has done The new piece of equipment is loaded with a great job maximizing the value of each ma- with new and modern features that will greatly chine, so that today we can confidently say, improve the efficiency of street cleaning. the Bridgeview taxpayer received full value for these purchases made in the 1990’s!

into consideration the difficulties businesses, A BALANCED BUDGET residents and local governments are facing.” Mayor presented the village The budget also reflected paving for a half board with a balanced operational budget for mile of streets, the purchase of the new street 2021, with net operation spending held in line sweeper, roof repairs to the Village Hall and fire with 2020. A public hearing was held on the department remodeling. Of special note, Mayor budget and the village board passed it in time Landek pointed out, “The Chicago Fire training for the January 1st budget start date. facility, along with the buyout agreement, gen- erated a positive cash flow to continue to pay Pension, insurance and police costs in- down debt, without a tax increase. As predict- creased, but much of that increase is offset by ed it is a great deal for Bridgeview and gives spending adjustments in other departments. us the opportunity to continue reshaping the Mayor Landek said. “I think this budget is re- stadium business model.” flective of the current COVID times and takes Page 4 January 2021 Page 5 January 2021 Page 6 January 2021

BRIDGEVIEW COMMUNITY CENTER • 7902 S. OKETO • 708.924.8081 SERTOMA BINGO AT BRIDGEVIEW COMMUNITY CENTER!

Sertoma Speech and Hearing Center of- hearing, speech, and language disorders so fers Bingo every Tuesday morning at the they can Hear Well! Speak Well! Live Well! Bridgeview Community Center! Doors open at 8:00am and the first game begins at Stop in at the newly renovated Community 9:30am. All proceeds go to the Sertoma or- Center and get your BINGO game on! ganization to help further their mission: “to serve all who need us”. For more information Vist: www.sertomacenter.org/bingo/ They strive to provide superior assessment or Call: 708-599-9500 x 128. and treatment to ANYONE who experiences Page 7 January 2021 Village of Bridgeview 7500 South Oketo Avenue Bridgeview, IL 60455 Email: [email protected] Facebook.com/VillageofBridgeviewIL

BRIDGEVIEW COVID-19 UPDATE As of December 2020 the State of Illinois Currently the state is in Phase 1A which dis- has begun receiving and administering a tributes the vaccine to frontline healthcare limited supply of the COVID-19 Vaccine as workers and residents of long-term care fa- part of its four phase Vaccine Distribution cilities. The goal is to fortify the healthcare Plan. Through the efficient and effective dis- workforce and protect Illinois most vulnera- tribution of the vaccine Illinois can suppress ble residents. the spread of the virus, rebuild its economy and save lives. As Illinois moves forward, it To view the full vaccine distribution plan is critical that Illinoisans continue to follow and timeline please visit www.dph.illinois. public health mitigations currently in place gov/covid19/vaccination-plan. Remember, to curb the spread of the virus until vaccines wearing a mask, social distancing and good are ready for widespread distribution. hygiene are proven methods of reducing vi- rus transmission. Please continue to be safe!

Disclaimer: If you attend a local festival or Village function and the event is LIKE US ON FACEBOOK photographed, your image may be used for news and promotional purposes. @VillageofBridgeviewIL