Wheaton City Council Highlights
Meeting: May 16, 2011
Parking Restrictions Modified on Wheaton and Jefferson Avenues
The Council voted 6-1 in favor of enacting certain parking restrictions on portions of Wheaton and Jefferson Avenues. The new restrictions establish a four-hour parking limit on the west side of Wheaton Avenue from Evergreen to Illinois and on the east side from Willow to Illinois and Union to Jefferson. The same four-hour limit will apply to Jefferson Avenue on both sides from Gary to Main Street. The change also establishes no parking on several segments of Wheaton Avenue.
Council Celebrates State Champion Windy City Warriors
The Wheaton City Council honored the Windy City Warriors wheelchair basketball team for winning the state championship for the sixth time and for placing eighth in the varsity national tournament. The team is comprised of players from around the western suburbs and is sponsored by the Western DuPage Special Recreation Association. In honor of the team’s accomplishments, Mayor Michael Gresk declared May 16 Windy City Warriors Wheelchair Basketball Team Day in Wheaton.
ALS Awareness Week Supports Efforts to Find Cure
Julie Sharpe, Executive Director of the Greater Chicago Chapter of the ALS Association accepted a proclamation making May 2, 2011 ALS Awareness Week in Wheaton. It aims to raise community awareness about Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, a deadly disease that affects motor neurons in a person’s brain and spinal cord. The Greater Chicago Chapter has contributed $6 million in the past four years to finding a cure for ALS. The proclamation encourages residents to support the chapter’s efforts.
Taste of Wheaton Returns This Summer
Wheaton will celebrate “Taste of Wheaton Days” June 2-5, 2011, as the Wheaton Park District, Wheaton Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Wheaton Association bring back the family-friendly festival to kick off summer. Dan Novak of the Wheaton Park District accepted a proclamation recognizing the Taste of Wheaton, which will include carnival rides, food vendors, a beer garden, children’s activities, a business expo, an arts and crafts fair and much more in Memorial Park and surrounding areas in downtown Wheaton.
Team Hope-Walk for a Cure is May 22
To raise awareness of Huntington’s Disease, a fatal genetic neurodegenerative disorder of the brain, Mayor Gresk presented a proclamation to Brian Sogge and Dave Dodgson of the Illinois Chapter of the Huntington’s Disease Society of America. The chapter is sponsoring its seventh annual Team Hope-Walk for a Cure on May 22 to raise funds for research to help find a treatment or cure for the disease. Mayor Gresk proclaimed May 22-28, 2011 Team Hope-Walk for a Cure Week in Wheaton.
Residents Encouraged to Bike to Work
The Environmental Improvement Commission encourages Wheaton residents to participate in Bike to Work Week June 13-17, as biking is an environmentally friendly form of transportation. In honor of the event and to recognize the importance of sharing streets and highways with bicyclists, Mayor Gresk presented commission members Ted Witte and Nancy Allured with a proclamation declaring June 13-17 Bike to Work Week in the City of Wheaton.
City Honors Good Citizen Award Winners
Each year, the Community Relations Commission honors residents who exemplify what it means to be a good citizen through volunteering, performing an extraordinary act or otherwise giving back to the community in an outstanding way. Sixteen residents received the Community Relations Commission’s award for 2011. In the student category, the winners are: Amanda Cady and Steven Alcantara, St. Francis High School; Kendall Ciesemier, Wheaton North High School; Grace Nelson, Benet Academy; and Erin Nihill, Wheaton Warrenville South High School. Winners in the adult category are: Jane Hawthorne, Alberta Adamson, Kimberly Thacker, Jeff Armstrong, Scott Rambo and Doug Feldman. Nancy Miner and Holly Higgins received the award in the volunteer category, and in the senior citizen category, the winners are Wendy and Jim Fanning, and Ray Radeke.
