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6 Crestwood Adviser <strong>October</strong> 2020 Number 523 Preserving Our Heritage: Anthony Marino By Ken McClory To access the Wi-Fi, Moraine Valley students will log on using their college A part of the Tinley Park American Legion Post 615 and its Preserving Our Heritage Initiative, the following feature highlights the journey of another of our revered World War II Veterans. It describes the stories and revelations of valor and sacrifice as told by 96-year-old Anthony Marino. It includes the kind of stuff you won’t read about in school history books. Anthony Marino attended Manley High School on the West Side of Chicago. After completing his junior year, the 17-year-old enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard, which, until World War II was part of the U.S. Treasury Department. He was sent to the Coast Guard bootcamp located in Battle Creek, Mich., being drilled in seamanship. Marino was assigned to the U.S.S. Sellstrom, a destroyer escort ship serving the U.S. Navy during the North Atlantic operation. Its main mission was to provide destroyer escort protection to repel enemy submarine and air attacks for Naval vessels and merchant ships. The merchant and troop ships carried precious cargo of war materials, supplies, equipment and weaponry direly needed to fight the war on all the combat fronts. As Marino explained, harm’s way was always just around the bend, with never a dull moment. Marino navigated the Atlantic on Coast Guard missions to include England, Ireland, North Africa, France, Italy, Corsica, the Mediterranean and Caribbean Islands, along with close surveillance along America’s Eastern shorelines. Educate, Advocate, Empower: A Home Rule Overview Since Mayor Presta and the Village Trustees decided to put Home Rule on the ballot this year, there have been strong opinions on both sides about how it will affect residents. It is extremely important to the Mayor that residents understand exactly what Home Rule is and what it means to residents. “I want residents to be able to make educated decisions, to be fully informed on the reason for our decision to put this back on the referendum,” Mayor Presta stated. What is Home Rule? The purpose of Home Rule is to allow for local solutions to local issues and problems. The terms of this authority are broad, and the powers of Home Rule municipalities are construed liberally. A municipality with Home Rule status can exercise any power and perform any function unless it is specifically prohibited from doing so by state law. Article VII, Section 6(a) of the Illinois Constitution of 1970 provides that “except as limited by this Section, a Home Rule unit may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs including, but not limited to, the power to regulate for the protection of public health, safety, morals and welfare; to license; to tax; and to incur debt.” In contrast, a non-Home Rule municipality may only exercise powers for which express authority is provided by state law. This means that non-Home Rule communities are dependent on obtaining grants of authority from the General Assembly and Governor. What are the Benefits of Home Rule? Home Rule municipalities are autonomous and free to exercise governing authority independent of the The Battle of the Atlantic campaign started with the War in Europe in 1939 and would end with VE Day and the surrender of Germany in 1945. It has been called the longest, largest and most complex naval battle in U.S. history. Overall, the Coast Guard rescued nearly 1,000 Allied and Axis survivors along the North Atlantic convoy routes, and another 1,600 along America’s coast. It was dangerous duty — more than 240,000 Coast Guard members served in World War II, and more than 2,000 of its seamen lost their lives. Marino recollects during convoys to Gibraltar, Casablanca, Morocco and Tunisia, the Sellstrom was attacked by German submarines and aircraft bombers. April 1st, 1944, as the enemy mounted a heavy offensive hunting down the convoy, “Allied anti-aircraft fire and another destroyer came with much-needed support, sinking the German submarine,” Marino recalls, adding that the Sellstrom’s crew was “ticked off,” because “after risking our lives, we didn’t even get credit for the kill.” Marino participated in one more operation, “The Greenland Patrol,” in April of 1945, taking part in convoy duty, search-and-rescue missions, and defending against German infiltration. Semper Paratus — “Always Ready” — is the Coast Guard motto, and Fireman 1st Class Marino displayed it well during World War II. “All recruits went through bootcamp, were schooled on seamanship, and learned to be team players, and to think less of ourselves and more about being part General Assembly and Governor in most cases. They have much greater flexibility over local finances, as well as exercising authority over building, zoning, sanitation, nuisance abatement, civil disturbance and certain criminal offenses (such as defining and providing punishment for some misdemeanor offenses). Other benefits include less dependency on the state government, greater opportunities for local self-governance and options to implement revenue policies that lessen reliance on property taxes. How is Home Rule Status Achieved? Home Rule status can be achieved in one of two ways: (1) a municipality automatically achieves Home Rule status when its population exceeds 25,000 residents. If the municipality’s population drops below this threshold, it continues to be Home Rule, but the clerk is required to certify the question of Home Rule for submission to the voters at the next general election; and (2) communities with fewer than 25,001 residents can become Home Rule by passing a local referendum. Currently there are more than 210 Home Rule communities in Illinois. One of the opposition points? That giving the Village the same authority as a larger municipality will let officials use almost absolute power to spend, tax and to incur debt. An important fact about the financial status of the Village of Crestwood is that history proves that year after year, the Village remains underbudget and with a surplus of a million dollars or more. This is something that the Mayor Presta strives for and takes great pride in, and that will NOT change! In addition, the Village has given back more than $62,000,000.00 of property taxes since 1994. Our intention is to continue that, and to increase percentages when feasible. A good example of commitment that the Village of a close, well-trained unit,” Marino said. “We were all 18-19 years old, wanting to prove we were men, and part of the finest fighting force in World War II.” He was discharged April 3rd, 1946, and was awarded the American Campaign, European- African-Middle East Campaign, and the World War II Victory medals. Fireman 1st Class Tony Marino and the U.S.S. Sellstrom were awarded one Battle Star for meritorious participation in battle. Tony and his wife, Mary, recently celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary. Ken McClory is a Tinley Park American Legion Post 615 member who authored the feature and is currently taking the lead in his Post’s “Preserving Our Heritage” initiative. has not to pass on liability or responsibility to the residents for cost of major projects is the Playfield Water, Sewer and Sanitary Storm Sewer project. This $23 million project is being completed without putting liability on residents. A program was established to pay for the project through grants, forgiveness and various other ways that prove that the Village is fiscally conscious of its spending so that residents are not burdened with extra taxes. Becoming a Home Rule Village will allow us to increase income in ways that, currently, have us losing money to the state! We need to keep as much income localized as possible. A Home Rule Tax Committee will be put in place by ordinance to oversee any new tax that is not authorized under Illinois Municipal Code. This committee will have the power to stop tax increases because the board would have to use a referendum to pass any non-Illinois municipal code, so the residents will have control of the property tax. This is just the beginning of conversations about this. Mayor Presta and the Village Board plan to hold a community information night to provide additional information. Please stay tuned for future dates and details. As always, please feel free to reach out to Mayor Presta or Village Services Director Bill Graffeo for information. We will be providing information on our website in the near future about this topic. Elected officials are your friends, your neighbors — people you see at the River Crest Mall. Trustees, the mayor and many Village staff members, who are residents as well, would be impacted by any changes they make in the same way that other residents are. This is the Village they call home, and in which they are raising their families. Together, let’s continue to keep Crestwood on the move in a positive, prosperous and safe direction.
<strong>October</strong> 2020 Number 523 Crestwood Adviser 7 Applications Available for Second Round of Child Care, Early Childhood Provider Grants SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) recently announced that more than $156 million in BIG funding has been provided to 4,686 child care providers across Illinois facing challenges as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The first round of funding helped child care centers and homes in 95 counties across the state. Forty-seven percent of the grant funds were awarded to child care programs located in areas that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Now, an additional $114 million in grants are available for child care providers across the state through the Business Interruption Grants (BIG) program, the second round of funding dedicated to supporting child-care centers and homes. Grantees eligible for funding include childcare centers and family childcare homes that are licensed by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and are currently open and serving children in their communities. IDHS is partnering with the Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (INCCRRA) to distribute the grants. Applications are available online at https://www. ilgateways.com/financial-opportunities/restoration-grants. Crestwood FD and NFPA Remind You to “Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen” for Fire Prevention Week 2020 The Crestwood Fire Department has once again teamed up with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the official sponsor of Fire Prevention Week for more than 95 years, to announce “Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen” as the theme for Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 4-10, 2020. This year’s focus on cooking fire safety comes in response to home cooking fires representing the leading cause of U.S. home fires, with 49 percent of all home fires involving cooking equipment. Unattended cooking is the leading cause of these fires. “Cooking continues to be a major contributor to the home fire problem,” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA vice president of Outreach and Advocacy. “The good news is that the vast majority of these fires are highly preventable. This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign works to better educate the public about where potential cooking hazards exist, and basic but critical ways to prevent them.” Carli notes that this year’s focus on cooking safety is particularly timely. “As the public may continue to avoid restaurants for some time and opt instead to do more cooking and entertaining at home, the potential for home cooking fires will likely increase as well.” Key messages that are part of this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, “Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen” include the following: • Keep a close eye on what you’re cooking; never leave cooking unattended • Keep anything that can catch fire — oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels or curtains — at least three feet away from your stovetop. • Be on alert. If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol, don’t use the stove or stovetop. For more information about Fire Prevention Week and this year’s theme, “Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen,” along with a wealth of resources to help promote the campaign locally, visit fpw.org. “Under the leadership of Governor Pritzker, Illinois has acted swiftly to provide businesses across the state with supports needed to offset their losses, prepare for a safe reopening and put our state economy back on track,” said Erin Guthrie, Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). “These latest BIG grants for childcare providers are crucial as Illinois works to reopen our state safely, and bring more of our residents back to work. Working in partnership with IDHS and businesses across the state, we will continue to leverage the equity framework provided through these programs to ensure that businesses from every community across our state have a shot at emergency relief dollars that will help them make ends meet.” In addition to BIG funding, the administration is utilizing federal relief dollars to support early childhood programs. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) dedicated $10 million of Governor Pritzker’s Emergency Education Relief Fund to early childhood education providers. The funding includes $9 million for Early Childhood Block Grant programs in Illinois communities that have been most heavily impacted by the pandemic. Programs can use the additional resources to supply parents and families with hands-on home learning materials, purchase technology to support remote learning, purchase personal protective equipment, provide staff members with stipends to work beyond contractual hours, and support the implementation of remote home visiting services. “Every educator will tell you that these early years are profoundly important to long-term outcomes for our children,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carmen I. Ayala. “These dollars represent an investment not only in the families of our essential workers, but also in the healthy future of our communities.” In accordance with the latest guidelines from the Illinois Department of Public Health, all childcare programs must operate at approximately 30 percent reduced capacity in Phases 3 and 4 of Governor Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan to allow for social distancing. Governor Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly directed a minimum of $270 million of the state’s Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency (CURE) fund to support the economic health of child care providers as the Illinois economy begins to safely reopen.
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Page 15 and 16: Fun & Entertainment *Sudoku October

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