South Cook News

The Tinley Park Village Board of Trustees recently heard from those opposed to their decision to change their annual July 4 festivities, when they agreed to stage a fireworks display and celebration July 3 at the 80th Avenue Metra Station instead of splitting the cost of the event at McCarthy Park with the Tinley Park-Park District.

That decision led the park district to cancel the McCarthy Park event rather than be left with the bill for duplicate events. Trustee Colleen Sullivan pointed out during the meeting, which was streamed on YouTube, that when the issue was raised, she believed the board was going to create a two-day event, much like the block party.

“At no point did I ever think that the consequences would be the park district canceling their event because of it, so I think we all need to work on communication with that, myself included,” she said during the session.

During the meeting, Deputy Chief Thomas Tilton noted that there have been a number of complaints from residents unhappy with the changes to the annual tradition, including the chance of location. He told trustees during the session that security was another reason for the change, allowing police to provide better protection, while being mindful of the July 4 holiday shooting in Highland Park last year and a threat made on the Tinley Park celebration that day.

“As far as the location, I get that people don’t like change,” Sullivan said. “But if it’s for the safety of the community, I respect [Tilton’s] expertise on that, and the events that unfolded last year, close to 50 people shot and 7 killed and five hours later, we’re having an event where someone threatens to shoot it up and someone was arrested and apprehended, so it was a legit threat. I am completely for the venue change.”

However, Trustee Diane Galante opposed the decision, questioning whether it was truly made out of safety. During the meeting, she questioned whether it would be safer at the train station and expressed concerns she’d heard from residents about changes made to public events since Tilton joined the department.

Several trustees came to Tilton’s defense during the meeting, and Trustee William Brennen, while admitting he was disappointed with the change in location for the fireworks, said he had faith in Tilton’s experience.

“There are no guarantees and we can’t expect that from our police department,” he said during the meeting. “Deputy Chief Tilton has brought a world of experience to our village. The man has protected two U.S. presidents. I fully would like to rely on his expertise on how to protect events.”

Clerk Nancy O’Connor also spoke out in favor of the change during the meeting, pointing out that last year’s issues created stress, though she felt protected by the police department and has faith in this decision.

“We live in a time that has changed dramatically, just in the last few years,” she said during the meeting. “As a board, we have to look at safety first.”