Flossmoor Cancels National Night Out 'Out Of Abundance Of Caution'

FLOSSMOOR, IL — Flossmoor's Tuesday, August 2 National Night Out event has been canceled "out of an abundance of caution," the Village announced Tuesday afternoon.

"The Village has made the difficult decision to cancel our 2022 National Night Out celebration," read an email alert from the Village. "Through various monitoring methods, we have been made aware of several conversations that have caused concern among law enforcement."

The Village went on to say it "places a high priority on providing safe, family-friendly events that bring us together as a community. While we understand this announcement may disappoint many residents who are excited to attend, we did not want to place our guests, especially our younger guests, in a stressful environment."

It's unclear if the conversations mentioned are linked to tensions surrounding the July 10 police shooting of 64-year-old Madeline Miller. Residents turned out to a subsequent Village Board meeting demanding an internal investigation into the shooting.

National Night Out events are part of a push to strengthen police and community relations. The nationwide event "promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer," according to the National Association of Town Watch, the organization that founded the annual early August event in 1984.

"It's an event to highlight and celebrate the staff who provide critical services to our Village residents," the notice read. "In place of this community celebration, please consider making a kind gesture or sending a nice note to the members of our police, fire, and public works departments."