Current Information On Niles Village Operations During Coronavirus

Press release from the Village of Niles:

March 19, 2020

All Village facilities are closed to the public until further notice except for the Niles Police Department. The Police Department does request that the public limit in-person interaction and submit payments or police reports online when possible. Residents can rest assured that Fire, Police, water, and Public Works services are all continuing. Many Village services are still available to residents remotely. See information below.

NEW: Stay-At-Home Order

Governor Pritzker has issued a "Stay-at-Home" order, effective 3/21/2020 at 5pm. Information specific to the stay-at-home order can be found in the separate Stay-At-Home Executive Order news flash. The Village is also maintaining a COVID-19 information page for businesses.

Contact the Village

The Village is still providing many services to residents and businesses. Residents are encouraged to contact the Village online with any inquiries, and if they need assistance with services. The Village’s online Citizen Request Tracker has 47 categories of service requests. Residents can also call the usual Village phone numbers to contact staff or receive services. Not all services will be available, and response times may be slower. A list of detailed service information can be found below.

• Village Hall Administration and Finance (847) 588-8000
• Community Development (847) 588-8040
• Public Works (847) 588-7900
• Niles Senior Center (including Meals on Wheels and Lending Closet) (847) 588- 8420
• Niles Family Services (including Food Pantry and crisis team) (847) 588-8460

The Village strongly encourages residents and businesses to use online services as much as possible at www.vniles.com. Transactions such as utility bill payment can be completed through the Village’s website, via the Village Hall outdoor depository box, or by mail – Village of Niles, 1000 Civic Center Drive Niles, IL 60714.

Garbage Collection

Garbage collection by Groot will continue as usual. However loose items that are not in a bag or cart will NOT be accepted at this time. Textile recycling is suspended until further notice.

Niles Free Bus

The Niles Free Bus will use its weekend schedule, with no early morning runs, 7 days a week beginning Tuesday, March 24 (the first run will switch to a 9:33am start time for the 411 route, 9:43am for the 410 route and 9:30 for the 412 route).

Human Services

Feeling restless sitting at home? The Niles Senior Center has collected fun and engaging activities for all ages from around the web on their Virtual Entertainment page.

The Meals On Wheels program continues as usual at this time, although meals will now be left on doorsteps instead of handed over directly to reduce person-to-person contact. The Medical Lending Closet is available by appointment. Call (847) 588-8420.

The Niles Family Services food pantry and financial assistance program are available by appointment. Call (847) 588-8460.

A Message from Mayor Przybylo

Mayor Andrew Przybylo released a special statement to the public regarding the COVID-19 pandemic on March 18. Please view the Mayor’s video on YouTube, or read the text of the message in his letter to the community.

Emergency Declaration

The Village Board of Trustees has made an emergency declaration in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The declaration gives emergency powers to the Mayor, Board, and Village Manager to respond to emergency situations quickly without going through formal steps such as Board review at a public meeting. These powers can help with functions such as emergency purchases, and changing employment policies to ensure pay for employees, to allow employees to work remotely, etc. The March 17 online meeting packet contains the full emergency documents.

Administration/Community Development

The Village is still providing services to residents and businesses such as transfer stamps, available by appointment by calling 8040.

Village public meetings, including all Fiscal Year 2021 Budget Workshops, have been postponed until further notice.

The Village is no longer issuing permits for door-to-door commercial solicitation until further notice.

Niles Police Department

The Niles Police Department is suspending the following non-emergency services until further notice: fingerprinting, child safety seat inspections, disability parking placards, ride-alongs, station tours and department presentations. While the lobby of the Police Department is open, individuals are encouraged to pay citations or file police reports online, when possible, to avoid person-to-person contact.

Crime Free Housing classes are canceled until further notice.

Additional Information

The Village’s decisions are made based upon guidance from the CDC that recommends limiting in-person interactions to prevent exposure and spread of COVID-19. As always, the Village’s top priority is to promote the health and safety of its residents, customers, employees and community.

The Village of Niles reminds residents to practice common-sense hygiene such as washing hands and covering coughs as the best method of preventing the spread of infectious disease. Most importantly, individuals should stay home when feeling sick.

For the latest updates from the Village of Niles, residents should visit the Village website at www.vniles.com and sign up for emergency alerts and the e-newsletter at www.vniles.com/alert. For current, authoritative information on the novel Coronavirus, please visit the Center for Disease Control website at cdc.gov, or the Illinois Department of Health at dph.illinois.gov.

This press release was produced by the Village of Niles. The views expressed here are the author’s own.