Mayor Updates Residents On Services As Coronavirus Escalates

OAK LAWN, IL — In a video address, Mayor Sandra Bury updates residents on the coronavirus situation in Oak Lawn and the state of Illinois.

Takeaways:

• All parks and trails in Oak Lawn, per Gov. JB Pritzker. Residents are urged to stay home and practice social distancing. Oak Lawn police will be patrolling the village and dispersing people in parks (including walking your dog). Police are prepared to cite people who disobey officers’ orders to leave the parks, and are prepared to issue citations with fines up to $500.

• PPE, or personal protection equipment, such as gloves and face masks, shoe covers, etc. that protect against the transmission of germs. There is a collection receptacle in the lobby of Oak Lawn Village Hall, 9466 S. Raymond Ave., in the lobby on the west side of the building.

• If you haven’t done so already, register yourself, your family and your business at smart911.com, to receive emergency alerts from authorities while under quarantine. It only takes a minute to register.

• The mobile testing site at Advocate Christ Medical Center is on hold. Only the sickest people are being tested for coronavirus.

• The mayor participates twice a week in conference calls with Gov. Pritzker and other municipal leaders where they receive information about the state’s plans for helping communities and residents get through the coronavirus surge.

• Children in Oak Lawn have received 8,000 grab-and-go breakfasts and lunches while schools are closed. If you’re 18 or younger, you can get meals through Dist. 218 (Richards, Shepard, Eisenhower); Dist. 123 (OLHMS, Sward, Covington, Kolmar, Hannum and Hometown); and Dist. 229 Oak Lawn Community High School (for any child 18 and younger).

• There are three food pantries available to area residents at Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church; Pilgrim Faith United Church of Christ (Oak Lawn, Hometown, Burbank, Alsip, Chicago Ridge residents); and Oak Lawn Community Church now operating its pantry out of Bridgeview Community Center, 79th Street and Oketo Avenue. You can also visit the Greater Chicago Food Depository to find food near you.

Watch Mayor Bury’s video.