Police body cameras could cost Buffalo Grove $300,000, chief says
Buffalo Grove Police Chief Steven Casstevens Paul Valade | Staff Photographer, 2019
Updated 5/4/2021 5:43 PM
Buffalo Grove Police Chief Steven Casstevens told the village board Monday that the body camera mandate in the state s criminal justice reform bill will cost the village at least $300,000.
Among its many provisions, the legislation requires every law enforcement agency in the state to equip its officers with body cameras. Buffalo Grove must have them for sworn officers by Jan. 1, 2025.
Casstevens said he strongly supports body cameras but called the law an unfunded mandate. Police agencies will be scrambling for money to pay for the cameras, with limited funds available through the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. The most the village could expect from the agency is $24,000, he added.
Buffalo Grove gears up for summer event adjustments Kids scream with glee on a ride at Buffalo Grove Days. The fate of this year s festival is uncertain. Daily Herald file photo/September 2010
Buffalo Grove officials are already planning for summer events.
But it s looking like Buffalo Grove Days might be drastically scaled down, even dead on arrival.
At Monday s committee of the whole, trustees pondered the options for summer events.
The Farmers Market is a shoe-in for this summer after a successful season, despite the pandemic.
The Fourth of July fireworks, which were canceled last year, could be returning.
Village Manager Dane Bragg said staff reached out to the park district about collaborating on a drive-in fireworks event utilizing the district s parking facilities, along with the municipal campus and, possibly, parking on Hamilton Partners office park property.
Buffalo Grove negotiating with new vendor after website crash
Updated 2/17/2021 11:49 AM
Buffalo Grove is negotiating with a new vendor after its website went missing in action more than a week ago.
At Tuesday s village board meeting, Evan Michel, assistant to the village manager, said the site was down from Feb. 4 through Feb. 9, for a total of more than 110 hours.
Michel said the current vendor, Intrado, suffered a catastrophic hardware failure, and the cloud backups were also affected.
Buffalo Grove was not the only Intrado client to lose service. Arlington Heights also suffered an outage during the same period.
Village Manager Dane Bragg said Intrado was issued a notice of default because it failed to restore service within 72 hours. The village will also pursue penalties, Bragg said.
Didech bill would allow Buffalo Grove shop to sell recreational pot State Rep. Dan Didech
Updated 2/4/2021 12:17 PM
State Rep. Daniel Didech has introduced a bill in Springfield that would close a loophole blocking Buffalo Grove s medical cannabis facility from selling recreational marijuana as well.
Sunnyside, 830 Milwaukee Ave., currently is limited to medical marijuana sales because of its move from 1623 Barclay Blvd. in the village to its current home. Under an interpretation of state law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker s office, medical dispensaries moving to a new location, even within the same village, lose the right to sell recreational marijuana and must obtain new state approval.
Buffalo Grove looking at ways to aid businesses reeling from COVID-19 But ideas so far are nothing in the bucket chicagotribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chicagotribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.