Thursday, March 28, 2024

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Video: A message from Lansing Mayor Patty Eidam

This video is a slightly updated version of the statement released by Mayor Eidam yesterday, the text of which appears below.

Dear Village of Lansing Residents and Members of Our Community:

As you know, events surrounding the outbreak of COVID-19 have been changing rapidly over the past several days. As such, I plan to be in regular communication with our community in order to pass along information that is coming to us from both the national and state levels, and also to keep you informed of what we are doing here in the Village of Lansing as your local government.

I am in daily communication with national, state, and local leaders, and I spent the afternoon yesterday and today listening to the press conferences held by Illinois Governor Pritzker and the White House. I want to pass along important information to you from those calls and press conferences. The health and safety of all our residents is of the utmost importance during this pandemic. Based on both federal and state government mandates, as well as recommended guidelines from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the Village will be implementing the policies and procedures below:

LANSING MUNICIPAL CENTER & GENERAL OPERATIONS

Beginning on Tuesday, March 17th, the Lansing Municipal Center Village Hall will be closed to the public through the end of March. For residents who need to pay water/utility bills, they can mail the payment to the Village of Lansing at 3141 Ridge Road, pay online by visiting villageoflansing.org, or they can use the drop box located on the south side of the Municipal Center building (no cash, please). The drop box can also be utilized for any non-utility payments needing to be made to the Village.

Staff will still be engaged in the business of the Village, but we will be limiting operations as necessary and performing only essential functions. This will include limiting inspections and permitting. All previously scheduled municipal inspections will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

POLICE AND FIRE

Our first responders are prepared to handle all essential and emergency matters relating to public safety. Both departments, however, will be implementing extra safety measures for the foreseeable future when dealing with residents. Please be understanding in this time of need as we balance the responsibility for serving residents with also protecting our valuable employees.

PUBLIC WORKS

The Village’s Public Works department is operational and stands ready to respond to essential life-safety issues. This will result in less in-home customer service visits and extra precautions being taken by our employees when entering homes. Contingency plans are in place, and the Village is in communication with the health departments at all times. Core services such as water, sewer, and garbage pickup will continue uninterrupted. If you do have an issue with water or sewer or other special need, please do not hesitate to call the Public Works Department at 708-895-7190 or the Municipal Center at 708-895-7200 for assistance.

BARS AND RESTAURANTS

Governor Pritzker has issued an executive order that all bars and restaurants in the state will close to dine-in customers beginning at the end of business today, March 16, and continuing through March 30. This includes all restaurants, fast-food establishments, bars, taverns, video gaming cafes, and dine-in restaurants. Per Governor Pritzker’s executive order earlier today, such businesses are permitted and encouraged to serve food and beverages so that they may be consumed off-premises, as currently permitted by law, through means such as in-house delivery, third-party delivery, drive-through, and curbside pick-up. In addition, customers may enter the premises to purchase food or beverages for carry-out. However, establishments offering food or beverages for carry-out, including food trucks, must ensure that they have an environment where patrons maintain adequate social distancing. This has been done for your safety in order to limit close gatherings of large numbers of people.

We are very aware of the impact that this will cause both operationally and financially to our local businesses. We will do everything we can to support our businesses during this time. We urge those who can patronize our businesses through take-out or delivery to continue to do so. Supporting all of our Lansing businesses during this time is paramount to limit the economic impact to these valued members of our Village community.

GROCERY STORES

Grocery and liquor stores are still open and operational. Food is available, and grocers have assured us that supplies will continue to be delivered to our stores. Please buy what you need but remember your neighbors and be a good citizen by not over-buying.

VOTING

Per the Illinois State Board of Elections, voting will continue as planned tomorrow, Tuesday, March 17. For a complete list of polling places, please visit www.cookcountyclerk.com to see the most up-to-date information. Please remember to use social distancing protocol if you are waiting in voting lines.

PUBLIC EVENTS AND LANSING ACTIVITIES

Effective immediately, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has advised that all public events of more than 50 people should not be held for the next 8 weeks. We will review all upcoming Village of Lansing-hosted events in this 8-week window and make determinations on cancellations and/or rescheduled dates on a case-by-case basis. We will use all communication platforms to relay any changes to the current event schedule.

YOUTH CENTER

The Patti Leach Youth Center is closed indefinitely. We will monitor the status of Lansing school closings and resume Youth Center programming and services in the future.

The COVID-19 pandemic is an ever-evolving issue with information changing and updating on a daily basis. Once again, I would like to reiterate that I am on conference calls every day with our national, state, and local leaders. I want to assure you that we continue to monitor developments and will keep you informed of the steps that we all need to take to ensure the health and safety of our Village employees and residents. Please remain calm and know that Lansing is a strong Village; to that end, I am confident that we will show our strength, compassion, and concern for each other during this time. We are all in this together.

Sincerely,
Mayor Patty Eidam
Village of Lansing, IL

The Lansing Journal
The Lansing Journalhttps://thelansingjournal.com
The Lansing Journal publishes news releases from state, county, and local officials who provide information that impacts local community life. The particular contributor of each post is indicated in the byline.