Northwest suburbs in 60 seconds

Kirk tours Northrop Grumman:

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk on Friday toured the Rolling Meadows plant of Northrop Grumman to promote a bill he sponsored that would advance the military's electronic warfare programs. The defense contractor's Rolling Meadows plant is home to the company's land and avionics division, which produces electronic warfare technology. Kirk's bill would accelerate the military's acquisition process for such technology. Kirk believes the defense department needs to be able to field a program within two years for it to be relevant, according to a news release. Friday's event was not open to the media.

College fair Tuesday, Feb. 9:

Representatives from more than 50 Midwest colleges and universities will be in attendance at Oakton Community College's college transfer fair Tuesday, Feb. 9. The fair is open to the public from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Oakton's Des Plaines campus, 1600 E. Golf Road, in Room 1604. Free workshops include getting the most out of a college fair, and the best ways to finance higher education.

Celebrating local history:

The theme of Des Plaines' July Fourth parade is "Our History!" and parade participants are encouraged to display historic moments of the making of Des Plaines or the history of the United States, organizers said this week. Applications to participate in the parade are available at desplaines.org/July4. There is a minimum entry fee of $25. Representatives of the Des Plaines Fire Department, celebrating its 125th anniversary, will serve as parade marshals. The parade will kick off at 10 a.m. at the intersection of Oakton and Center streets.