Rolling Meadows rehires crossing guards

Sometimes the public outcry is just too loud.

Rolling Meadows officials laid off seven crossing guards on Jan. 23 and almost immediately angry phone calls and e-mails started rolling into city hall. So this week, the city council rehired the guards, many of whom were still working as volunteers after they were fired, said Mayor Ken Nelson.

"There was quite a bit of concern," he said. "So we were able to find enough money to bide our time and keep the guards for the rest of the school year."

The guards will officially return to work with pay on Monday. Police officers have been filing in for the guards since their last official day on Jan. 30.

The crossing guards earn between $6,600 and $12,300 annually. The layoffs would've saved the city $56,000 a year. However, city officials only needed to come up with about $25,000 to pay the guards for the rest of the school year.

The police department came up with the money by cutting some community involvement programs and tuition reimbursement, according to a memo from Police Chief Steve Williams.

Every single alderman wanted to rehire the guards, said City Manager Sarah Phillips.

The move to rehire the guards is only for the rest of this school year. During the summer, city officials will talk to schools officials about either getting grants to pay the crossing guard salaries or having schools pay for part of their salaries, Phillips said

"We're hoping to negotiate a compromise," she said.

On the crossing guards' last official day in January, parents and students brought many gifts of cards and candy.

Janet Corrico was one of the crossing guards who kept returning to her post at Kimball Hill School even after she wasn't paid.

"They've got a new principal this year, so they have enough changes," Corrico said of her Kimball Hill students on her last paid day. "The kids like to see the same crossing guards at the corners."

In a below zero wind chill that day, Corrico crossed nearly 100 children as they left school to head for the waiting cars. During the spring, she figures she crosses more than 400 children.