Hoffman Estates plans 50th anniversary

Hoffman Estates Mayor William McLeod jokingly called Trustee Cary Collins "a cheerleader" Tuesday morning at the mayor's state of the village address at the Stonegate Conference Centre.

Collins was McLeod's plant in the audience and asked McLeod during the audience question and answer session about the events planned this year to celebrate the village's 50th anniversary.

"Who asked you to ask that?" McLeod said.

McLeod's joke drew laughter from the audience of chamber of commerce members.

McLeod then outlined events, including the 50th anniversary gala scheduled for Sept. 26 at the Sears Centre arena. There's also the Hoffman Estates Get Fit America Sports Festival from July 24-26, an offshoot of last year's Chicagoland Inline Marathon, which featured skaters racing through the streets of Hoffman Estates. The inline event was the third largest of its kind in the country.

The new three-day event will also involve biking and running and other sports.

"There will be events for both the really, really, serious professional-type athlete, and for those of us that might be a little bit more casual - like Trustee Collins and I," McLeod said.

McLeod also noted that members of the 50th Anniversary Committee are interviewing residents to get their stories of the village.

There are "great stories about the dirt roads - it's fascinating, it's just interesting because sometimes they don't always agree on stories, but that's what makes history so interesting," McLeod said. "Everybody's got their own interpretation."