Northwest suburban briefs

Teddypalooza a success:

Despite the weather, between 800 and 1,000 people attended Teddypalooza on Saturday in Des Plaines. "It was really hot both inside and outside, but nothing was rained out," said Jenny Christiansen, Teddy Christiansen's mom. "The turnout was better than expected." Teddy, 2, has been diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder that causes bone marrow failure. Teddypalooza was held to help the Christiansens offset the costs. It was held from 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday at the St. Stephen Church gymnasium, 1280 Prospect Ave. in Des Plaines. The family doesn't know yet how much money the event generated, Jenny Christiansen said. Though the Christiansens now live 40 miles northwest of Des Plaines in Union, both Jenny and her husband Brad grew up in Des Plaines. The hometown support for Teddypalooza has mushroomed through word-of-mouth, e-mails, mass mailings and a dedicated page on Facebook.

U-46 to pay for police:

The Village of Streamwood and School District U-46 will formalize an agreement over school liaison police officers in three area schools for the 2009-10 school year. U-46 will pay Streamwood $171,111 for three officers, who are stationed at Streamwood High School, and Tefft and Canton Middle Schools. Police Chief Alan Popp told village trustees last week that the school liaison program has allowed officers to directly address problems arising in schools that the department would have to investigate anyway. This month, U-46 officials announced the number of officers in Elgin middle schools would be cut from four to two due to increased costs.

Free first-responder training:

Cars Collision Center in Schaumburg will offer free training for first responders on extrication techniques for new and hybrid vehicles. The session will take place from 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday, June 25. Officials said extrication can be dangerous for first-responders because, for example, air bags can deploy during extrication and cause injury or even death, and new technology used by automakers isn't always communicated clearly enough to ensure safe rescues. For registration or information, call Steve Moskovsky at (630) 363-5074 or Rob Robbins at (219) 865-5700, ext. 1011.