A formal welcome set for servicemen

Continuing the initiative of giving servicemen and women a formal welcome home from the villages of Vernon Hills and Libertyville, two more service members will be honored today.

Kevin Kohout and Joe Morales will be honored at the next Vernon Hills Village board meeting at 6:45 p.m. at the Vernon Hills village hall, 290 Evergreen Drive.

This ceremony will be similar to the first such greeting in December 2007.

"We have taken the stance that regardless people's beliefs whether we should be there, they deserve a proper welcome home," said Vernon Hills public information officer Jim Levicki.

Kohout, a lance corporal with the U.S. Marine Corps, and Morales, a sergeant with the U.S. Army, were both deployed overseas and have both since returned.

While both returned before the initiative began, Levicki said these men still deserve a proper welcome home.

"They deserve something. Anyone coming back from the battlefield deserves this," Levicki said.

Kohout, 25, was born and raised in Vernon Hills and served in Iraq from March 2006 through October 2006. Morales is a 23-year-old Vernon Hills resident who served in Iraq from 2003 through 2005.

Kohout and Morales both will be picked up by limousine at their homes and taken to the village hall. Escorting them will be members of the Vernon Hills and Libertyville police departments and Countryside and Lincolnshire-Riverwoods fire departments.

The Vernon Hills village board will present each with a proclamation and gift certificates to area stores and restaurants.

Residents of Vernon Hills or Libertyville with a service member returning home may register for the program by calling the Vernon Hills Police Department's Crime Prevention Unit at (847) 247-4888.

Levicki said the problem is every two to three days they may find out about fallen service men and women who came from Illinois. There is no similar way to learn about those who have returned home from duty.

"We have no idea someone is coming home unless the family calls us and tells us," he said.

Levicki added the opportunity is open to families who are willing to do this, adding some wish to keep more private.

"It is customized for what they want us to do," he said.

More information about the program is available on the Vernon Hills Police Department Web site at www.vhpd.com.