Palatine group postpones campaign showing appreciation for local police
Palatine residents belonging to a nonprofit group supporting the police department have postponed an effort scheduled to begin this week to encourage the community to show appreciation for local law enforcement.
Members of the Palatine PD Boosters were planning to begin sales Saturday of yard signs, baseball caps, window clings and possibly other items in advance of National Police Week, which runs May 10-16. Volunteers also were to sell the merchandise at cost May 9 at Palatine police headquarters and outside two village supermarkets.
But the COVID-19 pandemic has led to postponement of what organizers still hope will be the campaign's second year. Organization members stress the effort is an awareness and support campaign for police, not a Palatine PD Boosters fundraiser.
Boosters member Vince Najdowski said Monday there is no target date for the new weekend of sales.
Najdowski said the group has paid about $2,000 for the baseball-style caps, but the order cannot be filled yet because a Schaumburg company contracted to make them is not considered an essential business allowed to fully operate under the state's stay-at-home order.
"We held off on ordering the signs until we know when the heck we're going to do it," he added. "And with the virus and social distancing and trying to sell all of these things, we didn't want to put anybody at risk, either."
At least 450 signs and blue LED bulbs were sold last year, according to the nonprofit group. The placards and bulbs were seen at homes and businesses across the village.
Featuring a blue badge in the middle, last year's sign read: "We Support The Palatine PD. Thank You For Your Service."
However, the village's name likely will not stand out in this year's sign design in an effort to attract nonresident buyers, Najdowski said,
The proposed version has a flag with alternating black-and-white stripes, stars and one blue stripe - commonly known as The Thin Blue Line - with a police badge in the middle and the Palatine PD Boosters' logo in the lower-right corner. At the top is "Thank You For Your Service," and "Police Appreciation Week" appears at the bottom.
Palatine Citizen Police Academy graduates started the nonprofit booster organization shortly after completing the course in late 2017. In part, the boosters' stated goal is to assist and support police by improving the community's relationship with them through education and communication.