Fireworks As Park District Cancels Theirs After Village Plans Own

TINLEY PARK, IL — The Tinley Park Park District has canceled its decades-long July 4 tradition of hosting an event and fireworks show, after word that Village officials will hold their own, similar event July 3.

Trustees on Tuesday voted in favor of hosting the village's own event at the 80th Avenue Metra Station on July 3, a shift from the Village's tradition of sharing in the cost of the park district's event at McCarthy Park.

The decision is the latest sign of a fraying relationship between the Village and park district, amid the two entities' competing interests in acquiring the Tinley Mental Health Center property.

Park District Executive Director Shawn Roby said the board was saddened to make the call to cancel the beloved local event, but that it felt it was the most prudent option.

"It doesn’t make sense to waste taxpayer dollars on duplicate events," Roby told Patch. "The park district had to look at it from the standpoint of taxpayer dollars and being responsible with them."

Roby was surprised to hear of officials' decision, saying that he had emailed Village Manager Pat Carr in December detailing the park district's budget for this year's event—which included $31,000 for fireworks and a contract of three years—in an attempt to confirm the Village's participation in the ongoing partnership for the event. Roby said the Village and park district in the past have split the cost of fireworks, with the Village providing police and emergency management services, and the park district managing entertainment and other specifics.

Roby said his initial email went unanswered, and he sent a follow-up. In a response to that email, Carr noted that the event would be placed on a January meeting agenda, Roby said, but did not mention specifics. Plans for the Village's event were first presented during the Committee of the Whole meeting Jan. 17, then also at the village board meeting that evening.

Roby said the Village's intent to hold its own event was not disclosed to him prior to discussion of such at the meeting. Prior to that, officials had not said the Village would not continue the partnership in the event.

"No one at the park district was aware of that happening," Roby said.

The change also jeopardizes the annual 5K race held the day of the park district's event, Roby said—a favorite for local runners as they weave their way through Tinley neighborhoods. Officials told Roby they would not have the emergency services personnel available to staff the event, if it were to take place on July 4.

"The residents have come to love these," Roby said, of the park district's race and other festivities. "It’s going to be a shock to the system for a lot of the people. And it’s unfortunate because it doesn’t need to be this way."

It's Complicated

The development is the latest turn in a contentious chain of events that have unfolded since November 2022. Centered around the future of the former Tinley Mental Health Center property, the relationship between the two entities seems to have become strained following the park district's declared intent to pursue the property as a sole entity. The Village's most recent attempt to purchase the land—280 acres on the corner of 183rd Street and Harlem Avenue—at a price tag of $4.5 million fell through as recently as February 2022.

In December, the park district released its preliminary plans for the property, with visions of multipurpose athletic fields, a domed sports complex with a full-size soccer field, a stadium with a track, a playground and splash pad, concession stands, spectator stands, lighting, ample parking, as well as a pond, picnic areas and open green space. The Village said it was "shocked" by the park district's plan, saying that had they acquired the land, they planned to work with public bodies like the park district to make the best use of it.

The Village has hopes of using portions of the land in different ways, in part for a sportsplex and multi-purpose athletic fields, and also to centralize all Village resources, moving Village Hall, the police department and more to one location, Glotz said.

"At the end of the day, once we would acquire the property, of course we would bring in the park district … but again, it doesn’t make any sense of what they’re trying to accomplish," Carr told Patch previously.

Park district officials have sought to meet with Village officials twice since declaring their interest in the property, Roby said, but have been unsuccessful.

'Game-Changer for the Community'

Plans for the Village's version of the event were met with some resistance Tuesday, with Trustee Diane Galante calling the decision divisive and counterintuitive. At the time of the meetings, it was not clear the park district's event would be canceled.

"To me, even the appearance of it … on the 4th of July of all days when we’re trying to come together, we’re trying to separate," Galante contended. "I’m very concerned it will be a detriment to the Park District’s event.

"We have a great event, why are we recreating something that’s already good? If we want to add to it? Fantastic. Let’s do it. But to hurt it? There’s going to be division ... in this village, and I’m very upset to see it. We can’t be a strong community, divided. We have to be one community, we work together."

Since December, Roby says other aspects of the park district's relationship with the Village have been impacted. For instance, they've been denied the permit and emergency personnel needed to hold the Running of the Green 8K, usually scheduled for the same day as the Tinley Park Irish Parade. Officials said they could reapply for another day, Roby said.

Pertaining to the July 4 event, Mayor Mike Glotz pointed to the board's recent decision to bring marketing in-house, then thanking the staff, the marketing department and Director Donna Framke for developing the plan. Galante questioned the validity of stepping on the toes of a previously established, popular event, and the spending of taxpayer dollars. The Village's event is estimated to cost $50,000.

"We’re not splitting the cost with the park district for this year’s," said Carr during the Committee of the Whole meeting. "We’re doing our own event, and it’s to help lead up to all the events we’re going to be having here in the coming years. We’re going to handle it ourselves. It’ll be more compact in the parking lot."

Glotz during the village board meeting mentioned concerns about impacts of closure of 80th Avenue, double-parking, and noise for neighboring homes, also stressing residents' previous complains to Tinley Park police. The new location prevents those issues, he said.

"It’s very inconvenient," Glotz said, of the previous location. "I think it was a great idea thinking outside of the box. No one will be interrupted, you won’t have fireworks blowing off near people’s houses."

In a call with Patch Jan. 20, Carr said the planning for a new event began several months ago, following the mass shooting at a July 4, 2022 event in Highland Park. Tinley Park officials before last year's event received a shooting threat that later proved not to be credible, but police and emergency personnel began to more closely evaluate safety plans and procedures for future events, he said. McCarthy Park presents safety and security challenges unique to its location, he said.

"It’s difficult to control traffic, people flow," Carr told Patch. "It’s a hard location to protect. It’s about safety and efficiency for us."

The Village in late 2022 moved its OktoberFest event to the 80th Avenue Metra station as a test, he said, and concluded the location had advantages for enforcing safety, parking, and security protocols moving forward.

"We have a heavy presence, ways of how we’re able to contain things," he said. "By having it in the Metra lot, it allows us to contain it. People have a better way to park their cars, it’s easier to control. We found that success from the OktoberFest, that’s why we applied it to this situation here."

In a press release issued Friday afternoon, the Village said it "will host an Independence Day celebration at 5:30 p.m. Monday, July 3 in the north parking lot of the 80th Avenue Metra train station, 18001 S. 80th Ave., Tinley Park. The event will be a community celebration featuring live music, food and beverages and fireworks at dusk.

"The Village chose to host the event at the 80th Avenue station primarily due to the layout of the area, which is more contained than a location like McCarthy Park."

Carr said he's aware of the continued perception of conflict between the park district and Village, but that this decision was made separately from previous tensions.

"This is about safety and efficiency, and it’s about the residents," Carr said. "We invite any collaboration that the park district would want to have for this event. We feel this is going to be safer and more efficient, and that’s why we’re doing it.

"At the end of the day, our public safety team has been doing the planning for many different events and programs, it’s their opinion that this is a more efficient way. It’s unfortunate that it’s being clouded by the matter over at the Mental Health Center. We have the means to provide a safer and more efficient event for the residents, and that’s why we’re doing it."

When asked why Village officials had not collaborated with the park district to improve its existing event in relevant ways prior to making the decision for a new event, Carr said he was not sure why that hadn't happened.

Roby said no one had come to him regarding safety issues around the park district's event—specifically around any parking or road closure concerns.

"We’ve worked with the Village for years," he said. "Wherever there can be savings for taxpayers, we do that. We should be working together when we can, unfortunately it’s taken a turn at the moment."