Truck Convoy To Support Special Olympics Illinois To Hit Streets

TINLEY PARK, IL — A truck convoy serving as a fundraiser for Special Olympics Illinois will make its way through Tinley Park Saturday, starting and ending at Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre.

The convoy will leave the venue at 10:15 a.m. and will take more than 60 trucks on an escorted 15-mile run from the venue, to 191st Street and Harlem Avenue, then to a stretch on interstates 80 and 57 before coming down Route 30, Harlem Avenue, Oak Park Avenue and back to the amphitheater grounds at about 10:45 a.m.

The Law Enforcement Torch Run Truck Convoy is a fundraising and awareness event that creates a unique partnership between law enforcement and the trucking industry to raise funds for Special Olympics, enabling athletes to continue to train in year-round sports activities. Officers involved in the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics have made the Truck Convoy one of their many annual signature events in Illinois.

The truck convoy was conceived in 2001 by Cpl. Norm Schneiderhan, special project coordinator for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, according to its website. Schneiderhan, who drove a truck for about three years in his father’s trucking company before he entered the field of law enforcement, launched the event for Special Olympics as a way to call attention to the organization among truckers.

The Illinois Truck Convoy began in Tinley Park back in 2004, and has since grown to include additional locations Hoffman Estates and Troy, the Illinois Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics said.

Participating vehicles will include semi-trucks, truck/trailer combinations, fire trucks, dump trucks, flat beds, buses, large tow trucks, landscaping and large box trucks.

Commuters should prepare for some slight traffic congestion during these times. Police will be controlling the intersections and roadways to assist with traffic.