- Dolly Parton

On Saturday, March 23, I had an opportunity to participate in the Darien Park District’s Annual Easter Egg Hunt. As a member of the Darien Lions Club, I was invited to Westwood Park in order to place over 7,000 plastic Easter Eggs throughout the park for children ranging anywhere from toddlers to older pre-teens. Each of these eggs had a small toy inside, with 12 holding a special golden ticket that entitles the lucky child to a special Easter gift.

The Park District Easter Egg Hunt takes place yearly at the Darien Community Park along with Westwood Park. Each year that this event has been held, it seems as if the number of Easter Eggs has increased, and the 7,000 we put out this year appears to be the largest amount distributed in all the years that I have participated in the event. It takes us probably forty-five minutes to lay out these 7,000 eggs throughout the park, and when we reach 9:00 am and the horn blows, it takes several hundred children anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes to pick up each of those eggs. While I don’t know how long it took at the other park, it was almost as if a “vacuum cleaner” went over that field and gobbled up each of those eggs.

Each year, those of us working the event enjoy watching children of all ages, who with smiles on their faces and a belief in the Easter Bunny, all participate eagerly in this event. While for many of us, Easter is a deeply religious celebration, it was a beautiful thing to watch, as children ran through a field, smiles on their faces, Easter baskets in hand, collecting Easter Eggs and meeting with the Easter Bunny. For those of us in the Lions Club who participate in this event, it is but a brief reminder to each of us, of memories past, of the innocence we exhibited, when we, as children, celebrated Easter, searching for Easter eggs and enjoying all the goodies that mom and dad supplied in our Easter baskets.

May we always remember the true meaning of Easter, without forgetting the joy we felt as children when we took our first bite of our Easter chocolate surrounded by our moms and dads. Happy and Blessed Easter to all of you! 

City Hall will be closed on Friday, March 29, in observance of the Good Friday holiday. Refuse and recycling collection will not be affected by this closure.

In our continuing effort to keep Darien residents informed, the Darien Police Department is introducing Emergency Notifications via text. Please visit our Direct Connect Signup page and provide your cell phone number to receive text notifications in case of an emergency. These texts will be sent at any time (day and night) when an incident within the City may impact the community (e.g. police activity, accidents where there are road closures, etc.). There is no cost to sign up for this service. The Police Department will continue to use X/Twitter for non-urgent notifications.

March is Women's History Month – commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history. Learn more.

The City has implemented a new public portal for submitting property maintenance concerns online. The cloud-based software that hosts the portal is called OpenGov, and it will allow users to access the portal and have a streamlined way of submitting property maintenance concerns, also commonly referred to as code compliance or code enforcement. In order to access the portal, please visit the City’s website. If you have any questions, please contact the City Planner at (630) 353-8113.

The Illinois Tollway is advising I-PASS customers to disregard erroneous invoice emails being sent from “Collections Manager.” I-PASS customers should delete any email with the subject line “Notice to Appear – Past Due I-Pass Tolls” and includes the I-PASS logo. The Tollway has been informed that this is a phishing scam using the I-PASS logo and claiming that recipients owe money for unpaid tolls.

No I-PASS accounts have been compromised as a result of this scam. Customers with further questions can call 1-800-UC-IPASS. If you receive a phishing email, please file a complaint at ic3.gov. That is a site dedicated to sharing information on Internet crimes across law enforcement agencies. Learn more here.

Starting April 1st through the second full week of December, residents can take advantage of weekly yard waste and food scrap collection services (composting) with Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS). These services are included in the monthly fee!

Yard waste generally includes leaves, grass cuttings, twigs, small shrubbery clippings, plants and flowers. Limbs should not exceed 4 feet in length and 50 pounds in weight. Branches must be no more than 4 inches in diameter, with the total diameter of the bundle not to exceed 24 inches. Residents can participate by placing yard waste and/or food scraps (there is no need to separate them) in biodegradable paper bags, or in containers and placing them at the curb on your garbage day. You can find more details on acceptable yard waste and food scraps on the LRS Website.

Rotary Club of Darien 2024 vehicle stickers are available at both City Hall and the Police Department for a $3 donation. Vehicle stickers are not required by the City, they are offered each year by community service organizations as a fundraiser for the organization.

The Morton Arboretum wants to prepare you for the emergence of millions of cicadas this coming May. This is particularly exciting as it only happens once every 17 years! The Arboretum shares, "For about four to six weeks there will be millions of big, red-eyed insects flying around and making an ear-splitting noise, especially in areas with lots of old trees. They will be annoying, but they are harmless to people and pets; they can’t bite or sting. Children are often fascinated by the huge, slow-moving, easy-to-catch bugs. By the end of June it will all be over." Find more information on the Morton Arboretum's website.

The City of Darien Police Department is accepting applications for a Part-time Community Service Officer (CSO). The candidate has to be able to work Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (excludes holidays).

Learn more about this position here and apply today!

The agenda will be posted here.

The agenda is posted here.

The agenda will be posted here.

Darien’s Direct Connect E-Newsletter (DC) is the City’s primary source of information for residents and businesses. Please tell your friends and neighbors about DC, forward this email to them, and ask them to sign up. Signing up is simple and can be done here.

Click on the links below for more information on these upcoming community events!

Lions Club Big Raffle 2024: link

Darien Garden Club Meeting - April 1: link

Historical Society and Woman’s Club Plant Sale - Order by April 8: link

Spring Craft and Vendor Fair - April 13: link

Darien Arts Council Meeting - April 16: link

April 18-20: link

Darien Swim Club 2024 Registration: link

Mayor Joe Marchese, (630) 200-2390

Bryon Vana, City Administrator,

City Hall (630) 852-5000

Police Department (630) 971-3999

Public Works Streets & Water (630) 353-8105

Community Development (630) 353-8115

Visit the City of Darien's website for information on City services.

Follow us on Facebook at @CityofDarien.

Follow us on X at @CityofDarien.

Follow the Darien Police Department on X at @DarienPolice.

Join your Darien neighbors on Nextdoor.