Illinois Tollway and Illinois State Police Hosting Kids Identification and Safety Seat Event in Itasca as Part of Operation Kid 2022

Illinois Tollway and Illinois State Police Hosting Kids Identification and Safety Seat Event in Itasca as Part of Operation Kid 2022

Wrapping up Operation Kid 2022, the Illinois Tollway and Illinois State Police District 15 are hosting a final Kids Identification and Safety Seat (K.I.S.S.) event on Saturday, September 24, at the Itasca Fire Protection District in Itasca.

The K.I.S.S. event coincides with Seat Check Saturday, a national campaign promoted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to encourage the proper use of child safety seats to help prevent deaths and injuries in vehicle crashes.

The Tollway and District 15 have worked together to promote child safety for more than 15 years, holding popular events annually throughout Northern Illinois to inspect and properly install child safety seats and provide free kids’ ID cards. In 2019, Operation Kid helped families and caregivers with about 375 child safety seats checks and issued more than 850 kids’ ID cards to parents.

The events were paused in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but resumed in June with the Tollway and ISP District 15 hosting monthly events across the Chicago area this summer.

The September 24 event will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Itasca Fire Protection District, 520 W. Irving Park Road, Itasca.

“We encourage families to come out to this event to get their child safety seats checked and pick up ID cards for their kids,” said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse. “Safety is our top priority and Operation Kid allows us to help parents and caregivers keep kids safe, every trip, every time.”

Illinois law requires all children under age 8 to be properly secured in an appropriate child restraint system when riding in a vehicle with family or other caregivers. In addition, as of January 1, 2019, children under age 2 years are required by Illinois law to ride rear-facing, unless the child weighs 40 or more pounds or is 40 or more inches tall, to protect their developing muscles and bones.
 
Properly installed child safety seats save lives and significantly reduce injuries in the event of a crash. Yet, Illinois State Police find that as many as 90 percent of child safety seats they inspect are improperly installed. 
 
“We want to do everything we can to help parents protect their children and this event provides a quick, convenient way for parents to determine if the safety seats they rely on are properly installed,”
said Captain Jason Bradley, District 15 commander. “K.I.S.S. events also give us an opportunity to educate drivers about the importance of complying with Illinois’ safety seat laws.”
 
2022 K.I.S.S. Events
To make it easy and fun for parents, grandparents and children alike, K.I.S.S. events are held at convenient locations at various locations along the 294-mile Illinois Tollway system. 

Highlights at the September 24 event at the Itasca Fire Protection District include: 

  • Free identification cards for children ages 3 and older and child safety seat inspections and installations. Information provided on kids’ ID cards, including a child’s height, weight and fingerprints, can help law enforcement more quickly locate and recover a missing child.
  • Touch-a-truck display featuring hands-on exploration of a Tollway H.E.L.P. truck, snowplow and local emergency vehicles.
  • Trooper Cooper, a talking, child-sized Illinois State Police car that offers simple safety tips to toddlers and young children

     
For more information about Operation Kid 2022 and to see additional activities at each event, visit the Tollway’s website.  
 
About the Illinois Tollway
The Illinois Tollway is a user-fee system that receives no state or federal funds for maintenance and operations. The agency maintains and operates 294 miles of roadways in 12 counties in Northern Illinois, including the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88), the Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355), the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90), the Tri-State Tollway (I-94/I-294/I-80) and the Illinois Route 390 Tollway.

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