Illinois Tollway and Illinois State Police Operation Kid Offers Family Fun and Safety Event July 8 in Aurora
Helping parents keep their children safe every trip, every time, the Illinois Tollway and Illinois State Police Troop 15 are hosting a free Kids’ Identification and Safety Seat (K.I.S.S.) event on Saturday, July 8, at the Prisco Community Center in Aurora.
“K.I.S.S. events are a quick, easy and fun way for parents to protect their children by having safety seats inspected to ensure they are properly installed and by picking up free ID cards for their youngsters,” said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Cassaundra Rouse. “Safety is always our highest priority and this event helps parents keep their children safe when they’re on the road or in their own communities.”
On July 8, the K.I.S.S. event in Aurora will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Fox Valley Park District’s Prisco Community Center, 150 W. Illinois Avenue. Highlights include:
- Free child safety seat inspections and installations and free identification cards for children ages 3 and older.
- Touch-a-truck display featuring hands-on exploration of a Tollway H.E.L.P. truck, snowplow and emergency vehicles from local police and fire departments.
- Trooper Cooper, a talking, child-sized Illinois State Police car that offers simple safety tips to toddlers and young children.
- McCullough Park adjacent to the community center and features a playground, small picnic shelter open space, and a walking path connected to the Fox River Trail.
2023 KISS Event Information
1 – Find an event near you.
To make it easy and fun for parents and children alike, K.I.S.S. events will be held at convenient locations along the 294-mile Illinois Tollway system. A complete list is available on the Tollway’s website at illinoistollway.com.
2 – Make sure your child’s safety seat is properly installed.
Certified child passenger safety technicians inspect child safety seats and help parents and caregivers with proper installation. Some of the more common problems Troop 15 certified inspectors pinpoint include child facing the wrong direction, too much slack in harness straps, not properly securing the car seat, improper child restraint for the child’s weight and the need for booster seats for older children.
3 – Get a photo ID card for your child.
Specially trained professionals take photographs and fingerprints of children 3 and older and gather vital information to include on an ID card that parents and caregivers can reference in an emergency. If a child gets lost, an up-to-date, good-quality photo along with fingerprints and descriptive information can help law enforcement locate the child.
“We rely on K.I.S.S. events to help educate parents and caregivers about the importance of using properly sized and installed safety seats to protect young children when they’re traveling,” said Captain Linda Mandat, Troop 15 Commander. “Providing parents with a kids ID card also helps protect children by allowing authorities to more easily locate and identify a missing or lost child.”
Illinois law requires that all children under age 8 must be properly secured in an appropriate child restraint system when riding in a vehicle with family or other caregivers. In addition, children under age 2 years are required by Illinois law to ride in rear-facing seats to protect their developing bones and muscles, unless the child weighs 40 or more pounds or is 40 or more inches tall.
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.
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.