The DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference (DMMC) hosted the 2024 Municipal Innovation Celebration, a platform for member municipalities to showcase innovative solutions and best practices that reduce costs, enhance efficiencies, and tackle municipal challenges. The event concluded by announcing this year’s winners in the categories of Best Innovation and Best Presentation.
The Village of Willowbrook won the Best Innovation Award for its Hotel Crime Reduction Program, implemented in response to increased criminal activity in local hotels and motels. It united law enforcement, hotel management, and community stakeholders to enhance safety through annual inspections, monthly crime trend reviews, and staff training on incident prevention and response.
Willowbrook adopted ordinances to support the program by enhancing security measures, including limiting stay durations, requiring surveillance upgrades, and improving access control. Since its launch, the program has significantly reduced hotel-related crimes and call volume while increasing hotel tax revenues. Willowbrook’s approach, implemented with minimal financial investment, provides a model for improving public safety and economic vitality.
The Village of Roselle won the Best Presentation Award for its Home Rule Educational Campaign, designed to boost community engagement and help residents better understand local governance, infrastructure needs, and financing. By simplifying complex government processes, the campaign significantly fostered greater community participation in decisions shaping Roselle’s future.
The initiative used educational tools like interactive workshops, digital resources, and community outreach to inform residents about the benefits of home rule. This effort engaged residents in meaningful dialogue, ultimately leading to the passage of a home rule referendum. The campaign also provides a valuable framework for other municipalities seeking to promote transparency and public participation in local governance.
The event also featured entries from the Village of Bartlett/Village of Hanover Park and the Village of Schaumburg, including:
The Bartlett Police Department and Hanover Park Fire Department partnered with the Hanover Township Emergency Services to host a First Responder Summer Internship Program, integrating high school students from districts U-46, 300, and 301 into law enforcement and fire sciences. The program introduced students to careers in criminal justice, emergency response, fire safety, forensic science, and public safety.
The Village of Schaumburg established the Crisis Response and Intervention Program to proactively approach mental health and crisis-related incidents, addressing immediate crises and underlying causes. By deploying police social workers to the scene, the program provides personalized intervention plans, mobile therapeutic assistance, counseling, and access to psychiatric resources.
DMMC President and Elmhurst Mayor Scott Levin thanked all participating member communities, emphasizing the event as an excellent opportunity to share ideas and showcase innovations that benefit residents across the region.