POLAR PLUNGES PLANNED FOR SPECIAL OLYMPICS
Members of the Elgin Police Department will take part in a Polar Plunge for Special Olympics at noon Sunday, March 1, at Crystal Lake Main Beach and South Elgin and St. Charles police will do the same at 10 a.m. Sunday, March 8, at Ferson Creek Park in St. Charles.
Money raised by the events help support Special Olympics athletes in Illinois and the annual sporting events in which they compete, according to a social media post from the Elgin Police Department.
Money in support Elgin’s effort can be pledged at support.soill.org/fundraiser/6870136. For South Elgin, go to support.soill.org/team/800755 and for St. Charles, go to support.soill.org/team/793385.
REP. NESS HOLDING VIRTUAL TOWN HALL TUESDAY
State Rep. Suzanne Ness, D-Carpentersville, will hold a virtual town hall via Zoom from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, to discuss legislative priorities and Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s annual budget proposal.
“It’s clear that there is much work ahead to combat the affordability crisis that’s impacting families across Illinois,” Ness said in a new release. “Coming fresh off the governor’s annual budget address, now is not the time to be investing in new ventures. It’s time we meticulously go line by line to see what works for our families, what doesn’t, and how we can reinvest our savings to build a future we can all afford.”
Ness said the spending plan needs to be closely examined because of the cuts being made to services and funding by the federal government so state legislators can prioritize spending to help provide the services on which families rely.
To register to attend the town hall, email info@repsnessil66.com or sign up at us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Y9y5KhVlTlW0oLREJLl99w?_x_zm_rtaid=MLd2qEEjTyOFu6KrU3Kfgg.1771357610539.fc86bb8933f31233aba13f271578d2f1&_x_zm_rhtaid=509#/registration.
ECC HOLDING DISCUSSION ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Elgin Community College will host a Criminal Justice Conversation, “The Reality of Human Trafficking,” from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, at The Alumni Room in Building B on the school’s 1700 Spartan Drive campus.
Free and open to the public, the event will feature staff from the Kane County state’s attorney’s office’s Human Exploitation Unit offering information on human trafficking and labor trafficking, sharing regional case examples and providing prevention strategies and victim resources.
“In many cases, human trafficking goes unnoticed because people don’t recognize the signs,” Todd Ramljak, ECC criminal justice instructional coordinator and associate professor of criminal justice, said in a news release. “Community discussions help individuals identify red flags, such as signs of coercion, abuse or exploitation, which can lead to earlier intervention,”
Registration is recommended. Go to elgin.edu/calendar/criminal-justice-conversations-the-reality-of-human-trafficking.php.
ELGIN STUDENT ON SIU’S WINNING FANTAXTIC TEAM
Elgin resident Ryan Ruthenberg was part of a five-person team from Southern Illinois University Carbondale that placed third in the national Deloitte’s 2026 FanTAXtic case study competition.
Ruthenberg, an SIU sophomore accounting major, and his team had two hours in the first round and three hours in the final round to analyze complex tax issues, conduct research, prepare a professional presentation and present it to judges, according to a news release from the school.
The national finals were held Feb. 6-8 at Deloitte University in Westlake, Texas. This year’s case challenged teams to provide recommendations on whether a fictional company should operate as an LLC taxed as a partnership or as an S corporation and compute tax implications under each structure.
A team from UCLA won the 24th annual competition, followed by a team from The Ohio State University in second place. This was SIU’s third trip to the nationals in the four years.
