March 18, 2020
A Message from Village President Mark Eisenberg
The Village has been monitoring local and federal mandates during this critical time. The latest mandates will have a devastating effect on our local businesses.
 
The Governor's Executive Order mandating all Illinois restaurants and bars to cease dine-in services went into effect Monday evening until March 30. I believe it will be extended. Please remember that these businesses can continue to provide delivery, drive-thru and curb-side services.
 
It is very important that we support our local businesses as much as possible. They are always there for us, constantly giving back. During this mandate when you may normally go out, please call or go online and order from our local restaurants. Some may have deliveries, others curbside pickup. You can also order take-out inside the restaurant as long as you keep social distance. You can also support them by sharing on-line posts with your friends.

 
The President has also asked that we don’t meet in groups of 10 or more. Please remember this when meeting with friends and family events. The next few months will be challenging for all of us.
 
The Village Hall will still be open for business as of this writing. The Village Board has been given legal authority to have trustees call-in to meetings to limit the amount of people in attendance. If agendas are light, the meeting will be postponed.
 
To limit the exposure to our employees, if you have a question, please call. If you need to go to the village hall or police department, please make sure you are healthy and not running a temperature. We will work with you any way possible to protect you and our employees during this crisis.
 
Visit Coronavirus.gov for the latest updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  For the most up-to-date information on COVID-19 in Illinois, visit the  Illinois Department of Public Health  website and their frequently asked questions available  here . The IDPH has a hotline for questions on coronavirus or to report a potential case. Please call 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov to have all your COVID-19 questions answered.
Thelen Berm on Richardson Road & English Prairie Road
Thelen is in the process of removing the berm along English Prairie and a section along Richardson Road that was required as part of the annexation and Planned Unit Development plan approved by the village in 2005. The agreement also stated they were allowed to remove the berm after they were done with the extraction of materials for the lake. At this time, there are no plans for construction of the PUD.
ComEd Payment Assistance
ComEd is taking action to help its customers with payment assistance programs.
They are imposing a moratorium on service disconnections and waiving new late payment charges, in coordination with Illinois leadership who are implementing guidance to control the spread of COVID-19. Please view the flyer here for more information. Customers who may be experiencing financial hardship should visit ComEd.com/CARE or call 800-334-7661.
Cancelled Events
  • Easter Egg Hunt that was scheduled for April 4th
  • Explorer's Pancake Breakfast that was scheduled for April 5th
Volunteers Helping our Community!
An email has been created by a group of volunteers to gather information about who is at high risk of contracting COVID-19 and is in need of groceries in the community. If you or anyone you know is at risk of the COVID-19 virus and needs help with grocery shopping or with purchasing other necessities, please contact them here .
Photo of the Week

I hope you enjoy this photo from the walking trail in Hatchery Park from last year. Hatchery Park is open year-round for hiking. If you have a photo of Spring Grove you would like to share, email i t here .
Library Closed - Listen to Storytime On-Line!
The library will be closed beginning Monday, March 16 through Saturday, March 28. They hope to reopen on Monday, March 30, but will evaluate the plan at that time. Listen to stories and join in on singing preschool and toddler songs at storytime on-line here . If you have questions, please contact them at 815-678-4014.
2020 Census On-Line Now
The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) announced you can now complete the 2020 Census online at my2020census.gov . The online questionnaire is the quickest and easiest way to get counted in Illinois and can be accessed from a smart phone, tablet, laptop, computer and terminals at local libraries. The census is nine questions long and will take less than 10 minutes to complete. Completing the census online will ensure we get both the representation and federal funding for critical services. Read more here .
Recycling Guidelines
It's easy to get confused about what is and isn't recyclable. It's very important to follow guidelines so other recycling is not contaminated. The #1 contaminate are plastic bags and items made from their plastic material (i.e. shrink wrap, bubble wrap, Ziploc bags, newspaper bags, trash bags, etc.), which clog machines and must be recycled at the grocery store.The #2 contaminate is food waste. Recyclable items quickly become garbage when they carry the remnants of the food that they once held, so make sure you rinse out food waste left in recyclable jars and cans. View the flyer here .
Nicor Gas Meter Modernization
Grid One Solutions, has begun installations in Spring Grove of small, two-way communication devices on existing Nicor gas meters. These devices will automatically send actual usage meter readings to Nicor Gas, helping to eliminate estimated bills.  Grid One employees will have appropriate identification. The device installation will take 10-15 minutes for most residential sized meters, and up to 30 minutes on large commercial or rotary meters. For more information, click here .
Blast from the Past
It seems like the whole town came out for the wedding of Michael Retterath & Rosa Wagner on September 27, 1911 (in the center of the photo). The location where they are standing is on Hatchery Road at the corner of Blivin Street. Rosa's grandparents were early Spring Grove pioneers. (Her brother was Joe Wagner, the barber.) She was 21 at the time of her marriage. By 1914 they were living in Stacyville, Iowa, a town where a lot of Spring Grove and Johnsburg residents moved to around that time. From 1912 -1921 they had five children. When Martha, the youngest was two, Rosa succumbed to TB at the age of 32. She may have already been sick with tuberculosis in the photo above, judging by her weight loss. TB was one of the two leading causes of death in the early 1900s (the other was pneumonia).
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