Naperville Council limits India Day funding approval to parade only
The Naperville City Council on Tuesday voted to allocate $24,738 from Naperville’s Special Events and Community Arts grant funds toward this year’s India Day Parade.
The Indian Community Outreach (ICO) organization, which oversees India Day, had sought funding for both the parade and the festival that follows through Naperville’s SECA grant program, but a commission reviewing applications had previously denied the request.
Read more about the council’s vote and what SECA and ICO representatives had to say.
Cash reward for information on gunshots fired in downtown Naperville
Naperville Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for discharging a firearm in downtown Naperville the night of Friday, April 17.
The incident took place around 8 p.m. near the parking garage located at 75 E. Chicago Ave.
Anyone with information is asked to reach out to Naperville Crime Stoppers either through their website or by calling 630-420-6006. Callers may remain anonymous.
Plan commission gives approval to Verizon telecommunications tower
The Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission recently gave a favorable recommendation to the proposed construction of a new, freestanding telecommunications tower at 3712 Plainfield-Naperville Road.
Chicago SMSA Limited Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is the petitioner behind the project. The proposed site of the tower is south of 95th Street, and along the east side of Plainfield-Naperville Road. The city council will give a final vote on the commissioners’ recommendation at an upcoming meeting.
Verizon has been leasing space on the city water tower at the site, and the current agreement expires in September. The city council in 2018 adopted an ordinance that ends the practice of attaching communication facilities not under the city’s ownership on municipal water towers, meaning the current agreement cannot be extended.
Nike Sports Complex improvements
The Naperville Park Board on Thursday, April 9, awarded a professional services contract for forthcoming site improvements at the Nike Sports Complex.
Upland Design Ltd. was awarded the contract, in the amount of $183,788. Upland will assemble a team of landscape architects, engineers, and other consultants for the work. The district’s plans at the site include ballfield improvements in a partnership with Naperville Little League.
Additionally, commissioners at the recent meeting reaffirmed a business enterprise program utilization plan for the Nike work to comply with an Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which is being applied toward the project.
Liz Spencer named AAUW Naperville Woman of the Year
The American Association of University Women Naperville Area has named former NCTV17 executive director Liz Spencer as its 2026 Woman of the Year.
The annual award recognizes a Naperville-area woman who has shown outstanding leadership and community service, as well as modeling AAUW’s mission of advancing equity for women and girls.
Learn more about why Spencer was chosen for the honor.
C-SPAN recognizes Kennedy Junior High students
Astha Savalia and Reva Savalia, eighth- and sixth-graders, respectively, at Kennedy Junior High School, were recognized recently by cable channel C-SPAN for their participation in an annual student competition.
Astha and Reva received honorable mention in C-SPAN’s StudentCam, which invites youth to submit documentaries based on a specific theme. Their particular documentary focused on coal-powered energy and was titled, “A City’s Dirty Secret.”
This year’s C-SPAN StudentCam submissions focused on the Declaration of Independence and how the values within the document shape communities today. Astha and Reva received a $250 prize for their submission.
