The City of Blue Island and the Blue Island Public Library will be hosting an Independence Day Block Party – come out for Blue Island’s newest holiday tradition!

Join the good times at the Library from 10a – 1p on Saturday, July 2. There will be special events, games and family fun from the Police and Fire Departments, Blue Island Bike Club, and the Blue Island Park District. The Boy Scouts will be grilling!

At 11:30am our Decorated Bike, Wagon and Stroller parade will kick off! Bring your wheels… if it moves and doesn’t have an engine, you’re in!

Please have a fun, safe, and respectful holiday weekend. Happy Birthday, America!

Metra is closing 127th Street at Lincoln Street (Electric Line Station area) for 1 week to repair Metra tracks.

The closure will begin Friday, June 24 and will reopen on Friday, July 1.

**Please Note** PACE is rerouting their buses due to this closure.  Click below to read their notice. 877 Detour Notice 6-24-11

Chicago’s own Mexican folk music sextet, Sones de México Ensemble, announced a 10-concert tour of Chicago and suburbs for 2011.

The concert series entitled ¡Viva México! 2011 is free and open to the public (or very low cost in some instances) thanks to the generous sponsorship of Comcast. Additional funding is being provided by Volaris Airlines and the Illinois Arts Council, with support from the Consulate General of Mexico in Chicago.

Viva Mexico 2011 Concert Series Schedule [.pdf]

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As a part of this comprehensive planning effort, the City of Blue Island invites local residents, business owners, community leaders and other stakeholders to share their ideas about what the future of Blue Island should look like.

The public will have 2 opportunities this month to contribute to the comprehensive plan by attending a special community planning event. These events will be held in the evening, and are open to all members of the Blue Island community.

For more details, please contact Jessica Simoncelli via email or call (312) 386-8631.

Workshop #1
Date: Monday, June 20th, 2011
Time: Registration – 6p; Program 6:30-8p
Location: Salvation Army, 2900 W. Burr Oak

Workshop #2
Date: Tuesday, June 21st, 2011
Time: Registration – 6p; Program 6:30-8p
Location: Blue Island Recreation Center, 2805 141st Street

Bike to Work Week is upon us again! Once again, the City of Blue Island is hosting a team. If you bike to work this week, let us know!

We’ll report the City’s participation for our employees and elected officials as well as open the challenge to all Blue Island residents. So spread the word… ANYONE that bikes to work this week from or to Blue Island will be entered in the Community Development Dept’s annual bike to work week raffle. Win stuff!! Register your trips with Mary Poulsen – mpoulsen@cityofblueisland.org – so we can tally your participation. The more often you bike to work, the more chances to win – enter every day!

This year Mayor Donald E. Peloquin has challenged our Alderman to join him and Bike to Work @ City Council on Tuesday, June 14. If you’re interested in riding in together we will rendezvous in front of Cal-Sag Cycles at 12840 Western Ave at 6pm. Wrenches are on hand if you need a quick sidewalk tune-up. We’ll leave the shop and roll down to the Annex around 6:30pm.

Check out ATA’s full list of bike week events here and join us on Thursday, June 16 for a Bike After Work dinner at Tenochtitlan followed by a bike cruise of Historic Blue Island, leaving the restaurant at 7:30 pm.

We had a fantastic kick-off to Bike to Work Week on Saturday with Cal-Sag Cycles, the nation’s FIRST pop-up bike shop. We are all be proud of the hard work these kids put in, servicing 90 bikes in a little over 4 hours! Visit www.calsagcycles.com to learn more.