Tinley Park Wins Award For Creative Use Of Technology: Officials

Tinley Park IL

22 November, 2021

3:57 PM

Description

TINLEY PARK, IL — Tinley Park placed ninth in a national competition which looked at towns' social media presence and digital security, village officials told Patch Friday. The Center for Digital Government's 2021 Digital Cities Survey evaluates towns based on population. Tinley Park placed among the top ten in the "Up to 75,000 Population" category. According to a spokesman for the group, towns that were entered into the survey had to fit the criteria of "[Using] technology to tackle social challenges, enhance services, strengthen cybersecurity and more." The award comes in light of the village's new IT department leadership, which introduced drone technology and paperless portals to the village's tech inventory. Among the new programs, officials said the IT team worked with the Community Development Department to create a public portal that allows residents to submit applications for building permits online, a process which used to require multiple paper documents. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the IT department also stepped up to help close the communication gap between senior citizens and their loved ones by making an emergency notification system called CodeRED which alerted users of any big news in their area. The flashiest new addition, officials said, were the fleet of drones which came to the village in June. "With several certified drone pilots under its belt, the Village intends to use drones for building inspections," officials said in a statement. "In emergency events, drones will also provide vital information for police and/or fire departments using infrared cameras and real-time streaming capabilities." The village's IT department and other officials will accept their award during the Digital Cities Awards and Workshop event on Dec. 8.