The City is now accepting nominations for the Veterans’ Day Banner Display Program on its website at westchicago.org/veteransdaydisplay. As part of the Program, local veterans are honored through decorative banners installed downtown from the third week of October through the last week of November. The banners feature a military photo of each veteran, accompanied by their name, years of service, and military branch.
In 2023, the display reached maximum capacity as the number of participating veterans exceeded the City’s inventory of display mechanisms on its streetlight poles. To address this issue, the West Chicago City Council approved guidelines to create a formal Veterans’ Day Banner Display Program. Under the new guidelines, banners will be rotated annually to accommodate unlimited entries, ensuring that there will never be a maximum number of honorees. Additionally, the City Council approved funds to allow for 14 new entries each year.
As part of the new guidelines, the City is updating the design of the banners. This update will require the existing banners to be retired and returned to the appropriate participants or their family and friends who initially nominated them. Existing participants, or their nominators, can schedule a time to pick up their banners by emailing communications@westchicago.org or calling (630) 293-2200 ext. 139.
Although existing participants will receive their original banners, each participant will automatically be included in future displays.
Residents seeking to nominate someone for the Program can visit westchicago.org/veteransdaydisplay to view the Program guidelines and submit the appropriate information. This Program is fully funded by the City of West Chicago and there is no cost to participants or their nominators.