In 1973, Arlington Heights residents were concerned with the rowdy behavior, vandalism, drinking and drug use that was taking place in their neighborhood parks. They expressed their concern to the village. Realizing that adult supervision in the parks might cut down on the problems, the Counselors in the Parks program was instituted with a budget of $9,632. The park district administered and supervised the fledgling program, and in 1979 the village and the park district took on cooperative funding and administration of the program. The cost in 1991/92 was $28,900, with the park district providing $13,000 and the village $15,900.

Ed Giese, Human Services Coordinator for the Village of Arlington Heights, became involved with the program in 1976. At that time, residents were surveyed as to the three-year-old program's effectiveness and they declared it an overwhelming success. Giese walked the larger parks, talking to residents, to get an idea of their needs and any problems they were experiencing. He determined that the counselors' duties should include:

1. Public relations—have a friendly, helpful person to answer questions.
2. Education—remind park visitors of the village and park ordinances.
3. Preventing problems—have someone visible in the parks to prevent vandalism, disperse groups congregating to cause trouble, and handle any rule infractions.

Patrolling the parks from Memorial Day through Labor Day, the counselors do all of the above on their 7 to 11 p.m. nightly rounds. Hired by Ed Giese, most of the 13 staff members are teachers or administrators; there's very little turnover— many of the counselors have been with this summer program for years. In May, they meet with Sue Gwinnup, assistant superintendent of recreation for the park district. She goes over new rules or areas of concern and arranges for each counselor to meet with their park's center director. Sue feels that the program is a proactive way to keep the neighborhood parks running smoothly.

It's head counselor Ed Kasprowicz's job to arrange staffing, schedule substitutes and deal with nightly concerns. Ed's a junior high counselor who has been with the program on and off since 1976. His evening begins at village hall, where he picks up a village car and a two-way radio. Each park counselor has a radio which allows him/her to monitor police calls, communicate with each other, and call 911 in case of an emergency. Because the counselor is alone in the park. the radio allows contact with someone if assistance is needed.

On this particular evening, Ed heads to Recreation Park. where park counselor, Lyle Hampton, updates him on the previous night's problem. A man sleeping on a park bench appeared to be intoxicated. Lyle called Ed and the two men awakened the man. As he sat up, he reached into a bag and for a moment they weren't sure what would happen. Fortunately, he was reaching for a cigarette. But as Ed said, "when you come upon an intoxicated person, you don't know what they'll do." The police picked up the man and attempted to find a shelter for him.

As Lyle and Ed are talking, Arlington Heights Mayor, William Maki. and his wife stop by to express their appreciation for the excellent job the counselors do. Ed had received a request from Sue Gwinnup to make two stops at the park district's newest facility, Lake Arlington, since there wasn't a counselor assigned to the lake this year. On his way north, Ed does several drive-by inspections of the smaller parks. Arriving at Lake Arlington, he walks around talking to people enjoying the summer evening. The village car and his bright yellow "Park Counselor" jacket let residents know someone's supervising the area. "We have very few problems because this program is so well established," Ed explained. "Just knowing someone's in the park prevents problems."

As he drives through a nearby neighborhood park, Ed spots a group of boys playing basketball and drinking beer. He pulls onto the court, gathers up the beer cans, and explains to the underage drinkers that alcohol is not allowed in the park. His approach is very polite. He asks to check their car, which is parked on the court. "You can play basketball," he tells them. "But there's no drinking in the park and you'll have to move your car." The boys do as he asks. What if they refused? "I'd tell them, if you don't cooperate. I'll have to call the police,'" Ed responds. He's never had to call the police.

On his next drive-by, Ed dumps the beer, and explains to a couple walking a dog that no dogs are allowed in the park. He hunts up another garbage bin to handle the over-flow from a family picnic and shags some kids off the ball diamond fence. When he gets to Camelot Park on the north side of Arlington, counselor Tom Feller has an intoxicated basketball player story to relate. Drinking in the parks is the most frequent problem the counselors handle. Years ago it was pool fence jumpers, and Tom has occassional run-ins with large dogs. Tom's a retired school teacher who's been a counselor for seven summers. He enjoys the contact with residents and the exercise he gets walking the park for four hours. Heading south, Ed visits Elaine Norkett at Hasbrook Park. Walking a park alone at night can be intimidating. Elaine relies on the illumination from the tennis courts and her two-way radio. One night she came across a group of teens gathering in the parking lot; as Elaine approached them, her radio was crackling with static. One of the teens said, 'let's get outta here; she's wired!"

Elaine gets to know the regulars and keeps her eye out for new visitors, making it a point to let everyone know she's watching out for their welfare.

Until 11 p.m. Ed Kasprowicz is in and out of his car, visiting the counselors in the larger parks, driving through the neighborhood parks, and looking for disruptions to normal park activity. According to Recreation Superintendent Roger Key, the park counselors are "our eyes and ears at night."

About the Author
Nancy Chamberlain is communications supervisor of the Arlington Heights Park District.