The Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation will host the 2^nd Annual Chicago Cruise aboard the Summer of George on Wednesday, June 25, 2008. The inaugural event in 2007, which was held in conjunction with the National Association of Elevator Contractors (NAEC) educational seminar, was attended by more than 130 guests.  Attendees enjoyed sailing the locks of the Chicago River into Lake Michigan while enjoying Hors’ D’oeuvres and an open bar.  The NAEC seminar was instrumental in attracting attendees to the cruise while cultivating the local industry in an educational setting. This year’s cruise check-in will begin at 6:30 p.m. with boarding at 7:00 p.m.  There will be a Hors D’oeuvres, open bar and a DJ on the top deck.  This is an excellent opportunity to network with fellow Chicagoans as well as a nice way to say thank you to your customers.  Sponsorship opportunities are available.  For details on sponsorships and registration information, please click the brochure link below.

Sponsorship/Registration Form: chicago-cruise-brochure.pdf

Be sure to purchase your tickets before June 5^th to receive the low rate of $110 per person.  The price will increase to $125 after the deadline.  Sponsors will receive admission tickets as part of their sponsorship.  For more details regarding tickets, sponsorship or general information about the cruise, please visit www.EESF.org

May 13, 2008

By Patrick Butler – Pioneer Press Local Web Site

The River Forest Village Board on Monday voted unanimously to support legislation sponsored by state Sen. Don Harmon (D-39th) exempting residential buildings from “the more onerous” provisions of the state elevator safety code, provided public safety would not be compromised.

Harmon’s measure would give every other community in the state the same exemption Chicago already enjoys, the resolution’s supporters pointed out.

On the books since 2003, the regulations would require major elevator cab, door and communications system upgrades by next year, with more extensive improvements in the elevators’ hydraulic systems by 2011, a number of condo and apartment building owners complained at a public hearing last month.

Resident Barbara Langer said it would cost about $83,000 for her condo building to put in an elevator that meets state requirements. Resident Al Popowits said it would cost $130,000 to fix the two elevators in his 30-unit building even though they “work just fine.”

Harmon’s bill could come up for a vote in the Legislature as early as this week, according to Village Trustee Russ Nummer.

Trustees on Monday also adopted a new building code, without earlier provisions that would have required radio amplifiers be installed in all multi-unit buildings so emergency personnel can communicate better. They also left out a provision that smoke detector systems in buildings of three or more units be directly connected to the West Suburban Dispatch Center.

Still included in the new building regulations is a requirement that sprinkler systems be installed in renovated areas amounting to half or more of a home or apartment’s total floor area.

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/riverforest/news/946427,RF-Trustees-051308-sl.article