Northern Illinois has the honor of kicking off Illinois’ largest year-round fundraising event benefiting Special Olympics with the first legs of the Law Enforcement Torch Run on Sunday.
The first legs will be held Sunday in Belvidere and DeKalb.
Officers from the Belvidere Police Department and the Boone County Sheriff’s Department will run seven miles through Belvidere, beginning at 10 a.m. on North State St.
Beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday, officers from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, DeKalb Police Department, Sycamore Police Department and Northern Illinois University Police Department will run almost 7.7 miles from the DeKalb County Courthouse to the DeKalb Police Department.
Several legs of the Torch Run will be held Wednesday, starting at 6 a.m. at the Wisconsin State Line on Illinois 2 in South Beloit.
Police officers from Rockford, the Rockford Park District, Loves Park, South Beloit and Rockton along with Winnebago County Sheriff’s Deputies, Illinois State Police Troopers and agents with the FBI, ATF and Illinois Department of Corrections will carry the “Flame of Hope” through South Beloit, Rockton, Machesney Park, Loves Park and Rockford.
One group will run from the state line nearly 14 miles to RocVale Children’s Home on North Rockton Avenue in Rockford, where it will be joined by officers leaving the Machesney Park Village Hall at 7:15 to run a six-mile leg to RocVale.
From there, beginning about 9 a.m., Rockford and Rockford Park District Police officers will take over for just under 10 miles to 11th Street and Samuelson Road at the south edge of Rockford.
After completing the Rockford run, the Flame of Hope will travel to Oregon and Rochelle where the Ogle County Sheriff’s Deputies and the Rochelle Police Department will carry the torch through their communities.
The Flame will then travel to Sterling and Rock Falls where Illinois State Police District 1 Troopers, along with officers from Sterling, Rock Falls and other area communities will carry the torch through Sterling and Rock Falls. Finally, the Torch will travel to Mendota and will be carried by Mendota Police Officers through their community.
At 11 a.m. Thursday, Lee County Sheriff’s Deputies and Dixon police officers will run through the streets of Dixon. At 1 p.m. Thursday, officers with the Freeport Police Department and the Stephenson County Sheriff’s Department will carry the torch through the streets of Freeport.
The event got its start in 1986 and has grown ever since. It now has more than 3,000 officers representing each branch of law enforcement. Together, the officers will run more than 1,500 miles with the Flame of Hope, eventually delivering it to the State Summer Games in Normal on June 10th.
The event has two goals: to raise money and raise awareness of the athletes of Special Olympics. In 2015, the run raised more than $4.1 million, which made it the second-highest-grossing program in the world. Since the program got its start, it has raised more $39 million.
Special Olympics Illinois provides year-round training and hosts competitions in 19 different sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and almost 13,000 young athletes with and without intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics Illinois allows these athletes to compete without any charge. Special Olympics Illinois also benefits these athletes with physical fitness, sports skills, self-esteem, and social benefits.
