At the ribbon cutting for the new running track at Woodlawn School (L to R) Lake County Board Representative Sidney Mathias, Me, Buffalo Grove Village President Beverly Sussman.

Right now we are smack dab in the middle of a Midwestern winter, and springtime is still a couple of months away despite whatever the groundhog recently predicted. So with this blog post I am going to remind you that warmer weather is coming, and with it will be the start of track season. And this year, our local teams at both Woodlawn and Twin Groves middle schools will have beautiful new running tracks on which to perfect their sport. Previously, students had to practice on grass fields with hand-painted lines, but about a year and a half ago School District #96 was able to finally work construction of proper tracks into the capital projects budget. What were once rough practice fields have now been transformed with a paved foundation topped by a rubber surface, sporting permanently painted lanes. The work was accomplished in the summer and early fall of 2015, and I was honored to participate with other local elected officials in the official ribbon-cutting ceremonies at both schools this past October 8th.

Gazing out my window on this dark winter morning, I am dreaming of the days soon to come when I can get back out on the walking path in the spring sunshine. I imagine there are also students at Woodlawn today gazing out the windows at their new athletic field, with the same cabin-fever thoughts as me. Hang on kids, because warmer days are sure to come and when they do, these beautiful improved tracks are ready and waiting!