Niles Community Involved to Pull for Special Olympics on Sept. 16

The 9th Annual Law Enforcement Torch Run Plane Pull is the ultimate tug-of-war competition as teams compete to pull an aircraft 12 feet as quickly as possible. In 2017, Special Olympics Illinois and the Illinois Law Enforcement Torch Run will partner to host Plane Pull events at two locations. The 2017 O'Hare Plane Pull will take place on Saturday, September 16 at the United Airlines Cargo facility in Chicago.

Last year, Niles Police Chief, Dennis McEnerney, invited the Woodward Community Outreach Committee to participate in the event last year. They were so excited to join that they had two teams last year!

Woodward of Niles is part of the Airframe Systems Division of Woodward, Inc.; that engineers and manufactures components for the aerospace industry including the Boeing 737 and Airbus A300 used in the Plane Pull at O'Hare. Woodward Community Outreach Committee partners with local organizations to better our community and the lives of those living within them. They chose to participate in Plane Pull because they love the camaraderie of Woodward's membership coming together, supporting a great organization, and having fun doing it.

Team Captain, Terry Ozima serves on the Associate Board of Orchard Village- Skokie, Illinois. Orchard Village assists people with developmental disabilities, and has several athletes participating in Special Olympics. His two daughters chose to volunteer for Special Olympics Illinois Spring Games for their senior service project at Trinity High School-River Forest. They had a blast working with the athletes!

The Plane Pull lands at O'Hare International Airport at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 16. Law enforcement agencies, fire departments, private companies, high schools, colleges, fraternal groups and teams of friends and family will face off against either a UPS Airbus A300 or United Airlines 737 aircraft.

Last year's Plane Pull saw 100 teams and raised nearly $200,000 for the athletes of Special Olympics Illinois. Registration is now open online at www.illinoisplanepull.com.

The Law Enforcement Torch Run is the single largest year-round fundraising vehicle benefiting

Special Olympics Illinois. The annual intrastate relay and its various fundraising projects have two

Goals: to raise money and to gain awareness for the athletes who participate in Special Olympics

Illinois. The Law Enforcement Torch Run has raised $44 million over 31 years while increasing

Awareness of Special Olympics Illinois athletes and their accomplishments.