PolishNews.com

OFFICE OF THE STATE’S ATTORNEY

COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

Students are starting summer break, the weather is warming up and many families are getting ready to take their annual summer vacation.  When making your vacation to-do list, don’t forget to include a few quick and easy measures to safeguard your home while you are gone:

 - Make sure you notify a trusted neighbor that you will be gone.  You can ask them to watch for any suspicious activity or persons around your home and give them a telephone number you or someone else close can be reached at if there is an emergency.

- Don’t let mail or newspapers pile up.  Ask a neighbor to collect your mail and newspapers every day, or request a ‘vacation hold’ from the U.S. Postal Service and your newspaper delivery service while you are away.  An overstuffed mailbox and/or several days of newspapers accumulating in front of your house are a tip off to burglars that you are away for an extended length of time.

- Don’t let your lawn get overgrown.  Perhaps you can ask a friend to cut your grass or hire a neighborhood teen to mow your lawn while you’re gone.

- Put automatic timers on several lights in your house – preferably in rooms you normally occupy.  Just leaving a light on continually can indicate no one is there to turn it off.

- Contact your local police department and ask if they have a ‘vacation house check’ program you can sign up for.

- Last, just before leaving, do a complete walk through of your house, making sure all windows and doors are locked.  Be sure to include the basement and garage in the walk through.

Remember, planning a vacation entails a little more than making reservations, purchasing tickets and packing sunscreen.  Taking a few minutes to safeguard your home can help you enjoy your vacation more by knowing you’ve taken precautions to ensure an enjoyable homecoming following your trip.

Have a fun and safe summer!

Anita Alvarez

Cook County State’s Attorney