Rock Island Today

Rep. Daniel Swanson participated in Moline and East Moline’s National Night Out events on Tuesday.

Swanson enjoyed the interactions between the communities’ fire and police departments and the residents. National Night Out is an annual event held this year on Aug. 1-2, to bring first responders and community members together.

"Our evening started out at Ben Butterworth Parkway for the Moline Police and Fire Departments and East Moline Police and Fire Departments National night out!" Swanson said. "Great to see the large crowd and many supporting groups."

The Quad City Times reported that K-9 officers and their handlers from both Moline and East Moline Police Departments participated in the event on Tuesday, but they weren’t the only attractions. There were face painting and other booths to entertain kids, an Army Howitzer tank, a petting zoo and food booths too.

KWQC reported Wednesday that National Night Out events have happened in Moline and East Moline for two decades, but in recent years, have held these events together.    

National Night Out is a community outreach and community-building campaign to improve relationships between community members and police officers in a low-stress situation. The National Night Out campaign began in 1984, when an established network of law enforcement groups, neighborhood watch organizations, and community groups came together. According to the National Night Out website, the first event, in August 1984 happened in 400 communities across 23 states, with 2.5 million individuals involved.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance has an information sheet that talks about the program objectives and a component of the National Night Out program called Project 365. The BJA says “Introduced in 1994, Project 365 is a targeting component of the National Night Out program that helps communities identify specific problem areas and then work to resolve these problems over the next 365 days. The project begins on the annual National Night Out celebration day (the first Tuesday in August) and ends 365 days later. Project 365’s first year was extremely successful and it continues to generate an outstanding response from hundreds of communities.”

Rep. Dan Swanson was sworn in to the Illinois General Assembly on January 11, 2017. He is a retired Lt. Colonel in the Illinois National Guard. When he's not in Springfield and representing his constituents, Swanson works on the family farm with his father, his brother, his son and his nephew.