* Governor Pritzker…

* Patch…

In the days immediately following the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, Oak Lawn police officers and firefighters traveled to assist the beleaguered New York City first responders where 343 firefighters and 72 police officers died responding to the World Trade Center attacks.

Nine years later, some of those same Oak Lawn first responders went to New York to escort four beams from the fallen towers back to Oak Lawn. For those unfamiliar or to young to remember the installation of the 9/11 memorial in front of the train station, here is a timeline: […]

Four WTC beams arrived in Oak Lawn on a flatbed truck Dec. 17, 2010. The beams were escorted by four Oak Lawn first responders who had volunteered to assist in the aftermath in New York City. Prior to that, Ground Zero debris was being held as crime scene evidence by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, which owned the trade center. The port authority was granted permission by the courts to make pieces of the wreckage available to communities for 9/11 memorials nationwide.

Prior to the beams’ arrival, the Oak Lawn Village Board entered into an agreement with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to bring remnants of the World Trade Center to the village. […]

Footing the costs for transporting the beams from New York and New Jersey were the Oak Lawn Police and Fire Clubs, and the International Union of Operation Engineers Local 150. […]

Renowned sculptor Erik Blome, whose works dot the North American landscape —including the larger-than-life-sized bronze bust of Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable on Michigan Avenue – was hired to create the memorial with the help of students from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. […]

Embedded into the obelisks are likenesses of hands and faces of people: police officers, fire fighters, and civilians who came to the aid of strangers.

* Winnetka annually plants 2,977 American Flags to remember victims…

* Chicago Fire Department…

* More…

* SJ-R | ‘I’m not sure if it ever, ever sunk in’: Harvel World Trade Center survivor remembers 9/11: When a plane initially hit Tower 1 of the World Trade Center at 7:46 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, Shelley Lebeck felt the building go sideways and then right itself. Lebeck, a Harvel native working on the 44th floor as an office manager for a trade group for Wall Street technical analysts, said she thought it was an explosion. A small plane flying into the building also crossed her mind. […] “I’m not sure if it ever, ever sunk in, that it was all gone like that,” Lebeck said of the twin towers.

* WILL | 800 Miles from Ground Zero: 9/11’s Impact on Central Illinois: The first plane hit the World Trade Center in NYC at 7:46 CST in 2001. In this first episode of 800 Miles from Ground Zero: 9/11’s Impact on Central Illinois listeners hear memories from this day and the weeks following from a variety of people currently living in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois who recount their experiences during a time that horrified, traumatized, and brought together a nation.

* NBC Chicago | From the Archives: Survivor Recalls His Viral 9/11 Email: Adam Mayblum worked on the 87th floor of the World Trade Center’s north tower, just below where American Airlines Flight 11 struck, and he was one of the few who made it out. Shortly after he walked down all those flights of stairs, past firefighters going the other way, he wrote an email to family and friends describing his experience. It quickly went viral, and Mayblum’s words resonated around the world as people were able to relive those moments he spent inside the tower.

* Patch | 9/11 Remembrance Events Scheduled For Glencoe, Northfield, Winnetka: In communities around New Trier Township, ceremonies are being held to honor those slain. In Glencoe, the public safety department has partnered with the Am Shalom synagogue to host a memorial service at the flagpole at the coroner of Vernon and Lincoln avenues. It begins at 7:46 a.m. on Wednesday.

* WGN | CFD hold memorial tribute on 23rd anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks: The Chicago Fire Department held a memorial tribute on Wednesday at Engine 42 headquarters on the Near North Side to mark the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. A moment of silence is scheduled occurred at 7:46 a.m.

* Shaw Local | 9/11 remembrances will mark anniversary in McHenry County: Algonquin: The Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District will host a public remembrance ceremony at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday at Riverfront Park, 201 N Harrison St., Algonquin. Carpentersville: Join the Carpentersville Fire Department in the 23rd anniversary of the National Day of Service and Remembrance 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at Carpentersville Fire Station 91, 213 Spring St.

* WSIL | Benton School Honors Victims of 9/11 Attacks: A local school is honoring the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Benton Consolidated High School is displaying 2,977 American Flags on their front lawn and joining campuses across the nation this week in honoring the victims. This is part of the Never Forget Project with the Young America’s Foundation which launched in 2003.

* Daily Herald | Sept. 11 observances across the suburbs: Evanston 9/11 Ceremony: 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, at Firemen’s Park, Simpson Street and Maple Avenue in Evanston. The Evanston fire and police departments will honor the brave men and women who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.

* KMOX | Saluki Stair Climb in Southern Illinois set to honor 9/11 victims: Lt. Col Chay Derbigny, commander and professor of aerospace studies for SIUC’s Air Force ROTC detachment 205, explained that his predecessor originally came up with the idea. “She had the idea last year and she ran it. I mean that was her baby and she made it an incredible event that doubled the pot of people that they were expecting to participate just out of her marketing efforts,” said Derbigny.