By Howard Packowitz

BLOOMINGTON – Largely funded by private donations, the Twin-Cities will soon have its first playground where kids with and without disabilities can play together.

Bloomington aldermen Tuesday night unanimously approved spending $85,000, which is the city’s share for Harmony Park. The playground will replace aging equipment at Rollingbrook Park on Hershey Road, which was chosen because its size, its access to Constitution Trail, and easy road access.

Corin Chapman has raised or received in pledges $175,000 for what she said is a “glaring” community need. Chapman’s five-year old son, Max, has a genetic disorder limiting his mobility, his hearing, and vision.

“It’s not just Max. It’s about 3,000 children within our community that don’t have a place to play safely and independently,” Chapman said.

“If you look at other communities in Illinois with over 50,000 people, the only two communities without an accessible playground are Bloomington and Normal.”

Chapman said local Kiwanis and Rotary clubs have made donations and State Farm awarded a neighborhood assistance grant. The rest came from individual donors. Another $30,000 is needed for fencing surrounding the playground.

“Because there is such a need in our community, we’ve been able to really just leverage $25 here, $25 there, and there are so many people that are touched by children with disabilities,” Chapman also said.

Aldermen also backed new playground equipment at O’Neil Park on the city’s west side. District 87 is paying $70,000 because kids at nearby Sheridan School will use the playground.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]