By Dee Longfellow
Instead of the usual blustery below-zero temperatures, it was an unusually mild morning on Thursday, Jan. 19 when about 130 people gathered at Community Bank of Elmhurst on Butterfield Road to hear Mayor Scott Levin deliver the annual State of the City address.
The event is co-hosted and sponsored by the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ECCI).
The first speaker to the dais, introduced by Ken Bartels, was Rich Reichert, president of Community Bank of Elmhurst, which has hosted the gathering for 30 years.
“Thirty years ago, the prime rate was 6%, Tom Marcucci had just been elected mayor and Jim Grabowski had just started kindergarten!” he quipped. “The hospital was still on Berteau and District 205 was nowhere near envisioning York High School as it is today. That is when CBE opened its doors and, while there have been many changes since that time, Elmhurst is still the vibrant community today as it was then.
“The bank is still owned by the same people. We are still your community bank.”
Bartels commented that the ECCI stayed open and active during the COVID-19 pandemic, as he introduced John R. Quigley, ECCI president and CEO.
Quigley announced that the 104th annual Awards Gala is scheduled in March, when this year’s accomplished members will be recognized. He said the A.J. “Toche” Terrones Business of the Year for 2022 would be presented to Helping Hands Cleaning Services. Elmhurst University’s Desiree Chen will receive the Chairman’s Award and Eva Sanchez of See Your House Right Here @properties-Elmhurst has been named the Ambassador of the Year.
John DeVries of DeVries Animal Hospital will become the 33rd inductee into the ECCI Civic Hall of Fame. Quigley reminded the audience that the ECCI Centennial Celebration NFP had recently unveiled a 65-inch touchscreen public memorial on the second floor of the Elmhurst Public Library, which describes the Elmhurst Civic Hall of Fame and features all of its inductees.
Quigley introduced Rita Borzym of Edward Jones Investments, the ECCI’s current Chairman of the Board, who offered a welcome.
Mayor Levin begins
Mayor Scott Levin began his remarks with an overview of the City by the numbers. The current population is listed as 45,326. At the present time, there are 275 employees working in 10 departments, there are 16 boards and commissions which function entirely with volunteers. He reminded the audience that residents were invited to apply to serve, that applications were available on the City’s website.
“The City Council has 14 aldermen all of whom are educated, involved and are all great people,” he said. “We take our work seriously, we don’t just rubberstamp, we work together and we work together well and that’s when good things happen. We’re getting things done by seeing eye-to-eye.”
He shared the disappointing news that three aldermen have chosen not to seek re-election on the spring ballot: 3rd Ward Alderman Dannee Polomsky, 2nd Ward Alderman Bob Dunn and 6th Ward Alderman Michael Honquest.
“While we may have different views, partisan politics has never been an issue for the City Council,” he said. “Our aldermen come together and do the right thing. We work together and keep politics out of it.”
Levin mentioned that Jim Grabowski had served as City Manager for 11 years and had to hire four new department heads in 2022, including Larry Kravitz, the new IT director.
Financials offer good news
His report on the City’s finances brought good news.
“Finance director Christina Coyle was only on the job one month in March 2022, but 2022 was a very good year for City finances,” he said. “Non-property tax revenues were up significantly. Why is that good news for the taxpayer? The City passed a flat property tax levy in 2022, which will be reflected in tax bills received in 2023. This means if your property value stayed the same or decreased, you will likely see a decrease in the property tax payable in 2023.
“The City only impacts about 7% of the property tax bill, but property tax only accounts for about 18% of our revenues.”
Levin said sales tax accounts for about 26% of the City’s revenue and the leading source of sales tax is auto sales.
In September 2022, the City received $6.8 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Levin said. The ARPA funds were primarily used for repairs at two parking decks and for rehabilitation of the storm stations.
He also said the General Fund balance remains above the 25% reserve level, or three months.
Reports on the City departments
Levin recognized the loss of Police Chief Mike Ruth in the past year and was proud to welcome former Deputy Chief Michael McLean as the new chief on Sept. 6. He noted that it had been a problem to hire new officers—a problem in Chicago and in every suburb, not just Elmhurst. Still, the City hired 12 new officers, when the chief made it a priority.
“We’ve put more focus on community policing,” Levin said. “Almost 1,000 residents attended our Neighborhood Roll Calls over the summer—an award-winning program, by the way. The police partnered with the Fire Department and held ‘Public Safety Night,’ a community event in Berens Park, to build partnerships with our residents.”
He said programs like DARE, SALT (Seniors And Law enforcement Together) and the Citizens Police Academy have started up again after lagging during the pandemic. The Citizens Police Academy had 23 graduates this past fall.
“We welcomed a new fire Chief Bill Anaszewicz on Oct. 3,” Levin said. “Public education and our building codes and their enforcement results in very few structure fires, but our firefighters are still busy. They responded to about 7,000 calls for service in 2022, which is almost 1,000 more than 2021. More than 4,000 of those calls involved EMS [emergency medical services].”
When it came to the subject of Public Works, Levin made a happy announcement.
“For the first time in over a decade, stormwater will not be a key part of the State of the City address!” he announced to a round of applause. “We have been a leader in this effort to solve a problem that has plagued many municipalities. Others are learning by our example.
“We have addressed almost all the key flooding issues. I no longer fear that any major rainstorm will cause any significant damage.”
He noted that last year, he had identified the start of neighborhood traffic studies as a priority for City Council.
“[Those studies] began in 2022,” Levin said. “We began in the College View area to evaluate uncontrolled intersections and those with traffic controls or stop/yield signs for consistency and better traffic flow. It is our goal to complete two to three neighborhood study areas annually.”
The first Public Works Citizens Academy was held to enhance residents’ understanding and awareness of what the department does. A total of 22 graduates went through the course.
In other news from Public Works, Levin said more than 950 trees had been planted in 2022, one-and-one-half times the normal number, and the City plans to do the same in 2023 as part of a two-year catch-up plan due to the deferral of tree planning in 2021. Work also continues on a multi-year plan to convert all street light fixtures to more energy-efficient LED units. He said about 1,500 were done in 2022, making a total of about 2,600 of the City’s 7,000 streetlights now complete.
Levin’s remarks included community development and planning and offered an overview of major projects in the works. He stressed an interest in making Elmhurst a bike-friendly and walk-friendly town, hoping for a “big push to get people out of their cars.” He announced the inaugural meeting of a new Bike-Walk Working Group in the City, chaired by Mike LoCicero with Armaline Mirretti as vice-chair.
Following comments on the museums, the public library, the park district, and District 205 schools, Levin concluded his comments.
“The State of the City?” he said. “Excellent! And it looks to be even better in 2023.”
The entire State of the City event will be available on an upcoming episode of Elmhurst Our Kind of Town. Programs air on COMCAST Channel 6 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99. The Elmhurst Independent publishes the broadcast schedule every month.
