By Dee Longfellow
Things are ship-shape in the City of Elmhurst, according to Mayor Scott Levin who delivered the annual State of the City address to a group of 150 business and community leaders on the chilly morning of Thursday, Jan. 18.
Hosted by the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ECCI), the event was held at Community Bank of Elmhurst (CBE), which was the event sponsor. The breakfast was catered by Fresh Start.
CBE’s Ken Bartels opened by noting that this year, the bank has been in business for 30 years and that this was its 25th year hosting the State of the City address. In the same vein, Bartels announced that the Elmhurst Children’s Assistance Foundation (ECAF) was reaching the 30-year milestone as well this year and is planning a celebration on Saturday, March 2 at River Forest Country Club.
In his introduction of ECCI president and CEO John R. Quigley, Bartels spoke of Quigley’s service over the past 25 years since 1999.
“Under John’s leadership, the Chamber has remained steadfast in its leadership of the business community through such major events as 9-11, the recession of ’07-’09, and more recently, the pandemic of 2020,” he said. “Thanks to John, the Chamber has remained constant through good times and bad.”
Bartels announced a fundraiser for the American Legion THB Post 187, scheduled on Friday, Feb. 2, when four of the most recent mayors and others in the community will “roast” Quigley. Tickets are $25 per person and can be purchased at the ECCI web site, or by snapping a photo of the QR Code on one of the flyers. Proceeds benefit the Legion.
In his State of the Chamber remarks, Quigley said there were 420 ECCI members at the present time. He announced that the A. J. “Toche” Terrones Business of the Year for 2023 would be awarded to Alan Energy Services, operated by Eric Weech. The honor will be presented at the 105th Annual ECCI Awards Gala on Friday, March 22, as will the Ambassador of the Year award to Eva Sanchez of @properties for the second time.
The Chairman’s Award will be bestowed upon Colin Dalough of Endeavor Health, recently installed as the 2024 Chairman of the Board. Dalough briefly addressed the room, thanking members for their investment in the Chamber.
Among the honorees at the Awards Gala will be Dan Gibbons of the Dan Gibbons Turkey Trot Foundation, who will be inducted into the Civic Hall of Fame.
Quigley shared the news that Jennifer Veremis has accepted the full-time position of Membership Administrator. She happens to be an alderman, representing the City’s First Ward.
Offering his own plans for the future and his vision for the ECCI over the next two years, Quigley said he plans to retire by the end of 2025 at the latest, possibly sooner.
Levin begins on a bright note
“We are a City of planners,” Levin said as he began his remarks. “We have a process in place and we spend a lot of time planning. That is what keeps our City strong.”
He said the City’s financials are currently in good shape and there would be no property tax increase, and yet, all the City’s services to its residents will remain constant.
“Bear in mind, [the City’s] portion of the property tax bill is a small percentage. About 85% goes to the schools. We work hard to be good stewards of the dollar.”
Levin said the City currently has 25% cash reserves.
“The Finance Department has a new computer system, which was a great undertaking for [staff]. Soon you will be able to apply for permits and licenses online.”
Traffic congestion
With the revitalization and the new residential properties along Addison St. over the past few years, downtown traffic remains an issue of contention for residents and businesses, Levin said.
“We’re committed to enhance traffic flow, safety, mitigate congestion.
“We looked at the issue holistically and divided the City into areas and went area-by-area, [conducting] a city-wide traffic analysis. We started in the First Ward at Elmhurst [University]. [The Public Affairs and Safety Committee] made remarkable progress.
“We learned that instead of saying, ‘I want a stop sign,’ or ‘I want a crosswalk,’ we need to ask, ‘in this area, what do we need so that traffic flows?’”
Seeing red?
One of the “answers” proposed to that question was to remove all Yield signs.
“The reason is, people don’t really stop a Yield sign, they may not see a pedestrian or children trying to cross, and they really do not help the flow of traffic.
“As we continue down this road, we are likely to see less and less yellow and more and more red.”
Fire, police depts remain top notch
Fire Chief Dick Dufort and the Fire Department were praised, having handled 7,000 calls over the past year.
“Other towns are saying it’s hard to get firefighters these days, but we don’t have a big problem because we take care of our personnel,” Dufort said. “We pay well, we train well, and we equip the department in the best, most up-to-date, state-of-the-art equipment available.”
Like everything else, fire engines work hard and eventually grow old and less efficient. Levin said a new fire engine will be needed either later this year or early in 2025.
Levin also commended Police Chief Mike McLean, who stepped up following the death of Chief Michael Ruth. He added that for the first time in a long time, the police department is fully staffed.
Other police points:
“The police responded to 42,000 incidents over the past year.
“We purchased a drone. McLean said, there couldn’t be a more important piece of equipment for law enforcement.
“We added a second K-9, giving us two in total, very few communities can say that.”
Economic development—the engine that drives us
“I remember Mayor Tom Marcucci always said, ‘keep your foot on the gas’ in terms of economic development and never let it up. This year, we’ve seen $817 million in new investment in our community,” Levin said.
Levin pointed out the retail vacancy rate in Elmhurst is currently at 2%, while DuPage County is at 7.5%.
Other points:
• The City continues its resurfacing and landscaping efforts with the goal to be one of the most bikeable and walkable cities in the area. It is working with the Elmhurst Bicycle Club and supporting its mission of encouraging people to bicycle.
• A total of 6,600 street lights throughout the City have all been replaced with LED bulbs. The energy savings is expected to pay back the cost of the project in just two years.
• Residents are urged to sign up for the new ALERTS program to learn about City news as it happens.
• The City and the Elmhurst Youth Commission are currently seeking nominations of outstanding young people for the Youth Volunteer Service Awards.
