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City Installs Murals Downtown to Celebrate “Year of the Alebrijes”

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It is the “Year of the Alebrijes” in West Chicago and to celebrate the occasion, the City has installed a special community art experience in the downtown area for all to enjoy.

To honor the six artists that created the sculptures at the Alebrijes: Creatures of a Dream World exhibit at Cantigny Park, the City has installed six murals throughout downtown West Chicago with each showcasing a preliminary drawing created by each of the artists that were used for their final sculptures. This special exhibit is called “Artists of a Dream World Tour.” (One artist has two drawings showcased as part of exhibit.)

Each of these special drawings were selected from the Mexican Cultural Center DuPage’s art exhibit at Gallery 200, “Maquetas y Bocetos,” which features the preliminary drawings and models that were used to envision the sculptures at the exhibit at Cantigny Park.

The Mexican Cultural Center DuPage’s Fernando Ramirez, was the individual who had the initial vision for bringing this cultural art form to the DuPage County region through the art installation at Cantigny Park and Gallery 200. As the home of Fernando, the Mexican Cultural Center DuPage, and Gallery 200, this community art experience is a representation of West Chicago being the beginning of the alebrijes vision for DuPage County, or the initial “portal into a dream world.”

Before, or after, visiting the art exhibit at Cantigny Park, Alebrijes: Creatures of a Dream World, the City encourages residents and visitors to also enjoy downtown West Chicago to view the initial artwork that inspired the sculptures through this special tour and a visit to Gallery 200’s “Maquetas y Bocetoes” exhibit.

The City would like to especially thank the Mexican Cultural Center DuPage for providing the drawings used as part of this installation, as well as the artists who created them: Alejandro Camacho Barrera, Perla Miriam Salgado Zamorano, Alberto Moreno Fernández, Roberto Carlos Martinez Tecillo, Edgar Israel Camargo Reyes, and Emanuel Arturo Zárate Ortíz.

For more information about this community collaboration and different experiences happening throughout the community, please visit westchicago.org/alebrijes.

West Chicago Police Chief Completes FBI’s National Command Course

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West Chicago Police Chief Colin Fleury has completed the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) National Command Course (NCC).

The FBI National Command Course (NCC) provides executive leadership training opportunities to chief administrators of domestic, small-sized law enforcement agencies. These agencies comprise the vast majority of law enforcement departments in the United States, but due to local demand for services, and reduced staffing levels, these executives are often unable to leave their jurisdictions for long periods of time to take advantage of training opportunities.

Fleury was one of over 40 police chiefs selected nationwide to participate in the course, and one of four from the state of Illinois that also included Police Chief Timothy Cointois of La Grange Park, Police Chief Nicholas Neblung of Fulton, and Police Chief Jiminez Allen of Bellwood.

“This experience has allowed me to develop new leadership skills, and has provided new resources that will ultimately enhance our Police Department’s operations while benefiting the West Chicago community,” Fleury said. “I was honored to have been selected to participate in this essential training course, and look forward to implementing the innovative practices learned within this program.”

The key elements of the National Command Course (NCC) are facilitated discussions between subject matter experts and participants, leadership training, and the exchange of ideas and solutions to problems confronted by smaller law enforcement agencies.

“The understanding gained from this program provided myself, and our police department, with the necessary knowledge to manage any public safety issues the City of West Chicago may encounter,” stated Fleury.

Fleury has spent the last year as the Police Chief of West Chicago, and has a career in law enforcement that spans over a 27-year period.

Community Partners Launch Series of Community Events to Celebrate West Chicago’s “Year of the Alebrijes”

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In connection with the proclamation declaring 2022 the “Year of the Alebrijes” in West Chicago, community partners have come together to create a series of events and activities that will celebrate the theme within the community.

These partners include: West Chicago Park District, West Chicago Public Library, Mexican Cultural Center DuPage, People Made Visible, and the West Chicago Cultural Arts Commission.

The City has launched a webpage at westchicago.org/alebrijes that lists all the upcoming events and activities that include a special exhibit at Gallery 200, a new community mural, a portal project, outdoor movie, community art projects, and more.

Residents are encouraged to check in periodically and to follow each partner on social media as additional entertainment will be added throughout the year.

Visit westchicago.org/alebrijes to view upcoming entertainment, view the “Year of the Alebrijes” proclamation, or to read about the exhibit at Cantigny Park.

Congressman Casten Announces Committee Passage of $2 Million in Federal Funding for Kerr-McGee Superfund Site

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West Chicago City HallOn Thursday, July 7, Congressman Casten announced in a press release from his office, that the House Appropriations Committee passed $16,274,400 in federal funding for fourteen of Congressman Casten (IL-06)’s community project funding proposals, which will now advance to the House floor for final passage. The fourteen projects will provide housing to victims of domestic abuse, address the mental health crisis, provide quality health care to those who might not otherwise be able to access it, deliver cleaner air and water, help underserved children, improve safety, boost economic opportunity and more.

Of the fourteen projects scheduled for fiscal year 2023, a funding proposal of $2 million was passed for the City of West Chicago for the remediation and transformation of the Kerr-McGee Superfund site into a state-of-the-art community park. As part of the process, the City will retain a landscape architect to work with community representatives to design a park at the location. The anticipated project schedule for the transformation of the site is for design work to occur in 2022 with construction beginning in 2023.

While community members need to be involved in its design, some potential park amenities include a therapeutic playground, walking paths, a monarch butterfly garden, a community gathering space for festivals, and public art. It will also include a path to a culvert under the Canadian National Railroad tracks that would link to Pioneer Park, and allow residents on both sides of the tracks to enjoy the amenities of both Parks.

Visit the Office of Sean Casten's website to view the full requested appropriation and Congressman Casten's Letter to the Appropriations Committee.

Congressman Casten said, “With passage by the House Appropriations Committee, I’m proud to have moved one step closer to delivering funding for projects that will do so much to improve the lives of folks in Chicagoland. From treating students’ mental health needs, helping survivors of domestic abuse, and improving access to health care to electrifying our local school buses, cleaning our air, and drinking water, these projects will do so much for our community.”

In response to being notified that the City's project would be included in the initial House Appropriations Bill, Mayor Pineda provided the following statement.

“The City of West Chicago owes Representative Casten and his team an enormous debt of gratitude for their continued advocacy on our behalf, and for their dedication towards securing funding to transform a soon to be former Superfund site into a state-of-the-art park for all our community members to enjoy. This is a fitting end to this cleanup that has plagued West Chicago for decades, and we cannot thank them enough for their continued support of West Chicago residents. ”

The City will continue to provide updates to the community about the Kerr-McGee Superfund project.

 

 

 

City Issues Proclamation Declaring 2022 the “Year of the Alebrijes” in West Chicago

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Alebrijes ProclamationDuring the City Council meeting on Monday, June 20, Mayor Pineda issued a proclamation declaring 2022 the “Year of the Alebrijes” in West Chicago.

As part of the proclamation, the City expressed its gratitude to all the partners and sponsors who made the ‘Alebrijes: Creatures of a Dream World’ art exhibit at Cantigny Park possible for the DuPage County region.

The partners who put together the exhibit, included the Mexican Cultural Center DuPage, Cantigny Park, the DuPage Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the National Museum of Mexican Art; and the event sponsors who helped support the event include the College of DuPage, Republic Bank of West Chicago, and also the City of West Chicago.

As part of the proclamation, the City also extended its gratitude to the six Mexican artists who made everything possible which include Perla Miriam Salgado Zamorano; Alejandro Comacho Barrera; Aleberto Moreno Fernandez; Roberto Carlos Martinez Tesillo; Edgar Israel Camargo Reyes; and Emanuel Arturo Zarate Ortiz.

Visit westchicago.org/alebrijes to view the proclamation, or to view the upcoming events happening throughout the community.

About the “Alebrijes: Creatures of a Dream World” Exhibit

The “Alebrijes: Creatures of a Dream World” art exhibit features 48 large-scale sculptures of alebrijes that will be open through October.  For more information about the exhibit, please visit Cantigny.org/alebrijes.