Mayor Ruben Pineda expressed that the state of the City is "as strong as ever" as he drew comparisons of the City's current status to that of a "high-powered and laser focused locomotive" during his State of the City Address on Monday, May 15.
During the Address, Mayor Pineda shared highlights about the City’s infrastructure, local economy, status of the City’s workforce, and community highlights including updates on public safety, communications, and upcoming special projects.
Notable highlights from the Address included the following.
- The City has completed over $4.7 million dollars in infrastructure projects in 2022, and has budgeted approximately $9.2 million dollars towards additional capital improvement projects and programs for 2023.
- The City has seen the private investment of $95 million dollars in new construction investment for 2022 and an additional $66 million in 2023 thus far.
- DuPage County will be funding a $20 million dollar project that will reconstruct and widen Fabyan Parkway to four lanes from IL-38 to the Kane County line.
- The City welcomed 64 new businesses that employ a total of 427 individuals in 2022.
- The City as an organization of 116 employees is almost fully staffed.
- West Chicago was ranked the ninth best place to live for families by Fortune Magazine
- The City’s digital communications have seen a significant increase in usage by residents.
- The City’s Police Department is almost fully staffed and has experience numerous promotions within its ranks.
- Healthy West Chicago was the recipient of the 2022 National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Public Policy Award
- The City is in the process of planning a new park at the former Kerr Mcgee site along Weyrauch Street through a $2 million Federal grant.
- The City is in the process of transforming the Sesquicentennial Park into a new floral grounds with creations from Ball Horticultural
In addition to the above highlights presented during the Address, Mayor Pineda also highlighted the resurgence of interest in the downtown area, continued development in the DuPage Business Center, the return of multiple community events, and other positive City and community achievements.
As he closed, Mayor Pineda stated, “The City is on its way to great things, and [the City] has the solid infrastructure and economy, along with an amazing workforce and community to ensure that we can go wherever we want to go.”
The City would like to thank the Western DuPage Chamber of Commerce for assisting with organizing the event and would also like to thank all of the City’s community partners for attending.
View the full State of the City Address transcript on the City’s website.