In the last couple of weeks things have been very busy, including a trip to Springfield to talk to legislators.  I wanted to give everyone an update on a few things:

• Road repair and construction
• Illinois legislature
• My goals for the next two years

First, I will start with road repair and construction

Ongoing Projects

• 159^th Street – the latest update is that it will be open this summer with the landscaping portion of the project to follow

Awarded Projects

• 151^st Street widening from West Ave to LaGrange Road is target to be let in August of 2019, this will include a roundabout at 151^st and West Ave.  These projects will be done together due to increased efficiency and lower cost.  Additionally, there is a significant amount of federal funding for this project, some of which has already been received and used for engineering.
• Wolf Road (resurfacing from 151^st St to Southwest Highway) – Awarded to D Construction in December, 2018 and should be done this year.
• Harlem Avenue (resurfacing from 159^th St. to Lincoln Hwy) – Awarded to D Construction in March, 2019 and should be done this year.

Projects let for bidding

• 159^th Street (resurfacing from 94^th Ave to West of Pulaski) – was let in April 2019 and should be done this year.
• La Grange Road (resurfacing from W Creek Road in Palos Park to N of Rt 83) – was let in April 2019 and should be done this year.

Future Projects

• Harlem Ave (resurfacing from 78^th St to 159^th St) – targeted to be done in 2020.
• Southwest Highway (131^st to 135^th St, reconstruction drainage, ditch clearing and culvert replacement).  This project is currently in the process of acquiring rights of way and is scheduled to be done in 2021.
• 143^rd St & Creek Crossing Dr (intersection improvement and stop light) – The design for this project was approve in 2012 and is scheduled to be done in 2021.
• Wolf Road (widening from 1434d Street to 167^th Street)– this project had Phase 1 engineering done and the project is on IDOT’s project list.  However, it is not funded.  The recent flooding problems would also be fixed as part of this project as well.  We continue to push for the state to fund this project.
• 143^rd (widening from SW Highway to Will Cook Road) – as above this project has had Phase 1 engineering done, is on IDOT’s project list and it is also not funded.  Recent flooding problems would also be fixed as part of this project as well.

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Second, I want to update you on my recent trip to Springfield.  The goal of this trip is to lobby the legislature for important projects and to get an understanding of what issues are being pushed forward by State legislators and the governor.

I pushed all of our legislators for funding for the Wolf Road and 143^rd Street projects.  It is critical to widen these roads and to fix the flooding issues.  Additionally, I lobbied for the project on SW Highway to be pushed forward in order to fix the flooding issues.  Lastly, I spoke to them about the need for widening I-80 in order to help the whole region.  There seems to be a willingness to work with us on all of these issues, but time will tell.

The good news is that there appears to be unanimous support to get a capital funding bill done (which could lead to the above projects getting completed).  The argument is about how to pay for it.  The bad news is that it looks like it will be some type of gas tax, fees on electric cars and auto registration fees.  At least there appears to be a willingness to bond for the projects and require that those funds be used to pay for those bonds (at least they would not be used for anything else).

There is a lot of bad news.  A ton of unfunded mandates on villages and schools are being discussed.  We will continue to fight those.  More broadly the governor spoke primarily about 3 things.  First, a progressive income tax, second legalizing cannabis and three legalizing sports gaming.   Fundamentally he doesn’t recognize that we have a spending problem (after an over 60% income tax increase revenues are at record highs and we STILL HAVE A BUDGET DEFICIT).  He did not mention pension reform.  If the pension system is not reformed, nothing else will matter.

Most, if not all, of the legislators I spoke to understand the pension issue but it seems that they are throwing up their hands.  There are some common sense proposals that would help (and are constitutional), but they won’t even act on those win-win proposals.

Remember that the tax increase will require a constitutional change.  I encourage EVERYONE to work hard to defeat this change.  Once pandora’s box is open, they will be able to make any change to tax rates they want and EVERYONE will get soaked no matter what spin they try to put on it.  Again, a reminder that voters CAN vote this change down!

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Lastly and most importantly, three new trustees will be sworn in tonight.  As this happens, I want to let you know what I will be working on for the next three years (over and above what I ran on two years ago).

It must be a priority that we stay fiscally-conservative with your tax dollars and make responsible decisions.   One of my initial campaign promises was to lower the Mayor’s salary back to $40,000 per year, and I’m proud to say that I was able to force this change last month.  Next, we will push to eliminate the pensions of our elected officials.  Local leaders should be serving to better our community, not to make money off our tax dollars. We will also continue to hold the line on property taxes. You, and all of our residents, are overburdened enough. The last thing you need is to see your property taxes increased even further.

Economic development is what makes a community thrive, and we will continue to facilitate strong economic development here in Orland Park.   For starters, we need toaccelerate local road repair programs. Economically, we waste too much money on road projects that take too long and go past the original completion date. It also delays services which impacts our local development opportunities.

We will also encourage continued transformation of the Orland Square Mall to position it for long term success. By focusing on the improvements needed, our residents will be able to do their shopping locally and support our local small businesses, while more people from surrounding towns come to Orland Park to shop which brings economic gain to everyone in our community.

We will also continue progress on the I-80 development through cooperation with the Chicago Southland Interstate Alliance and I-80 Coalition. Lastly, we will finish the Master Development Agreement and start construction on the Main Street Triangle project.

We will improve the quality of life for all our residents.  We will work with our community boards to enhance recreation, sports, and arts programs. This benefits resident of all ages in our community, providing kids, teens, adults, parents, and seniors programs that they can enjoy with their family and friends. We will also develop long term park upgrades and refurbishment plans by fully implementing improvements to Humphrey Park.These upgrades will create a peaceful area in our village for our residents, pets, and wildlife to enjoy. We will also implement the concert series at Centennial West, giving residents an opportunity to spend time listening to live music right in our backyard.

These improvements will lead to an even happier and more vibrant Orland Park for all our residents to enjoy.

I look forward to working on these issues, beginning tonight!