Greetings! Hope you have had a wonderful summer as we begin the inevitable march toward the Fall and back to school time.
Road projects continue in our neighborhoods all over District Two, and, by 2017, over 20 million dollars will have been spent rebuilding our infrastructure in District Two, the heart of our City. Additional interventions are occurring on Moss and traffic circles are being built in the Cottage District.
Bradley University will soon commence a ninety million dollar project on West Main, thereby converging the Schools of Business and Engineering under one roof. This will mean many jobs for our people and place Bradley in a superior position to attract the best and brightest students from all across the globe.
We will carefully monitor our one – way Fredonia street pattern and hope it is a win-win for the neighborhoods and the Whittier schoolchildren.
I am also very excited about the new Douglas A. MacArthur Bridge Project commencing in 2018. I am visualizing ornamental walls, retained finials, and more attractive light fixtures, making it a wonderful and attractive gateway to both Districts 1 and 2.
For the most part, it has been a routine and safe summer with minimal public safety issues. As all of you know, I will always place the funding of public safety as the highest priority for our City. We will soon have yet another 2nd Second District Resident Officer at 220 W. Republic. Thank you Andrew Rand and AMT for making it happen! At the Bannon House, home of yet another Second District Resident Officer, Adrian Aguilar, we have had a great upgrade to the home, which now has a fresh paint job.
I hope to soon see repaired red brick streets in the Armstrong-Ellis and Randolph/ Roanoke neighborhoods where we have succeeded in ousting slumlords and are now seeing significant new investment.
You will be seeing many changes coming to Main and Sheridan to enhance pedestrian connectivity along the vibrant and surging West Main Entertainment and Shopping Corridor.
Would we really want to live anywhere else? District Two is on the move and we will continue to make our area the best place to live in our City. Moss/ Bradley is already an award winning neighborhood! We are yet to reach the pinnacle but we are continuing the climb.
Thank you, Councilors Jensen and Ruckriegel, for being great leaders and helping me as I strive to provide the highest level of service for our constituents.
Best wishes, Chuck