Clarence Simmons, the new owner of the Sibley Laundromat at 1131 East Sibley Boulevard in Dolton, used a visit to Dolton Village Hall to thank village staff and police for their assistance and to invite residents to patronize the business.

Simmons told village officials he came to "acknowledge the heartfelt, the warm welcome of the village hall administration, particularly the licensing, the water department, and the permits department," and said he brought small tokens of thanks for their help obtaining his business license.

He described the laundromat as a long-standing neighborhood service used by customers "for the last 16 or so years," and said he completed the purchase "at 9AM on Halloween." Simmons said he will be at the business, "walking around cleaning up, interacting with the customers and just saying, hello and making sure that they're having a great customer experience at the laundromat."

Simmons thanked local elected officials and police by name, saying: "I wanted to say thank you to, Mayor Hall, Mayor House for all that he's done, as well as, people in his administration, particularly, particularly, chief Jeff Chapman. I've been working with him to just make sure that, the laundromat remains a safe, place for our customers." He added that a recent police roll call at the laundromat generated "a lot of positive feedback from, the members of the village" who appreciated the security presence.

He also contrasted his approach with the prior owner, saying the previous owner "may not have been as welcoming," and asked residents to stop by and say hello. He closed by identifying himself: "my name is Clarence Simmons," and inviting the public to visit the business.

No formal actions, votes, or requests for official follow-up were recorded during his remarks.