Chair delivers State of the Village address highlighting events, arts, housing and infrastructure

The Chair of the Committee of the Whole delivered the State of the Village address on Feb. 9, outlining priorities for 2026 that she said fit together like a jigsaw puzzle: events and tourism, arts and culture, economic development, housing density, infrastructure and public safety.

The Chair said events and tourism help draw residents and out-of-town visitors that support local businesses, and praised partnerships with Mundelein Park and Recreation District, Mundelein Community Connection, volunteers and community sponsors. "Vibrancy attracts people, and people attract businesses," she said.

The speech gave particular attention to an arts and community center concept and cited a study by AMS Planning and Research showing 84% of survey respondents supported some type of cultural facility. The Chair said 18 of 22 cultural groups interviewed expressed interest in using such a space and described the village-owned Archer Business Center West End as a possible permanent site because it offers flexible, public-friendly space and expansion potential. "The space that we're looking at is this space right here for an arts and community center," she said, and noted the village tested the concept with artist residencies and programming in 2025.

On economic development, the Chair presented occupancy figures the village compiled: non-downtown commercial occupancy rose from about 81% in 2016 to about 93% in 2026, downtown occupancy increased from 66% to about 84%, and industrial occupancy remained roughly 94%–95%. She told the committee that 38 new businesses opened in 2025 and five existing businesses expanded.

To support business growth, the village is promoting tools and incentives including informational building-department walkthroughs, new online business registration and permit software, networking events, and grants. The Chair described a matching grant program up to $50,000 for interior or exterior improvements, a GLMV Chamber membership grant and a STAR grant of up to $5,000 for business improvements.

Addressing housing, the Chair said the village approved a housing study in January to refine density targets and better match supply with demand. She repeated a planning benchmark cited in the presentation that roughly 1,000 housing units can help attract new businesses; the village currently reported about 961 units and listed recent projects and unit counts (Station 250: 166 units; Village Hall–area building: 225 units; Morris Station: 139 units; Mundelein senior apartments: 45 units).

The Chair reviewed infrastructure projects planned or underway: a pedestrian bridge over Cortland Commons Creek (work started in 2025 and expected to finish in 2026), a new crosswalk near the town-line Jewel-Osco, a walkability study of Route 6045 with results due in 2026, McKinley Drive engineering in summer 2026 and construction in 2027, and East Holly Street reconstruction currently in design with construction expected in 2029. She said some projects will be funded with grants from the Lake County Council of Mayors and the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program.

On public safety, the Chair highlighted community programs (a police open house scheduled for March 7, CPR classes, child safety seat inspections) and reported public-safety activity for 2025: the fire department logged 5,090 calls for service (up 73 from 2024) and transported 2,211 patients (up 48), while the police department had about 32,000 calls for service. She noted the village completed a transition of 911 dispatch to the LakeCom consolidated dispatch center and launched a new online public-safety portal for services such as vacation watches and non-emergency reporting.

Fiscal items included an employee count (about 181) and a presentation of how village taxes fit into a sample District 75 school-district bill; the Chair said the village portion represents roughly 14.1% of that sample and that the village lowered its tax rate by 5.8%, effective for 2026 bills.

The Chair closed the presentation by announcing plans for a strategic planning session in the fall that will include public and taxing-body participants, and summed up the address with a call for upbeat community engagement: "Positivity is my theme for 2026, and we all need to be leading with pride, collaboration, and optimism."

Votes at a glance: earlier in the meeting the committee approved a motion to accept the Committee of the Whole special meeting minutes from Nov. 10, 2025 (motion by Juarez; second by Krinsky). The clerk conducted a roll-call vote; members Juarez, Krinsky, Lambert, Schwenk, Ugaste and Grieco voted yes and the motion passed unanimously.