North Cook News

Roselle tried a new approach to delivering its State of the Village address this year, with Mayor David Pileski making his presentation during a recent board meeting. 

The speech is typically given during a Chamber of Commerce dinner, but Pileski wanted to open it up to more people so he changed the venue.

“When our community puts its mind to anything, be it flights to Roselle, seeking a sister city, building a mosaic, or launching a new business, we don't pull back any punches,” Pileski said. “It’s because of its strong work ethic and passion that will enable us to continue to prosper and grow.” 

In reviewing 2022, he highlighted how the village supported its small businesses by giving $100,000 in grants to 11 local businesses for COVID relief. It also created a TIF district and were able to complete a number of improvement projects to the area, including an outdoor patio.

The village also unveiled a new strategic plan, which will run from 2022 through 2025 and will provide guidance on how the city expands and develops. It officially adopted that strategic plan in June of 2022, and it is focused on financial stewardship, focused redevelopment, reliable infrastructure, operational sustainability, and customer experience. It has an online dashboard that shows the progress on each of these five pillars. It did so to promote government transparency and community involvement with their residents. 

“Even with those infrastructure challenges outlined, I still believe Roselle’s future is bright,” Pileski said. “No other community has the same level of dedicated and involved residents with strong local businesses as our regional state.” 

For 2023, Roselle is looking at its Pop Art! Program to help promote regional tourism in the area and to encourage arts and involvement in the community. The village will have a pop art competition whose winner will be awarded at the Rose Parade, and the city has planned more pop-ups and celebrations throughout the year. It also has several community development projects planned, with the Metro19 project making steady progress and the Lake Corridor plan coming along as well. It is also working on its lead service lines, though this remains a substantial project.