Some of the most important work of local government isn’t particularly glamorous. It is making sure the City manages your tax dollars responsibly, plans for the future, maintains the infrastructure we all rely on, and is prepared when something unexpected happens.
During my tenure as Mayor, we have balanced 16 consecutive City budgets while maintaining Highland Park’s Aaa bond rating,
the highest rating possible. We have kept a close eye on debt and pensions while aggressively pursuing state and federal grants to help bring additional resources to Highland Park.
Strong finances give us the ability to invest in the things residents rely on every day. When I came into office, after more than a decade of
essentially flat infrastructure budgets of $10.8 million, I established an inflation adjustment and a 10-year capital improvement plan to create a more predictable approach to infrastructure investment and taxes. Next year, Highland Park will invest approximately $50 million in roads, sewers, water mains, sidewalks, and stormwater management.
We have added sidewalks along Green Bay, Sheridan, Ridge, Lake Cook and Clavey Roads; increased road repairs; made stormwater management a priority; and invested approximately $35 million in major improvements to our water plant to improve technology, water quality, and security.
When repeated power outages disrupted homes and businesses, we worked with the Illinois Attorney General and state leaders to hold ComEd accountable and secure millions of dollars in targeted improvements to the electrical grid.
This is what local leadership should do: identify problems, bring the right people to the table, find resources, and get things done.
Our local businesses are part of what makes Highland Park feel like… Highland Park. A strong business community also means jobs,
a healthy tax base, gathering places, and a downtown and neighborhoods where people want to spend time.
We have worked to support existing businesses, attract new ones, invest in our business districts, and make it easier to bring new ideasand investment to Highland Park.
We changed downtown zoning to encourage new development and housing, bring more people downtown, and help address vacant storefronts.
Dozens of new restaurants and businesses have opened, and we continue working with property owners, businesses, and residents on what comes next.
Community events including Food Truck Thursdays, the Ravinia Farmers Market, and more bring people together while supporting local businesses.
Our partnership with Ravinia Festival generates more than $1 million for Highland Park through the City’s share of gross receipts,
including $300,000 for the Highland Park Community Foundation to support the not-for-profits that fill the gaps in health, education, the arts, human services, and childcare.
There is more work to do. Supporting our businesses and strengthening our downtown and neighborhood business districts will continue to be a priority.
I want Highland Park to be a place where people can build a life, a place where children who grow up here want to come back to and raise their families.
That means thinking about what people need at every stage of life. We need housing options that allow seniors to remain in the community they love, opportunities for young families to put down roots, and housing that teachers, nurses, firefighters, and others who serve our community can afford.
We have supported housing for adults with developmental disabilities and welcomed organizations including NSSRA and Keshet, with CCHI soon joining them.
A diverse housing stock, strong neighborhoods, good schools, local businesses, parks, transportation, and a vibrant downtown are all connected. Together, they create a community where people of different generations can live, work, connect, and feel at home.
Highland Park has faced challenges no community should have to face. During the economic downturn and COVID-19 pandemic, we protected essential services, managed City finances responsibly, pursued state and federal assistance, and worked to help local businesses survive. During COVID, we provided financial support to businesses, expanded outdoor opportunities, changed zoning to help restaurants and other businesses, and found new ways to connect residents with their City government.
In 2022, our community experienced an unimaginable act of violence. In the immediate aftermath of the Highland Park Shooting, the City worked with federal, state, and community partners to coordinate the emergency response and establish a centralized Family Assistance Center providing mental health care, financial assistance, legal assistance, and other services to those affected.
That work hasn’t ended.
Our community continues its journey forward. We are working with residents to create a permanent Place of Remembrance honoring those whose lives were taken and all whose lives were forever changed.
Following nearly a decade of advocacy that began when Highland Park passed its own assault weapons ban, Illinois enacted a statewide assault weapons ban in 2023.
Through every challenge, the responsibility has remained the same: be present, listen, bring people together, protect our community, and keep moving forward.
Everyone should feel that they belong in Highland Park and that their voice matters. I have worked to make inclusion and respect part of how Highland Park operates. In partnership with residents and the Human Relations Advisory Group, we developed the City’s Values Statement and its Statement Against Hate. We adopted a local antisemitism ordinance and launched a community-wide anti-bullying initiative that brings government, schools, nonprofits, and community organizations together around a simple idea: We Stand Together.
We have also worked to give residents more opportunities to participate in local government.
Third-graders come to City Hall for mock City Council meetings. High school students serve on City commissions and bring their perspectives directly into local decision-making. Neighborhood meetings give residents another opportunity to talk with City leaders about what is happening where they live.
We have restructured commissions, strengthened ethics guidelines, improved online services, and continued to find ways to make City Hall more accessible and responsive.
Good government starts with listening.
Taking care of Highland Park also means thinking beyond the next budget or election.
We have made sustainability and accessibility priorities through our Sustainability Comprehensive Plan, Complete Streets, citywide composting, improvements to the McClory Trail, bird-friendly glass and dark-sky initiatives, and expanded access to parks, beaches, and transit.
We have also made stormwater management a priority, working with Lake County and City staff to address flooding that has affected neighborhoods for decades.
These investments are about protecting our environment, our homes, and our quality of life for the people who live here today and those who will call Highland Park home years from now.
Experience matters because of what you do with it.
I know how to bring people to the table, find resources, navigate difficult decisions, and turn ideas into results. Just as importantly, I know that good local government starts with listening to the people it serves. The next chapter for Highland Park is about keeping our finances strong while continuing to invest in our community. It is about supporting local businesses and a vibrant downtown, strengthening our neighborhoods, expanding housing choices for people at different stages of life, protecting our environment, investing in public safety and infrastructure, and making sure the next generation sees Highland Park as a place where they want to build their future.
There will always be new challenges and new ideas. I believe the best way forward is to listen, work together, and keep getting things done.
