The Berwyn Life asked each alderman to look back on their biggest accomplishment as alderman in the past six months, and look forward into what may be a concern for their ward in 2010.
1st Ward Nona Chapman:
LOOKING BACK “I’m proud that the Depot District parking garage will be completed on time and under budget. We’re also implementing a new parking program within the Depot District that will help commuters and residents.”
LOOKING FORWARD “We need to adapt to the economy and grow Ogden Avenue and the Depot District so it’s a quaint downtown environment. I also want to keep the community safe and family-oriented.”
2nd Ward Jeff Boyajian:
LOOKING BACK “I am proud to have been part of the city’s contingent that traveled to Springfield on behalf of the City of Berwyn to lobby to our representatives for Berwyn’s share of stimulus money. As a result of this trip, we secured $10 million in stimulus money for the city, school districts, and park districts.”
LOOKING FORWARD “Safety is and should always be our number one priority. There are several intersections that have been reported to me by numerous residents as dangerous. I am working closely with both the police department and the traffic engineer to resolve traffic and safety issues at these ‘hot spots’ in the 2nd ward.
“Economic development, especially along Ogden Avenue, also continues to be a concern. These items are issues not only in our area but throughout the city and they are priorities of the entire City Council.”
3rd Ward Marge Paul:
LOOKING BACK “I have worked to maintain the level of communication with 3rd Ward residents that we came to expect with Alderman Weiner. I have continued his blog reports and have increased the number of subscribers to almost 500 residents, and held my first town hall meeting in October."
LOOKING FORWARD “My biggest concern for the 3rd Ward and for Berwyn in the months ahead will be how to reduce the city's budget deficit. I have heard from many 3rd Ward neighbors that they cannot afford to pay any increase in property taxes. The city budget is due at the end of December, by then all our municipal employees will be working without contracts. There will be a lot of last-minute budget work going on."
"I am afraid that Berwyn residents will be asked to pay more without a balanced approach of asking for real reduced spending from the city administration and some city employee concessions. This economy may be in a recover, however they city won't feel the effects of any recovery for four or more years. We can't expect Berwyn to prosper without a balanced approach to the problem."
4th Ward Michele Skryd:
LOOKING BACK “If I had to pick just one accomplishment of the last six months it would be working with 7th Ward resident Sam DiNuzzo to lay the ground work of the Clean City Commission. It is an ordinance that has been adopted to form a commission to improve the conditions of the city relating to litter and recycling problems.”
LOOKING FORWARD “I hope to work with school board officials to address the traffic and safety issues around schools in the 4th Ward.
The other main concern for 4th Ward residents is parking. I have had several communications presented on the council agenda that have been referred to the traffic engineer, such as the residential parking in the vicinity of the Berwyn Post Office, and the feasibility of Berwyn’s east/west streets being designated one-way to align where applicable with direction already designed within Cicero.”
5th Ward Cesar Santoy:
LOOKING BACK “I’m proud of the fact I’ve been able to secure funding from the state for the renovation of Cuyler Park and equally as proud to bring National Rebuilding Day to Berwyn.”
LOOKING FORWARD “I look forward to fighting crime, reducing graffiti and working closer with block captains. My biggest goal in the short term with the 5th Ward is to increase the rank of block captains and work with them to reduce crime, graffiti and increase vigilance so people think twice about breaking the law in Berwyn.”
6th Ward Theodore Polashek:
LOOKING BACK “I’m really addressing crime in the 6th Ward. Unfortunately right now we have a surge in crime, and I’ve been working diligently with the police department to have roll call done and extra patrols in my ward. I’m also proud of the success we had with the Czech Oasis and Houby Day.”
LOOKING FORWARD “Two things I am working on are economic development for Cermak Road and revisiting the crime-free ordinance for the absentee landlords that are adding to the problems in the city.”
7th Ward Rafael Avila:
LOOKING BACK “We finally talked to the owners of the Cermak Plaza and they have plans on renovating the plaza in 2010 by bringing in new businesses that will be beneficial to the city. We also held our first Hispanic festival this year and it was a huge success.”
LOOKING FORWARD “The biggest concern is the economy. We have a lot of empty storefronts and it’s hard to bring in new business during these hard economic times. We are making some headway but it is difficult.”
8th Ward Nora Laureto:
LOOKING BACK “I’m proud of the work done on Roosevelt Road. We opened a new bank and a new McDonald’s, and saw the Friendly Tap and Buona Beef get renovated. We’ve had four major changes and we’ve also had some small businesses come in.”
LOOKING FORWARD “I’d like to see more businesses come in on Roosevelt Road. It’s hard to get businesses to move or come in to Berwyn, but I’d like to see the revitalization process continue.”
