Blog

25 Oct
0

Downtown Pavilion Gets a Ray of Sunshine That’s Here to Last

If you have driven into Wheaton from the south, you may have noticed a new, cheerful addition to the Downtown Pavilion area. It’s a vibrant wall mural created by artist, Peru143. The art’s look springs from his graffiti-art style that he’s been doing for almost 30 years. He created an eye-catching design of saturated, abstract letters that spells out “Wheaton” and welcomes visitors into town.

Click the video to learn more about his creation and the Fine & Cultural Arts Commission’s plan to include this uplifting beacon in the downtown cityscape.

“Even in the depths of winter, we hope people walk by and smile when they see a little bit of sunshine,” remarks Randy King from Wheaton’s Fine & Cultural Arts Commission.

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23 Oct
0

Mayor Phil Suess Interview with llinois Public Pension Fund Association

James McNamee, IPPFA President, interviews Wheaton Mayor Phil Suess

The video includes questions such as, “Initially, what got you interested in public service—to serve as mayor of a community such as Wheaton?”—James McNamee

Mayor Phil Suess: “I’ve been in Wheaton since 1988. I had no expectations of ever becoming mayor, much less being on the City Council, but when I came to Wheaton, there was a subdivision issue next to my house….It was working through this zoning issue that got me involved in local government in Wheaton.”

James McNamee: “Now you’re involved in a statewide issue. You’re now appointed to the Investment Board and have since been elected as the chair of that very important function, especially for myself. I’m a retired police officer, so it’s very important to me. What motivated you to be wanting to be on that Investment Board?”

Mayor Suess: “I represent the City of Wheaton, and the City of Wheaton has about $125 million invested in the Consolidated Fund. So, I do tend to get involved in things that have an impact on Wheaton. You mentioned the Water Commission. Wheaton is the second largest customer of the Water Commission. I just feel it’s important as the mayor of Wheaton to be involved in things that have a direct impact on Wheaton.

For example, with respect to pensions, pensions are the third largest expense of the City of Wheaton. So, I’m really here in the context of representing Wheaton.

I’ve been involved in the investment consulting industry for over 40 years. That’s been very helpful—yes, we’ll talk about pensions—but, just in the role of mayor. If you’re an investment consultant, you’re dealing with committees; you’re working with people to come to consensus—to build consensus; you’re giving guidance as to how to proceed. All of those things—A. it’s a personal interest; B. it’s important, not only to the City but to our employees.”

Click the video above to see the rest of the interview.

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Your Hometown-WGN-Mayor Phil Suess
10 Jun
0

Mayor Phil Suess Interview on Our Hometown—WGN

Recently, Mayor Phil Suess appeared on WGN’s Our Hometown with Jon Hansen. They discussed businesses in Wheaton, local banking—with Bob Hutchinson CEO of Wheaton Bank & Trust—and what the Mayor likes best about Wheaton. Listen to the interview below.

“One of the things we talked about is this French Market we have on Saturdays. And what’s interesting there is people who started out as vendors at the French Market moved on, built their own business in Downtown Wheaton. They have storefronts in Wheaton. So you kind of just see the progression of the growth. Something that just started as a weekend hobby, has grown into a full-time business. We have one restaurant in particular that started out selling crêpes at the French Market and now has two storefronts in the City. There’s another shop that started out selling soap and now has a storefront. Those are the nice things to watch and is how the community grows.” —Mayor Phil Suess

Jon: Having a local bank with local people that have lived in the community, work in the community—that makes a difference too.

Mayor Suess: It makes a lot [of difference]. The important thing is, yes, they’re there…they’re involved in the community. You know, they’re involved in the Lions Club, they’re involved with the Park District. Their community involvement is a big plus, and you don’t always see that with the more national banks.

Jon: Mayor Suess, what do you love most about being the Mayor of Wheaton?

Mayor Suess: It is the people interaction. It’s getting to know people in the community. This past week, we’ve been involved with Congresswoman Rameriz. She had an art contest for display in the walkway in the Cannon Building in Washington, and a senior from Wheaton North High School won that competition. And it was a fascinating painting addressing AI. So, those type of things that come up in the community are always fun.

Jon: Local politics and local government is where people just kind of roll up their sleeves and get things done. That must be something you love about doing it.

Mayor Suess: Yes. And there’s a big distinction between local government and things that aren’t local government. So, if you look at the Park District, the School District, the City, that’s non-partisan. That’s basically seven people on a board getting things done, and you’re able to get things done….I’m very happy working in local government. The things that are done locally touch the most people. It’s the local people that are in contact with the residents and on whom the residents rely.

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LGDF-Mayor Phil Suess-Meeting at Elmhurst College
24 May
0

Working for Positive Results on LGDF

Wheaton Mayor Phil Suess recently met with leaders of the regional COGs to discuss shared advocacy efforts for the final weeks of the spring legislative session. With unanimous consensus, the group drafted a letter urging legislators to support municipalities by increasing the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF). It also encourages giving permission for local governments to reinstate the grocery tax if it is eliminated. The letter was signed by the presidents of 10 COGs, the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, and Illinois State Association of Counties.

Since 1969, the LGDF has been there as a stable, consistent means by which essential services could be provided to the community. From 1993 through 2011, 10% of the total income tax collected was dedicated to the LGDF, but by 2017 the rate had been cut to 6.06%. This is funding that is critical to local municipalities. The Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF) was increased to 6.47% in the FY2024 budget, however more needs to be done to support the needs of local governments.

At a meeting at Elmhurst University on Monday, May 20, more than four dozen mayors, village presidents, and a variety of local leaders advocated for change. The group, which represents more than 4 million suburbanites, called on the Illinois General Assembly to raise the Local Government Distributive Fund and roll back multiple unfunded mandates passed in the last decade.

“Each one of us here, and every other citizen in the State of Illinois, relies on the critical services provided by local governments,” Phil Suess, Wheaton Mayor, and President of The DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference, said during Monday’s meeting. “We are here this morning to reach out to our partners in the General Assembly and urge them to work with us to prioritize continued investment in our communities.”

See meeting video, below.

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Phil-Interviews-WGN-Radio-Downtown-Wheaton-Pavilion
06 May
0

Mayor Phil Suess Talks with WGN’s Bob Sirott—Summer Activities; Rebuilding Downtown Wheaton

Phil Suess, Mayor of Wheaton, joins Bob Sirott to discuss how he ended up in Wheaton and the rebuilding of the downtown area. He also talks about fun summer activities for families and his love for the Cubs.

Listen to the interview here:
https://wgnradio.com/your-hometown/wheaton-working-to-make-downtown-area-more-pedestrian-friendly

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Your-Hometown-Wheaton-WGN-Mayor Phil Suess
30 Apr
0

Wheaton Day on Your Hometown—WGN

Jon Hansen visits Wheaton where he talks with Mayor Phil Suess. Thursday, April 25, WGN Radio broadcasted a full day of special features about Wheaton.

Watch the video here: https://wgnradio.com/your-hometown/video-your-hometown-wheaton

“Welcome to Wheaton!”—Mayor Phil Suess

From the video interview:

Q. “I know you guys have really done a lot to build up this area.”—Jon Hansen

A. “Yes! Two years ago we completed a complete rebuild of the downtown, and it’s worked exceptionally well. The City did it’s part, and now we’re having private businesses come in and renovate their properties and run their businesses out of Downtown Wheaton. We have a number of businesses in town that are over 100 years old. More recently, we’ve had great growth as far as restaurants.

We have in excess of 15 restaurants in the downtown area, and we’re seeing retail space come back into the downtown. So, we have a good mix of activities, services, and restaurants.”—Mayor Phil Suess

Q. “Okay, so what do you love about being the Mayor of Wheaton? I mean, it’s such a great western suburb!”—Jon

A. “I mean, we’re a residential community, but we have a very vibrant downtown. We have very vibrant businesses, both downtown and City wide. We have Wheaton College—a big plus. We’re very proud of our schools.…We’re proud of the fact that Wheaton has more parkland per capita than any other community in DuPage County.”—Mayor Suess


For the rest of this video showcasing Wheaton, see this link.

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