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player ready...Businesses, both old and new, were the main focus of La Grange Village President Mark Kuchler’s address at the village’s State of the Village event Wednesday.
“La Grange has welcomed over 25 new businesses in the last year,” he told a gathering of about 50 leaders and local government at Plymouth Place Senior Living, stressing the importance of the Village partnering with the La Grange Business Association. “The entire business community benefits from our aggressive marketing.”
Kuchler singled out new establishments such as Chad’s Cheesecake (15 W. Harris Ave), Wooden Paddle Pizza (23 W. Calendar), and Crumbl Cookies (1 N. La Grange Rd) as recent successes.
He paid particular attention to the biggest La Grange business story of the year, the reopening of the La Grange Theater.
Closed for the last two years because of the pandemic, the almost 100-year-old building that started out as a house of vaudeville was revived by the Downers Grove-based Classic Cinemas’ acquisition.
Classic Cinemas’ CEO, Chris Johnson, along with Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, and Human Resource specialist Susan Gotham, joined Kuchler for the hourlong panel discussion, followed by questions from the audience.
Kuchler related how the Village and Classic Cinemas worked out an arrangement included a new entertainment tax that would financially benefit both entities.
He said that while the Village was encouraged by all the new businesses, he was grateful for the existing businesses that had weathered the difficulties of the pandemic, saying “there have obviously been a lot of challenges the last couple years.”
Kuchler also touched on key problems facing La Grange government, including some contentious issues.
Of the BNSF Railroad’s decision to close the Brainard Avenue crossing from Oct. 6-16, and the inconvenience it will cause Lyon’s Township High School students who use it for a crossing, Kuchler minced no words.
“I personally found that to be ridiculous,” he said. “I believe they should have waited until next summer … it should have been done over (this) summer.”
Kuchler spoke of the Village’s problems with flooding, saying “We’re pursuing all avenues for realizing flooding relief.”
Kuchler also stressed the importance of La Grange’s current litigation with Lehigh Hanson Quarry, with the next court date being October 24.
“This is a problem that calls for a regional solution,” he said, calling for leadership from state and county officials to step up. “I’m confident that when the court hears our case, we will be successful.”
Welch told the audience their importance and responsibility, saying “You are a direct line of communications community leaders and policymakers.”
Speaking of the state’s budget challenges in recent years, Welch was optimistic.
“The last four years our budgets have been balanced,” he said, “and the last two budgets had surpluses.”
Welch pointed to the state’s six recent credit upgrades, paying off $17 billion in unpaid bills, and having a rainy-day fund for the first time in 20 years as achievements.
“Illinois is getting its fiscal house in order,” he said, while noting the challenges of the pandemic. “We’re not completely back to normal, but we’re certainly headed in the right direction.”
Gotham commiserated with the business leaders in the audience, saying of the problems finding employees, “Human Resources is tough right now. Everybody is struggling with recruitment. The difficulty in finding talent is impacting businesses.”
Chris Johnson spoke of the success La Grange Theater was having, noting its opening weekend in May showcased the national hit “Top Gun: Maverick.”
“Nineteen weeks later, we’re still playing “Top Gun,” he said.
Johnson pointed out that his research indicated that 38 % of the theater’s business came from out of town customers and that even the pandemic and streaming couldn’t destroy the business.
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“You can’t replace that in-person interaction,” he said.
One questioner from the audience asked Welch why Illinois needed an Equal Pay Act when the federal government already had the law.
“There’s a lot of instability in Washington,” Welch said, stressing the fairness of “equal pay from equal work, regardless of what’s happening in D.C.”
Another person asks about the possibility of a new parking/garage structure in La Grange.
“It would be a public-private partnership,” Kuchler said of the possibility.
Becky Lorentzen, of the CommUNITY Diversity group, appreciated the event.
“It’s always interesting to learn what’s going on in La Grange,” she said. “CommUNITY Diversity like to check on whether we’re paying attention to diversity.”
Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.