Rolling Meadows economy on the upswing, mayor says

Although the local economy isn’t quite where it was before the recession, Rolling Meadows Mayor Tom Rooney told area business leaders Monday that things are looking up for the city.

Rooney, giving his first State of the City address, spoke to nearly 80 members of the Rolling Meadows Chamber of Commerce during the 7th annual Taking Care of Business Lunch, telling them that although recovery is slow, it is happening.

“We’re trying to get back on track,” he said. “We’re moving in the right direction, but we still want to be realistic about our expectations over the next year or so.”

Rooney, who was elected in April, joked that this is the first time the State of the City address has been given by someone younger than the city itself, which just turned 57 last week. The 43-year-old mayor, an economics teacher at West Leyden High School, started his speech with a few notes about the national and local economies.

Positive indicators for the city include an increase in business activity and decrease in crime during 2011, he said. Nearly 100 new businesses opened in the last year, Rooney added.

He noted progress regarding the former Dominick’s site on Kirchoff Road, which has sat empty for the past several years. Chicago-based Clark Street Development bought the note for the property in late 2011 and Rooney said he hopes to have more positive news about the future of the project by April.

An expansion of the city’s Wal-Mart may be in the works, and although it isn’t confirmed yet, Rooney said the city would support expanding the store into a supercenter in the future.

“Plans that were ready in 2008 are still ready to go,” he said, adding that even plans for the STAR Line — a suburb-to-suburb transit arm of Metra that has been on hold for several years — are still out there.

Linda Ballantine, the chamber’s executive director, said she hoped the event gave members more resources and information on the city and its future.

“We just want them to have as much information as possible and help them know what is going on around the city,” she said.