Looking ahead to 2065 in St. Charles, Geneva

Have our cities really changed all that much since 1965? Sure, people and places have come and gone, and family life is quite different, but it's not like anyone would not recognize St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia or Elburn if they were shown photos from 1965.

But what about 50 years from now - in 2065? Young kids and teens, and even some young adults have a pretty good shot at being around the Tri-Cities at that time. So what will their hometowns be like?

Local government will have to change with those times, mostly to the point that St. Charles will have developed new and creative ways to generate revenue while reducing taxes to run that government, St. Charles Mayor Ray Rogina said.

But some things won't change. "St. Charles leadership will continue to preserve heritage and more evidence of who we are and what we have accomplished will remain quite evident," Rogina said.

Many roads in St. Charles, particularly Main Street, will have undergone a "road diet" with reduced peak hour traffic, the mayor added.

How is that possible? "People will be working at home," Rogina said. Bicycles will flourish and an even more intense focus on health will have created a demand for more health/training centers in the city, the mayor added.

In the spirit of safety, the concept of Big Brother may never fade. Increased monitoring along public ways will provide more security and cost efficiency for police protection, Rogina predicted.

Downtown St. Charles will continue to have a key role in the lives of its citizens. "Downtown will have a greater emphasis as people will come to common areas to satisfy personal needs or interaction with others and entertainment," Rogina said.

The more things change, the more they are likely to stay the same in Geneva 50 years from now, Mayor Kevin Burns said.

"I envision a collection of neighborhoods blending to form a community that honors its heritage, respects its present and embraces it future," Burns said.

In addition, the "erstwhile Settlers Hill landfill will be replete with active and passive recreation," Burns said. That area will have a convention center on the old Kane County jail site and will attract "business leaders and their teams to our little corner of the world."

Geneva's retail, restaurant and entertainment offerings will remain strong, but will be receptive to changes in consumer demand over time, Burns said.

Of equal importance, Burns added, is that city officials and staff will "continue to embrace the customer-centric attitude that makes our community work for residents, businesses and guests alike."

It sounds like the mayor is convinced Third Street and adjoining retail areas won't be going away any time soon.

Next week, we'll hear from Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke and Elburn Village President Dave Anderson about their communities in the year 2065.

Going for cactus

The food at El Molcajete on Third Street proved to be as good as it was when we last dined at the El Molcajete located on State Street in Geneva. It's good to see both locations doing well these days.

My wife ordered a salad that was mostly cactus. As the late, great John Wayne would say, "You heard that right, pilgrim, she ate cactus."

Having a bit of a taste like olives, the cactus was really good, making it a natural for a salad from a Mexican restaurant.

The usual delays

Don't panic if you get the sense that things aren't moving along as fast as everyone would like at the east side conversion of Charlestowne Mall into The Quad.

My sources tell me the usual amount of negotiating is taking place between developers and various retailers and restaurants. Those talks are mostly related to which business may locate in the all-important out-lots and which may have key spots within the mall setting.

Considering the amount of money this group of developers has already invested in the project, it's hard to envision that it would all ultimately end up like the west side St. Charles Mall property. The mall building is long gone and the site sits empty. It doesn't appear to be shaping up into anything of use any time soon, considering the way property owner Kent Shodeen and the area citizens are banging heads about what should go there.

Landline abuse

Maybe it's being old-fashioned or something, but we've stuck with keeping our telephone landline in place. My 90-year-old mother won't call on our cellphones for who knows why, so it comes in handy for that.

But it's apparent the "do not call" list that surfaced a few years ago does not work any more. It makes you wonder if your landline is good for anything other than an annoyance.

It rings constantly with pitches for home security, better credit card rates, seeking donations for churches, veterans and research to cure crippling illnesses. Those charities are all worthy causes that we've given plenty of money to in the past, but we don't need a phone call during a favorite TV show or sports event to tell us about these things.

Call me old-fashioned on this, too, but if you want to pitch a charitable cause do it through an informative story or advertisement in the newspaper. That would catch my attention.

Flag wavers galore

They'll be the first ones walking the Swedish Days parade route Sunday afternoon, handing out small American flags to all of the kids.

I did it for more than 20 years as a member of the Tri-Cities Exchange Club, and only recently decided it was time to actually watch the parade and let other volunteers enjoy this nice, long walk.

But I applaud my friends for continuing to do this. Plus, it's a case of never say never for me.

I may one day return to join them. There is something quite fun about being the first ones out of the gate for the Swedish Days parade.

dheun@sbcglobal.net