Elk Grove mayor: Alexian worth the investment

During a recent "State of the Village" address before area businesses, Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson pledged to build a fountain by any business similar to the one at the corner of Biesterfield and Leicester roads.

The catch is they have to invest in the community as much as Alexian Brothers Medical Center has.

Johnson said Alexian Brothers has made nearly $300 million worth of improvements in Elk Grove with its new patient bed tower, which opened last summer, and ambulatory care services.

"Almost 500,000 people a year go to that hospital getting off the tollway," Johnson said, adding that is why the village wanted to beautify that corner with a fountain.

The fountain across the street from the medical complex cost the village $250,000, paid out of its Residential Enhancement Fund.

"If anyone invests $300 million in the community and employs thousands of people, and has a half a million visitors, I will build a fountain for them," Johnson said.

Alexian Brothers Health System is a network of four hospitals - Alexian Brothers Medical Center and Alexian Rehabilitation Hospital, both in Elk Grove Village; and St. Alexius Medical Center and Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital, both in Hoffman Estates - serving more than 2 million people living in the region.

The hospital network has other improvements planned including starting a new hospice program in Elk Grove Village, and expanding developmental pediatrics across the network to help children with autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and Down syndrome.