Pandemic, policing highlight Juracek's final state of the village address

In her final state of the village address, departing Mount Prospect Mayor Arlene Juracek looked back this week on the village's response to COVID-19, the controversy over the police department patch and pointed to progress in infrastructure and downtown redevelopment.

Juracek said Mount Prospect took proactive steps to cushion the blow to residents and businesses from the pandemic. Those include extending due dates for water and sewer bills and vehicle stickers; waiving 50% of the liquor license fees for restaurants and extending existing liquor licenses for six months without charge; and relaxing alcohol carryout rules.

The village also reallocated money from the budget and used federal relief dollars to fund $600,000 in grants given to 60 restaurants, each of which received $10,000 in December.

She also noted that the property tax levy to be collected this year was not raised by a single penny.

Juracek praised the village's Human Services Department for its work as vaccine hunters for seniors and its work connecting residents with state funding for emergency rent and food pantry assistance.

She also discussed efforts within the village to examine the policies of its police force after the killing of George Floyd.

"We learned that there is still discomfort among members of our community who identify as people of color." she said.

This came to the fore during the discussion of the police shoulder patch. Some residents called for the village to remove the patch for its "Thin Blue Line" imagery, which has been co-opted by extremist groups.

But for the police, "it's a sign of respect for fallen colleagues who have dedicated and sacrificed themselves to upholding their sworn oath of service," Juracek said.

"There is clearly a tangled set of emotions and experience around policing and racial bias, and a single unilateral decision about a patch in Mount Prospect isn't going to make that go away," she added.

She told incoming members of the village board they will be privy to overnight police reports and read what officers regularly experience.

"What symbol shall we grant them to represent the level of stress they commit to bear on our behalf?" she said.

As for those who think "throwing things out to the trolls on Facebook is a form of meaningful engagement," they would be better served by emailing or calling the village, Juracek said.

She concluded her presentation by detailing several village accomplishments, including the stormwater projects at Burning Bush and Aspen Trails parks and downtown redevelopment projects such as 20 West, 10 N. Main Street and the Maple Street Lofts.