25 years into the new millennium: What Tri-Cities officials predicted, and what actually happened

No one was trying to be a fortune teller 25 years ago when we opened the door to a new millennium, but our local leaders had a sense of what made their communities strong and what it would take to keep them that way.

In talking to reporters before the year 2000 set in, our mayors and county officials had the opportunity to reflect on the past and express their hopes for the new millennium.

We asked them last week what they thought of those statements now, and how things have played out so far.

For her part, Sue Klinkhamer, St. Charles mayor at that time, admits her comments in 2000 about the future were heartfelt, but not too profound. “I’m very optimistic,” she had said. “I have a good feeling about what’s going on in St. Charles and what’s going to happen.

“St. Charles is a good place, it always has been and always will be,” she added. “I know it sounds hokey, but it’s just a feeling.”

She also guaranteed that “sometime in the next millennium, the St. Charles Mall will get redeveloped.” She brought that up because of all of the ups and downs in getting that west-side property eventually developed.

It wasn’t quite the albatross that Charlestowne Mall on the east side has become, but Klinkhamer said the empty west-side St. Charles Mall had plenty of covenants on the property that made it hard to move along.

In looking back, she now says, “I’m always optimistic (about St. Charles), but brick and mortar buildings are not as important as they were, with online shopping and food delivery now. I know people don’t want to hear this, but you need more rooftops to sustain commercial development.”

In mentioning a goal she did not achieve during her tenure, Klinkamer said she pushed for affordable housing as well as housing in the city for developmentally challenged children and adults. “I never got it done,” she said.

Jeff Schielke was mayor of Batavia when the year 2000 rang in, and he remains in that role today.

“Our town has unlimited volunteer spirit. No goal or community project, if its intention is to serve the public good, is unattainable,” Schielke said at that time. “Our town must recognize that change brings change and must face the realization that we are part of a bigger region. We must strive to be an active participant in working for the betterment of the region as a whole.”

Now, Schielke claims he could be requoted on those exact words, and they would still hold true. Yet, he has seen plenty of change in his city.

“The biggest change happening now is that between 2022 and the end of 2026, we will have added more than 800 new living units in the city, and that is a fairly significant number,” Schielke said.

Curious as to what has been drawing a combination of younger and older new residents, Schielke said he has been talking to as many as he can.

“The feel of the community and quality of the community involvement, like in Rotary and other organizations, is important to them,” he said. “But they also mention the strength of the medical community, the growth of the hospital campus in Geneva as a major factor, because people want to be near that hospital and be treated there if needed.”

Having six senior living communities in the city is another factor working in Batavia’s favor. Many new residents come to those in order to be closer to family in the Tri-Cities, Schielke noted.

“These facilities are all nicely run and people like living there,” he added. “When I visit those places, I sometimes take a police official with me to talk to the residents about technology and how to be careful with it and stay safe from scams.”

Geneva’s mayor on the eve of 2000 was Tom Coughlin, who passed away last month. Coughlin led the city from 1997 to 2001 and his first hope for the future was “continued good health for all Geneva citizens.”

He saw that hope addressed in the growth of Delnor Hospital and various organizations focusing on individual and family wellness.

He also had concerns about Randall Road’s rapid growth, noting that Geneva had to continue to put its emphasis on its great downtown.

“People like the quaint ambiance of downtown Geneva,” Coughlin said. “The first thing people say from all over the state when they visit is how great the downtown is. The continued strength of our downtown is critical for Geneva.”

No one had a simpler thought on his mind when 2000 came upon us than then-Kane County Board Chairman Mike McCoy.

In contemplating the future, McCoy said, “I’d like to think we could somehow save the beauty of the Fox Valley forever.”

Much work continues in that area, as the county acquires open space throughout the valley, to counter Randall Road and its busier urban setting.

Any look back at what was said and what was happening as we moved into the 2000s, has to include some fun — the Millennium Celebration party in downtown St. Charles that New Year’s Eve.

It remains one of the best events ever in this region. There was music and food at every turn, including inside the Arcada Theatre, and just about everyone came out to enjoy it.

Klinkhamer had a lot to do with getting that party off the ground. She says that when people ask her what she was most proud of during her mayoral tenure, that celebration comes to mind.

“I came up with the idea and brought it to Larry Maholland, the city administrator,” Klinkhamer said. “His main concern was (the computer systems during) Y2K, but he was always supportive of my ‘crazy’ because I let him do all the professional stuff.”

Colonial Ice Cream president Tom Anderson was a huge help in planning, she added, and they eventually hired Joy Meirehans to “get us over the fundraising hump.”

“Larry had all the department heads in the basement of city hall hoping Y2K wouldn’t happen (disrupt computers) and I was on the roof doing the countdown,” she added. “I remember the time/temp clock on Harris Bank said 37 degrees. A perfect night all over St. Charles.”

A final note: I had to leave the party right after midnight to stop at the newspaper office and make sure Y2K hadn’t disrupted our computer networks. It hadn’t. Thus, Y2K went down in history as much ado about nothing.

Knowing your prairies

Here’s something left over from last year’s notebook. It may be of particular interest for those who enjoy walking trails near some of the great prairies in the Tri-Cities area.

And to think the entire state was covered in these grasslands 200 years ago.

The information about the type of prairie that exists at each of these sites is courtesy of Adam Dagley, facility manager at Peck Farm Park in Geneva.

Each time I walk in these areas, I quiz myself on what type of prairie it is. It’s a bit of a memory test for this old guy. The term for the type of prairie basically tells you the roots or foundation from which the prairie sprouted over hundreds of years.

The prairie at LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve in St. Charles is considered a gravel prairie, while the one along the Great Western Trail is a sand prairie.

Peck Farm Park has a mesic/black prairie, which tells us this will be a tall grassland on great soil that will support many different plants.

A dolomite prairie makes up Fabyan Forest Preserve in Geneva and Batavia, meaning the grassland ecosystem sits upon dolomite rock.

Lastly, the Prairie Green Initiative in Geneva boasts of a wet prairie, which is another term for a wetland, but in this case the grassland thrives in low-lying areas and saturated soils.

Did you know?

Batavians mourned the death of their police chief, Severin “John D.” Albervosky, who was killed in a car crash May 4, 1940 during a high-speed chase on East Wilson Street.

The family would suffer more heartache a year later when Albervosky’s son, Francis, was Batavia’s first casualty in what would become World War II.

The city learned he was one of the more than 1,000 crewmen entombed in the hull of the U. S. S Arizona when it was sunk at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, after the surprise attack by Japanese planes.

At age 25, Francis was serving as a Boiler Tender First Class on the Arizona at the time of the early morning attack in the famous harbor in Honolulu County, Hawaii.

Francis graduated from Batavia High School in 1934 and worked for Campana Corp. for a short period of time. He enlisted in the Navy on Nov. 5, 1935 in Chicago, and completed his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Training Station. He reported for duty aboard the U.S.S. Arizona on April 20, 1936.

A Navy website about the Arizona notes that Francis was just a baby at the time his half brother, Army Corporal Albert C. Painsipp, earned the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism on the Fourth of July, 1918 in Belgium during World War I.

Painsipp single-handedly attacked a German machine gun encampment and, though wounded in the leg, threw grenades and drove off the enemy, the site said.

dheun@sbcglobal.net