Elgin’s Block-by-Block program fosters downtown communication

Migdalia Bishop, manager at BMO Harris Bank in downtown Elgin, signed up to be one of the block ambassadors of a revived Downtown Neighborhood Association program last year. She figured it would help her make connections in the community for work, but the position has also given her a new sense of personal satisfaction in helping bring people together.

Ambassadors in the DNA’s Downtown Block-by-Block program are tasked with meeting their neighbors and keeping track of issues and concerns to the area.

“I’m like their source of contact, and from there I pass it on to the DNA or the city,” Bishop said.

Since she started making rounds once per month, Bishop said she has noticed a broader sense of community on Dundee Avenue between Kimball Street and Symphony Way, with more people getting to know each other.

Ray Maxwell, owner of Elgin Antiques and Uniques, said his block — Chicago Street from Center Street to Spring Street — was already well-established with ties among business owners before the association’s program started.

“It’s like a big family down here,” Maxwell said. “Because everyone on the block knows each other, we kind of look out for each other.”

Many of the problems block ambassadors address deal with code violations or community policing items.

Tonya Hudson, executive director of the Downtown Neighborhood Association, said the idea for the Block-by-Block program was to create a network of ambassadors downtown to put more eyes and ears on the streets and encourage more frequent communication.

“This really is the foundation of being able to communicate with all of our stakeholders on a consistent basis,” Hudson said.

A functional communication structure will help the association launch discussions about the future of the downtown, which may be as a special taxing district by 2016.

Elgin’s five-year financial plan includes $135,000 per year for services like economic development from the downtown association until 2015. By the following year, the association is expected to be ready to implement a Special Service Area, which will tax and function like a governmental entity and provide maintenance and programming for the downtown without anything but basic city services.

Hudson said the next two years will be spent researching how SSAs in other commercial districts work and talking to downtown stakeholders about how the SSA might function in Elgin.

The Downtown Block-by-Block program is helping ground the communication and outreach needed over the next couple years.

“It’s about stakeholders communicating with each other,” Hudson said. “That’s how we’re going to build downtown.”