Mayor To Talk Costco, Diageo At 'State Of The Village' Meeting

PLAINFIELD, IL — The 2020 State of the Village address is this Thursday, Jan. 16 at Opera House Steak & Seafood, 24027 W. Lockport Street. Village officials say that this year's address by Mayor Michael Collins will focus on Plainfield's ongoing economic developments. Special attention, Collins said, will be paid to the ongoing projects involving companies Costco and Diageo.

"We talk about our successes; this time it's going to be Diageo, Costco, our increase in residential homes, and new openings of businesses," Collins said.

He later provided additional details about the new development at Diageo, saying, "Diageo is Plainfield's biggest employer... there's about 600 employees there, and they're just completing a 1.5 million square foot distribution center at 143rd Street and Steiner Road, and that will employ another 100. We're very excited about that; that should open up in the next few months."

Despite the mayor's claims that Diageo is the village's largest employer, Plainfield's own marketing material from 2016 show that the largest employer in the village is Plainfield Community School District 202, which employs about 3,000 people.

The State of The Village address is a custom shared among many local suburbs - neighboring Bolingbrook and Romeoville both have their own State of the Village events later this month - going back decades. Collins said he has been speaking at the event for all 11 years of his tenure as mayor, as did his predecessor Richard Rock.

"It's been around as long as I've been around, and Mayor Rock did it," Collins said, "and I came on the board in 1999."

Plainfield Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tasha Marsaglia said the event is most heavily attended by local members of the business community, and entrepreneurs.

"It's more of an opportunity for those who are in attendance to hear the new stuff that has gone on as far as business growth in the community," she said.

She also stated that the address is an opportunity for local village services - like Fire or Police - to receive commendations for their work in the preceding year.

Marsaglia said that the event will try to emphasize the positives of the Plainfield economy moving into 2020, especially regarding the village's current trend of income growth. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income in Plainfield in 2018 was $126,127, almost double the state average and about a four percent increase from the median income of $121,746 in 2017.

"I think the big thing is just going to be the business growth that we've had throughout Plainfield," Marsaglia said, "not only in the downtown area but in the village of Plainfield itself."

In terms of more concerning news, or news more relevant to non-business owners, Collins said traffic and road issues continue to require attention. Part of that, Collins said, comes from Plainfield's own legacy as a town founded before the advent of cars.

"There's always traffic concerns in town because this town was first created in 1834," he said, "and a lot of the roads were created in that area, and now here we are in 2020."

Monday, Jan. 13 was the last day for Plainfield residents to secure tickets to the address via the Plainfield Chamber of Commerce. However, Marsaglia said a recording of the event will be made freely available online after it has concluded.

"After the event - we will have it taped - it usually takes within the week, then we'll have it uploaded onto the village website so people will be actually able to see that," she said.