Mayor Craig Johnson addresses the Elk Grove business community during last Thursday’s State of the Village lunch at Belvedere Banquets on Devon Avenue. (Tom Wessell/Journal photo)
At the end of Thursday’s annual State of the Village address, Mayor Craig Johnson reported on one of the biggest questions he says he still gets: When is the new Popeyes chicken restaurant opening in the Elk Grove Town Center?
“Very very very soon,” the mayor said, generating laughs from a crowd of about 200 gathered for the Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce’s annual business lunch at Belvedere Banquets.
“I still love doing this. I love being mayor,” said Johnson in his opening remarks.
Johnson, who ran unopposed in the April 1 election, will begin his eighth term as mayor — the village’s longest-serving — next month. In his 45-minute speech, he highlighted several of the village’s economic success stories of the last year, while previewing new things to come in 2025.
Among the “new” is a program launched that day (and reported on first in the Elk Grove Business Journal) for businesses that do not receive Class 6B property tax incentives from the county, but are located in tax increment financing (TIF) districts and are looking to make exterior improvements to their buildings. Under the program, the village will match businesses “dollar for dollar” on improvement costs, up to a maximum of $150,000 per location, said Johnson.
The mayor mentioned Stern Pinball’s new location at Landmeier and Busse roads and the noticeable building facade improvements made there, including “the biggest pinball in the world” located outside the building at the corner.
Johnson also discussed the growing presence of data centers in Elk Grove and their benefits for the village. According to the mayor, 14 data centers are located in the village now, with 13 more on the way. The village ranks second in the nation in data center locations, behind Virginia and ahead of Texas.
“They are a piggy bank that’s bursting at the seams,” Johnson said in describing data centers and the property, electric and water tax revenue they can generate for communities.
Data centers, some containing millions of square feet of computer servers handling the world’s data needs, take up large swaths of land, but require little in the way of local services, according to Johnson. He mentioned a new data center planned for the site of the WGN radio towers on Rohlwing Road that’s expected to generate $3.5 to $4 million in new tax revenue for local schools, and almost $4 million a year for the village.
Mayor Craig Johnson delivers his annual State of the Village address touching on many of the village’s success stories from the past year, while looking ahead to the new year. (Journal photo)
Other highlights from the address included:
The village plans to reduce its taxes by 2% this year, which should generate financial savings for businesses and residents, said the mayor. The village’s overall combined property tax rate remains the lowest in northeast Illinois, he added.
Elk Grove is continuing to use revenue surpluses to pay down long-term debt. Johnson says the village hopes to be debt-free in five or six years.
Final approval could come this summer, with construction starting in the fall, on a new senior subsidized housing project for a vacant site on Arlington Heights Road just north of Biesterfield.
Construction activity is starting on the village’s new pedestrian bridge that will connect the new “Vue” development at Higgins and Arlington with Busse Woods to the west. When complete, Johnson sees the mixed-use “Vue” as becoming the village’s “crown jewel” for years to come.
The business park’s vacancy rate currently stands at 1.9%.
At the end of the speech, Johnson highlighted the village’s upcoming summer concert series, including a visit by rock and roll hall of famers Cheap Trick on July 4. Setting his sights on 2026, when the village turns 70 and the country celebrates its 250th — and with neighboring Itasca ending its fireworks show — Johnson is hoping for another big July 4 event in Elk Grove.
“You won’t believe what you see next year,” he said.
Before Johnson’s address, Heather Larson, CEO of Meet Chicago Northwest, reported Elk Grove Village’s hotel occupancy rate at 65.4% — one of the highest in the suburbs, with a 5.1% increase in gross room revenue last year.
Mayor Craig Johnson addresses lunch-goers during the State of the Village on April 10.
Support local news by subscribing to the Journal & Topics in print or online.
