A Message From
Mayor Carl W. LaGant

It is always my great pleasure to welcome you to this edition of the Countryside Community Profile. As the City of Countryside celebrates its 45th birthday in 2005, now is an excellent occasion to update our profile and include useful information for all residents and businesses. An updated overview of the Countryside community, its cherished institutions and government services is in this edition.

Some of you may remember when the City first incorporated on July 27, 1960, for it truly was “a different time and place” in many regards. At that time the City’s population was 2,200 (it is now approximately 6,000), and building a water works system and constructing city streets were among our first orders of business. They were certainly challenging times, but due to the efforts of many of our City’s founders, we are able to enjoy a beautiful community and an outstanding public infrastructure system today.

Of great importance, in honor of this year’s anniversary, the City has once again scheduled our Countryfest celebration for July 21-24, 2005. Always full of special activities and remembrances of our City’s past, this year’s festival will be held at Countryside Plaza, and should prove to be the best ever with the City hiring a professional events planner to assist in the coordination of this wonderful community event.

Our business community and strong sales tax base have continued to allow the City to provide an extensive number of municipal services to our residential and business communities without the imposition of a real estate tax. Additionally, it should be noted that our excellent municipal infrastructure system, including streets and our water system, are maintained without the imposition of any special service or taxing districts. This truly makes Countryside unique amongst all of its neighbors. The City of Countryside provides for its residents like few communities do, and we will continue to strive to meet these high standards in the coming years.

Birthdays and anniversaries are not just a time to look at our past accomplishments, but also an opportunity to plan for our future. With this in mind, the City of Countryside recently developed and approved the new Countryside Comprehensive Plan: Vision for 2024. This new 20-year master plan sets forth the City’s long-range plan for improvements, development and growth within the community for the foreseeable future. The plan includes goals, objectives and policies for the future of Countryside, as well as recommendations for the maintenance and enhancement of the existing image and character of the City. Along with planned improvements for Countryside Plaza and the development of Route 66 as a Chicagoland destination centered in Countryside, this plan will herald many exciting projects for the City in coming years.

You will also note in this year’s profile our pride in the City’s recreation programs and parks system, particularly the beautifully renovated Countryside Park and landmark Memorial Park. The Countryside Police Department continues to provide excellent, state-of-the-art service, as does the Pleasantview Fire Protection District, Pleasant Dale Park District, Ideal School and all of our other community service providers.

I hope you enjoy this edition of the Community Profile, and on behalf of the entire City Council and myself, it is our honor to be of service to you.

Sincerely,
Mayor Carl W. LeGant