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Friday, March 29, 2024

Naperville’s Pulse in Springfield – What’s so great about Illinois?

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One of my Republican colleagues in the House likes to start out each day’s activity on the floor by telling us something good about Illinois. It’s a small fact he’s come across, or a news story about a business’s success or an Illinoisan whose actions or achievements have made us all proud on the national stage. It only takes a moment or two, but I think it’s one of the most important things we do every session day.

With the tough times our state has been facing economically, it’s easy to become so focused on the negative news that we can forget to look around us and realize how fortunate we are to live here in DuPage County, Illinois. We should never forget that.

What’s so great about Illinois? For a start, our location makes us natural business hub. Illinois is continental center for business and travel because of our many transportation routes including railroads, highways, waterways, and air routes.

Illinois is beautiful and diverse. We have culture-rich big cities, charming small towns and rolling farm fields. We have breathtaking state parks, championship sports teams, Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, Abraham Lincoln historic sites and Route 66. Here we can enjoy deep dish pizza, Eli’s cheesecake and a wine trail that stretches the length of the state.

Illinois has world-class universities. In fact, if you’re reading this online you can thank researchers at the University of Illinois who invented the modern web browser.

According to Business Insider, 19 of the safest cities in the country are in Illinois – and Naperville ranked No. 1! In the same recent study Naperville also ranked No. 7 nationwide for the best quality of life, and that’s no surprise. We have a vibrant downtown featuring shopping, dining and cultural activities. We have the beautiful Riverwalk and Centennial Beach, and the history-rich Naper Settlement. Our children enjoy a great school system and all of our families benefit from excellent healthcare thanks to Edward Hospital. All of these are award winning!

That’s quite a list, but our greatest asset will always be the families that have chosen to make this state and community their home. And the good news is that with all of this going for us, we can certainly overcome the economic difficulties we face with the help of some common-sense tax relief for families and seniors, and job-friendly business reforms.

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Grant Wehrli
Grant Wehrli
Grant Wehrli is a lifelong Naperville Resident and former Representative in the Illinois House of Representatives and Naperville City Councilman.

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