Mayor Collins Is 'Proud' Of Plainfield's Resilience Amid Pandemic

PLAINFIELD, IL — Plainfield Mayor Michael Collins talked about the new business developments and infrastructure projects that the village saw in the past year, during his final State of the Village address on Wednesday.

He also talked about the growth in Plainfield amid the pandemic and congratulated village staff and residents for staying resilient in the face of such adversity.

"I'm proud how this community continued to support one another as we continue to fight the pandemic," he said. "And I hope that later this year, things will start to look different."

Collins listed a number of new businesses that came to Plainfield over the last year, including the Costco Wholesale store at Boulevard Place and a new 7-Eleven at Renwick Road at Route 59.
There were also a number of new eating and drinking establishments that opened, including Edge Detroit Style Pizzeria, Juicehead Smoothies in the Sanctuary, El Barrio II Mexican Restaurant and the Taste of Jerusalem.

He also highlighted new housing developments like the Greenbriar development that will bring about 278 single-family homes of various sizes to a plot of land between 143rd Street and Route 126 east of Steiner Road, according to the village website.

Collins also referred to the extension of 143rd Street to both the west and east as a way to alleviate traffic across the village.

Despite the economic challenges, he said the village has maintained a strong fiscal record with high grades from bond credit rating agencies Moody’s and S&P.

Collins also reflected on his 12 years leading the village. He had previously served as a village trustee and as a Plainfield Fire Protection District trustee. He declined to run for the April 6 election and Village Trustee Margie Bonuchi and local attorney John Argoudelis are running for mayor.

"Many people waved at me when I was first elected, but they did not use all their fingers,” Collins joked. "Well, I'm proud to say after 12 years, they’re now using all five fingers to wave. So I’m very, very proud of that."

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