Lil’s Park splashes to life: Bradley splash pad officially opened Sunday

BRADLEY – The ceremony was necessary.

Bradley Mayor Mike Watson made sure everyone in need of recognition would be in the photograph as he held the giant scissors and with the countdown of 3, 2, 1, the ribbon was cut at 4:35 p.m. on this overcast Saturday afternoon.

With the slice of the ribbon, the $3.5 million rebirth of the 15-acre Lil’s Park along East North Street in Bradley was officially opened.

Watson walked only several feet over and pressed the button on the nearby post, which activated the pumping system, sending water spraying skyward.

Lil’s Park and the massive overhaul and upgrade completed on it from mid-March through August 2025 by PSI, Inc., a Kankakee-based construction company, were now on full display.

The pumping system and its 19,000-gallon inventory of water were filling the zero-depth, 6,000 square-foot splash pad with water raining down from above.

But only several feet away stood Bourbonnais Township’s Rowan Mussa. The 7-year-old couldn’t take it anymore.

Asking anyone who listened if he should dash the downpour of water in the splash pad, he determined the time had come.

In his street clothes, the soon-to-be second-grader took off and ran through the downpour.

Within only a matter of seconds, he was back in front of his mother, Ariel.

With a smile stretching across his face, his mother asked how he would grade the experience.

“It was very, very cold,” he responded. But worth it.

Rowan will now go down in history as the very first user of the Lil’s Park splash pad.

From Sunday, June 1, until the Labor Day weekend, the splash pad will be open to the public at no charge. The pad will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Lil’s Park underwent a massive upgrade in 2024. The hope was the splash pad would be ready for late summer use in 2024, but the permit from the Illinois Department of Public Health came too late.

Long wait

The opening of the pad had to wait until 2025. And now with youngsters completing the 2024-25 school year, the park and its water feature is sure to be a gathering point.

Watson, seated only a few feet from the splashing water, could not hide his satisfaction with the results of the entire park.

He said it is simply a matter of improving the area, of offering amenities to the public.

The region also has the Splash Valley Aquatic Center, 1850 River Road, which features a swimming pool and a splash pad area.

The Kankakee Valley Park District is also reopening its Bird Park splash pad along West Station Street. The village of Bourbonnais also has a splash pad at The Grove at Robert Goselin Park.

“It’s a very nice improvement to Bradley as a whole and to this neighborhood,” Watson said. He noted there is room for parents to sit and enjoy the park as their youngsters enjoy the sun and water.

While the splash pad grabs the attention, the improvements at Lil’s Park are many. The park improvements included the installation of restrooms, an additional picnic pavilion and an expanded asphalt parking lot, among other upgrades.

He said the park will also be staffed with “park rangers” to watch over the splash pad. The park rangers are school crossing guards.

Watson said he had other plans to upgrade village-controlled parks, but upgrades take time as well as money.

“This is awesome. It’s nice the village can provide this,” he said.

Village Trustee Darren Westphal, who heads the village board’s Parks Committee, said good things come to those who are patient.

He knows full well about patience. He started talking about an improvement to Lil’s Park some five years ago.

“This is perfect. I couldn’t think of anything better,” he said. “There is all this open space. When we began talking about this, I didn’t know what to expect. This is better than what I thought.”

Rowan would agree.