Ottawa mayor Robb Hasty and Oglesby mayor Jason Curran spoke about their city’s future during the Illinois Valley Area Chamber luncheon on Thursday afternoon.

Hasty opened his speech by thanking and congratulating IVAC director Bill Zens, who will step down in June, before turning his focus to Ottawa’s downtown growth and future riverfront plans.

“I want to thank IVAC for putting this all together,” Hasty said. “And I want to specifically wish Bill (Zens) a successful next endeavor. You were great to work with.”

Hasty first pointed to momentum from local organizations behind Ottawa’s growth, including recent grant funding secured by the Ottawa Visitors Center.

“The visitor’s center has been doing great things recently, and has acquired two different grants that equal about $170,000,” he said. “They’ve used a good portion of that for some additional regional exposure. If you’re watching Chicago Blackhawks games and WGN, you’re probably going to see the city of Ottawa mentioned on the broadcast.”

Downtown improvements were also a focus of Hasty’s speech, particularly efforts led by the Ottawa Downtown Association.

“You already see a difference in our downtown this spring,” Hasty said. “There’s a dedicated amount of people who are working on these beds and they’re already starting to sprout.”

The city’s push to grow small businesses is also gaining traction through a startup incubator program.

“They had 26 applicants when it closed; we don’t even have 26 storefronts,” Hasty said. “That’s a good problem to have.”

Hasty said broader collaboration is driving results through the city’s “Hope for Humanity Initiative.”

“We bring in different not-for-profit organizations to network, meet one another and trade ideas,” he said. “We’re already seeing dividends from this program.”

Regardless, Hasty believes downtown redevelopment remains one of the most visible signs of growth and Ottawa has shown that in recent years.

“If you drive down Main Street and look at the storefronts with signs on it, you’ll see in many of them that there’s construction going on,” Hasty said. “We’re getting more and more tenants who are coming in and living in downtown Ottawa, and that’s a very good sign.”

Looking ahead, Hasty pointed to long-term riverfront plans, including setting up a hopeful 2028 conpletion of the new amphitheater.

Curran addressed the crowd after Hasty, immediately noting that it’s tough to speak after Ottawa because of the difference in town size and budget.

However, Curran said, although the growth isn’t as visible and projects take some more time, there’s still a lot of positive things happening in Oglesby.

On infrastructure, the city recently secured $1 million in federal funding for a water line project, helping offset costs tied to a wastewater treatment system expected to exceed $20 million.

The city is also addressing long-standing issues such as sidewalk gaps and railroad crossing delays, while construction has begun on projects funded through a Safe Routes to School grant.

“It’s not flashy stuff, but it’s important,” he said. “These are the kinds of things people deal with right outside their front door.”

Curran also made sure to talk about how proud he was of the city’s festivals, including the annual summer fun fest’s Sensory-friendly Night. Sensory-friendly Night debuted last year and allows people with special needs a more low-key, quiet night than a typical carnival night.

“People showed up, they made memories, and it meant something to them,” Curran said. “That’s the kind of thing we want to keep going.”

He emphasized that continued engagement among officials and residents is key to Oglesby’s future.

“People care, people pay attention,” Curran said. “We are moving forward as a city altogether, and we want to see it succeed together.”