Election 2023: Morris City Council 3rd Ward candidates voice their views on downtown development, expansion

MORRIS – Republican candidates vying for a seat representing Morris City Council’s Ward 3 residents are expressing their views on downtown development projects and expansion.

All four of Morris’ City Council wards are on the ballot in next month’s primary election, with one open seat per district. For the Republican primary election, only Wards 3 and 4 are contested. The winner of the primary election will determine who will be seated on the council.

Third Ward incumbent Alex Clubb said he believed the council was doing a great job with downtown development, but the “3rd Ward is the forgotten ward.”

“Our area needs so much attention. I like the new park’s plan but it just isn’t fast enough. In my first year, I had met with a company to get both of our parks completely redone for around $225,000. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen but we were able to put up a new Ice rink and a new sound system at City Hall for our meetings. Both of these expenditures could have gone towards 3rd Ward parks. I believe we need to work on what’s old, broken, and often forgotten about,” he said.

His opponent, Jeff Wachowski agreed the current council has done a great job of “promoting Morris’ downtown area.”

“As far as the park district, I personally take great interest in improving all of our parks and fully support working on seeing these as a top priority if elected,” he said.

Clubb also said he didn’t believe the council has properly used it and cited misuse of funds as an explanation for often taking a no-vote on certain items.

“If reelected, I want to continue working hard to bring change to the 3rd Ward. Our downtown is already beautiful, so let’s start working on cleaning up old buildings, repairing our streets and sidewalks and our 3rd Ward’s drainage and sewer issues,” he said.

Along with downtown development, Morris is facing expansion from the northern suburbs and both candidates agree that while growth is inevitable it needs to be controlled.

“Overall, I believe, if done correctly, the expansion will be a good thing. We should see bigger restaurant chains, and more businesses moving to the area, we will also see more housing and jobs because of that. That is great because if properly managed it will be a great source of tax revenue that should take some stress off of current residents,” Clubb said.

Wachowski agreed growth needed to be controlled. In regard to taxes revenue Morris has a great tax base and schools were the “biggest line item.”

Early voting for the Feb. 28, Republican Primary begins this Thursday, Jan. 19, at the Grundy County Courthouse. For information, visit grundycountyil.gov.