As I approach my 100th day as Mayor on August 9, I wanted to give you an update on some of the great things happening across town. We're off to a great start, and I'm really looking forward to the months and years ahead. I'm honored to serve and couldn't be more excited about Tinley Park's bright future!

Downtown Tinley is alive with activity, as evidenced by the Boulevard at Central Station immediately south of the train station. It seems like just yesterday when we broke ground, but people are starting to move in. Slightly north of that is the Banging Gavel Brewery (in the historic Vogt building at Oak Park Avenue and Hickory Street), which has opened an outdoor beer garden for the season as they continue work on the upcoming brewery and restaurant. Further north is the Scoop, a new ice cream parlor that just opened, and coming soon is Avocado Theory, a fresh, new concept that will serve various avocado-based foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Construction on the shopping center on the east side of Harlem Avenue, south of 159th Street, is progressing nicely. The site is being renovated to include space for Burlington to move there, and a new grocer is soon to be announced. Floor and Decor is opening a brand-new store in the area that Burlington is moving from, next to Hobby Lobby on 159th Street.

Across the street, on the west side of Harlem, Pete's Fresh Market is constructing a 170,000-square-foot warehouse in the old Super K-mart building and plans to open an 80,000 square-foot grocery store shortly after that.

All of these developments join the array of excellent new restaurants that recently opened. This includes Bandana’s Barbeque, Do-Rite Donuts and Chicken (inside the new Lenny’s Gas N Wash on 183rd Street), Fry the Coop, SIP Wine Bar, Union Bar and Grill and North and Maple Kitchen and Bar (formerly Side Street Tavern).

You’ve probably seen the giant Amazon warehouse at Vollmer and Harlem in Matteson. On the north side of Vollmer, plans are moving forward for a 110-acre development with three industrial buildings within Tinley Park's boundary.

Adjacent to the convention center is the brand-new EVEN Hotel, a re-branding of the former Holiday Inn. This EVEN Hotel is the first of its kind in Illinois and is a great brand that will only add to Tinley Park’s allure! They also remodeled the restaurant inside the hotel, and it will now be known as Local One.

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The Village is now accepting sponsorships for the 2021 Downtown Tinley Boo Bash, which will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 24 at the Oak Park Avenue train station. The event generally draws six to seven thousand people every year.

Four presenting sponsorships are now exclusively available to Tinley Park businesses for $500 each. If not filled, these sponsorships will be available to all businesses starting on September 1. Business BOOth sponsorships are available for $100. Each business BOOth will need to supply either at least 2,500 pieces of candy or provide free entertainment at their booth (such as a face painter, balloon artist, etc.) There are also food and snack vendor opportunities available.

Visit the Village website to download and fill out the sponsorship forms. For other questions, please contact Special Events Coordinator Vicki Sanchez at (708) 444-5044 or vsanchez@tinleypark.org.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is launching a streamlined application portal to allow borrowers with Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of $150,000 or less through participating lenders to apply for forgiveness directly through the SBA.

“The SBA’s new streamlined application portal will simplify forgiveness for millions of our smallest businesses, including many sole proprietors, who used funds from our Paycheck Protection Program loans to survive the pandemic,” administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman said. “The vast majority of businesses waiting for forgiveness have loans under $150,000. These entrepreneurs are busy running their businesses and are challenged by an overly complicated forgiveness process. We need to deliver forgiveness more efficiently so they can get back to enlivening our Main Streets, sustaining our neighborhoods and fueling our nation’s economy.”

Reach out to your bank for more information.

The State is offering its "Get Hired Illinois" resource for businesses that are looking to fill open positions. With the recourse, employers can:

Visit the State's website for more information.