Matteson Mayor Begins Term As President Of The Illinois Municipal League

Village of Matteson Mayor Sheila Chalmers-Currin is the President of the Illinois Municipal League. Photo provided by STH Media.
Village of Matteson Mayor Sheila Chalmers-Currin is the President of the Illinois Municipal League. Photo provided by STH Media.

Matteson Mayor Begins Term As President Of The Illinois Municipal League

By Tia Carol Jones

The Village of Matteson Mayor Sheila Chalmers-Currin was passed the gavel as the President of the Illinois Municipal League. She was unanimously voted to serve as President.

The Illinois Municipal League was founded to unite local government across the state of Illinois. The Illinois Municipal League focuses on lobbying, as well as education and advocacy, for mayors statewide. Chalmers-Currin has served as Vice President of the Illinois Municipal League Board of Directors since 2021.

“I am incredibly honored to be part of this,” said Chalmers-Currin, who is the first Black woman to serve as President of the Illinois Municipal League. “Being first is nothing new for me … but it does shoulder a lot of responsibilities.”

Since Chalmers-Currin took office as the President of the Village of Matteson, the Village has experienced significant growth.  The Village of Matteson now has an AA- bond rating, which means the Village is very healthy. When she first took office as Mayor, the Village had a junk bond rating.

The reserves for the Village have grown from $350,000 in 2020 to $27.8 million in 2024, with $15 million set aside for reserves, which Chalmers-Currin said is the equivalent of five months of expenditures. She said $12.8 million is allocated for capital and infrastructure improvements. She added that sales tax revenue is an estimated $10 million in state shared sales taxes and $5.5 million projected from the home rule sales tax.

“These are things that keep us stable,” Chalmers-Currin said.

The Holiday Inn has been renovated and will open this month as a Delta Hotel by Marriott. The other hotels in the Village are also expected to have changes forthcoming. Also in the works, is manufacture company with an expected employment to the village of 400 jobs. Visit Chicago Southland has moved to Matteson, and a Vista Health facility will open. Amazon has continued to be a big revenue draw for the Village.

The Village of Matteson has also received infrastructure grants and awards. With that funding, Matteson has been able to do $1.5 million in bridge replacements, $2.3 million in lead service. There have also been street improvements throughout the Village. Chalmers-Currin said Mainstreet is receiving improvements and the site of the old Lincoln Mall is being revitalized for Market Square Crossing, a mix-use development. When Chalmers-Currin was running for office, she wanted the historical downtown area to be revitalized. She said grant support will fund that project.

“I am just excited about where we are financially and where we are as a community,” Chalmers-Currin said.

Chick-Fil-A opened in Matteson this year and Wendy’s has returned. Every car manufacturer is represented in the Matteson Auto Mall. Chalmers-Currin said the Village wants to ensure that the businesses continue to have a good relationship with them. She said the staff engages with those business leaders to let them know they are a part of a partnership. Chalmers-Currin said that being part of the IML is a way to ensure there is representation in Springfield, including urban and rural areas within Illinois .

For more information about the Village of Matteson, visit www.villageofmatteson.org.


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