I am a proud resident of Park Ridge, but it is no secret that our city lacks significant progress. Too many storefronts sit empty, debts and expenditures are strictly dependent on increased property taxes, and investments that can make or save money for our city are being ignored. Park Ridge has a lot of untapped potential. We can do better.
My family (parents and older brother) moved to Park Ridge 30 years ago. We struggled after first immigrating from Poland, through Austria, at which time we landed in Chicago with the little money we had and the personal property we could carry. Serendipitously, the only people my family knew and could rely on lived in Park Ridge and so for the first few weeks of our new lives in the United States, we lived in their basement. Hoping they could one day live in Park Ridge, my father and mother set out on capturing the American Dream by initially working unskilled jobs. Through their hard work, we made Park Ridge our permanent home in 1986 in a modest two-bedroom apartment.
Since then, property taxes have increased so much that many Park Ridge families have been forced to move out. We desperately need other sources of revenue, and we can gain them by growing our retail sector. Retail sales generate sales tax revenue. Park Ridge does very little to attract and keep quality retailers. We greatly lag in the efforts of our neighboring communities. We have no economic development department (or director) and we do not invest in our community in a way that would make Park Ridge attractive to regional and national retailers. Such retailers will help our mom-and-pop shops and give our residents more opportunities to shop locally.
I returned to Park Ridge after marrying my wife, who was born and raised in Park Ridge, in order to raise our family in what I believe is the best community in the Chicagoland area. My three little girls (and boy that is due in April 2017) will enjoy the great schools and friendly neighbors that Park Ridge offers, but without significant progress in a competitive environment, I worry that they may not raise their families here.
My name is Lucas Fuksa, and I ask for your vote for mayor of Park Ridge so that we can build a better Park Ridge now and for our children.
Lucas Fuksa
Park Ridge
