With a clarion call for civility, Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas asked the audience of 400 at the annual State of the City address Wednesday afternoon to use “generous amounts of grace” to push out the lack of respect eating at society.
“Now is the time to turn the tide and it must happen at the local level and work its way out,” Costas said in the main ballroom of the Porter County Expo Center, where he was hosted by the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce. He said the rules of civility are neither complex nor mysterious and told the audience to achieve it, we must “hold our core convictions tightly, but our many opinions loosely.”
It was Costas’ 18th time making a State of the City Address. He recognized “our talented city council members,” most of whom sat together at a table at the front of the room.
In a theme that touched on past, present and future, brought to mind, he said, by a Christmas holiday spent watching classic holiday films while recovering from knee replacement, Costas honored two women who passed away in 2025.
Former Clerk-Treasurer Sharon Swihart served the city in that role for 37 consecutive years under five different mayors. “She was authentic. She was loyal,” he said. Community member Lois Reiner “made her 96 years count,” he said, “generally living with light and conviction.”
Representing the best of Valparaiso’s present were 2025 Good Neighbor Award recipients Carlos Rivero and Elena Jambrina, owners of Don Quixote Restaurant, who Costas said, “have given away literally truckloads of food each year.”
To celebrate the future of the city, Costas introduced Nora Burk, the city’s 2025 Rising Star. The Central Elementary fifth grader has tied warm blankets for people in need, made holiday place mats for Meals on Wheels, and crafted colorful dog toys for local animal shelters. “She often sacrifices her own recess to tutor classmates,” he said.
Costas also gave a sampling of accomplishments the city achieved last year, from $17 million in street and sidewalk investment to $80 million in utility infrastructure improvements. He said the city is close to acquiring access to Lake Michigan water as a secondary source, reducing reliance on groundwater, and $10 million was invested in the RePlay initiative to revitalize the city’s parks and recreation facilities.
The city’s V-Line bus service bought two new easy-entry buses and a new coach bus for the Chicago DASH service. The city’s police and fire departments are among only 14 in the state to hold CALEA accreditation, 25 additional AEDs were put on every police patrol car and there’s been an 18.2% drop in crime over the last two years.
Four new ambulances and two new fire trucks were added to the fleet, and upgrades were made to the rescue boat. Costas said the city’s AA stable bond rating is among the top 20 rated communities in the state, and the city tax rate has fallen every year for the last five years.
“That’s a trend we hope to continue,” he said.
They were sentiments and information well-received by Valparaiso resident Brian Wiechert, who also serves as vice president of CoAction, an organization serving a variety of roles from housing assistance to 1,500 families to older adult services.
“He’s good at adding humor to serious stuff,” Weichert said after the speech. “I think there’s some encouraging words.”
Costas’ Democratic colleagues on the city council were also pleased with his message.
“It was an excellent speech that reminded us all of the importance of exercising humanity and civility more than ever,” said City Council Member Emilie Hunt, D-At-Large. “He did an excellent job of acknowledging how terrible it is right now and reminding us of the power of compassion.”
“It was an optimistic speech with optimism for 2026,” said City Council President Ellen Kapitan, D-At-Large.
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
