Make all of St Charles, but especially our public schools safe and welcoming for all persons, but especially those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning. The actions, or more accurately decisions not to act on this single issue by the Superintendent and the Board of Eduction have been irresponsible and regressive.

Refocus downtown on retail and convenient parking. Attractive Downtown housing as well. We've got enough food and beverage.

Revamp the east side corridor. Bring in higher end retail and restaurants. Work to make Charlestown Mall a more inviting, relaxing place with boutiques, coffee shops, and gathering areas. Finish North Avenue construction with the citizens in mind- keep it clean and use fencing to protect the walkers along the sidewalk. Make sure the intersections have common-sense traffic patterns during construction. Make St. Charles more attractive to invite home buyers to WANT to move here.

Improve the Campton Hills/Rt 64 intersection to reduce traffic congestion and add sidewalks all the way to Campton Hills rd so pedestrians and bikers can get to downtown safely.

A bike path or bike lane from Randall to Leroy Oakes/Great Western Trail either along Dean St. or the old railroad would help keep pedestrians and bikes off the busy roadway.

Downtown St. Charles needs a resonably priced family restaurant, that's opened after 9pm. If you are staying at the Baker Hotel and arrive late, where can you get a cup of coffee? After the Manor Restaurant closed where does one go? Not a bar atmosphere, or where you need a car to get to, just soup & a sandwich, a cup of coffee/tea. There are enough bars that keep the police busy. More like a Denny's, IHOP, Perkins, - pick one. This town would make Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith (the founders of AA) millionaires. Where do you walk to after a venue at the Arcada? Not Smitty's On The Corner, they close early. Please, think of a diner. Nothing fancy, just one with good American cuisine, resonably priced, and family friendly. At this point, how about a White Castle?!!!

Add left turn lanes at 2nd Street and Main. Saint Charles has grown far too large to permit this type of congestion to continue at one of the primary intersections in town.

My resolution is simple. Get rid of the title loan company on Randall Road and Main street and all of the politicians that allowed this type of business in St. Charles in the first place.

Yes, we need a Family restaurant , right where the Manor House use to be. A nice Greek snack Shop. Have Corfu, move ! Scrap the plans for a quarter of those condo's for the 1st street Development and talk to Corfu now ! Or get the owner of the Manor House on the phone!

1. whole foods in Charlestowne Mall , how about upper level sears area?
2. no more bars in downtown.

" My resolution is simple. Get rid of the title loan company on Randall Road and Main street and all of the politicians that allowed this type of business in St. Charles in the first place."

I agree. That intersection is a eye sore.

I wish they would develop the empty space along the river across from Baker Hotel as soon as possible. Try anything to get business back to Charlestowne mall.Tear down Tin Cup Pass retail strip mall

I agree about the TitleMax, hope there will be a lack of demand. I would love a Whole Foods in the mall, as well as a Kane Cty Childrens Museum. They are a wonderful draw for families and would encourage the retail and restaurant to return to the mall. I love our downtown, a "regular" diner would be great,but no fast food chains,yuck. I would love to see a large portion of the first street land devoted to riverfront park for the community. It will be a shame to fill it up with apartments when it could be a gorgeous landscaped area plus some parking for the retailers trying to make it from Fox River Plaza to 1st st and Main.

Bring back Pi!!!!!!

We were in Charlestowne Mall this evening and remarked how nice the mall could be. It looks very pretty with the Christmas decorations. The mall has a lot of potential but we need to get high end anchor stores into the mall which will give one a reason to go to the mall other than for VonMauer. We don't need an ice skating rink or any food grocery store in the mall! A Fresh Market or Whole Foods should have gone in where the "Savers" is now located! Yorktown years ago was the pits and now look at it! It's very nice with the restaurants and outer stores surrounding the mall. If we don't do something soon, it'll end up like the St. Charles Mall....flattened!

We could learn quite a bit from the story of Randhurst (one of the very first enclosed shopping malls in the entire country). Being that it is located one mile from the house in which I grew up, I got to witness it through dominance, decline, rebirth, decline, rebirth, decline, complete overhaul, and return to glory. It takes some serious vision, planning, and loads of cash, but it can be done. The question is with Geneva Commons so close, can the same results be duplicated at Charlestowne? Can a new Charlestowne out-Geneva Commons the Geneva Commons? The following article from the Chicago Tribune provides one possible roadmap to recovery that does not end with a lowest common denominator solution. http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2010/06/with-a-central-dome-that-resembled-a-flying-saucer-the-three-legged-mall-that-opened-in-northwest-suburban-mount-prospect-in.html

I'd like to see an international foods market with a bakery and seating area/cafe in the downtown area, or where Applied Composites used to be. Another improvement would be to provide a safer way for pedestrians and bicycles to cross Main Street downtown.

With Charlestown, if you want to work from what you already have to try and save $, I believe you try and build on the successful theater business and create more entertainment on the west end like a "Dave & Busters" or a copy of that concept, a state of the art bowling and maybe ice/roller skating, indoor golf range, higher end miny golf/ batting cage complex and an affordable family food maybe like a "Country Buffet" or Pizza. Build a family and adult place to spend afternoons and evenings with a variety of stuff to do. The batting cages could even offer a "training" facility for children like they have in Carol Stream that the schools would use also. The other end, could still be redevloped with the Whole Foods, and some other retail that are not in the area (bring in new names from around the country) to attract shoppers from outside the area. They do exist. That would be the cheapest way where you maybe don't need to rebuild the entire mall.

A sidewalk from Timbers to North High School would be great. We also need the left turn signal into the high school to be consistant as well as a left turn signal on Main and 31 going North.

great ideas, everyone-keep 'em coming.....

There was a time several years ago that Yorktown mall was a frightening place to go. Trashy, stores closed, scary parking lot. And somehow how they have been able to do a complete turn around and now have wonderful stores and restaurants. Perhaps someone needs to contact Yorktown's owners and find out what the secret was. There are plenty of families in the Charlestown area that would support the stores.

Great comment Lois.....stay tuned.

New LED streetlights. More efficient than what we have from an energy-consumption standpoint (lower operating cost for the City), last two to four times as long as what we currently use (reducing the labor costs associated with their upkeep), have better CRI's (Color Rendering Index; you do not look orange when standing under one), better ability to focus the light on the street (far less light streaming in through your bedroom windows at night), and add significantly less light pollution to the night skies (they can be installed in a way that complies with the Dark Skies Initiative). All in all, the City saves money, we look 'green' and progressive as a community while doing so, and we improve our own quality of life. What is holding us back from making the change?

Finish the retrofit of the lighting on the Municipal Building, or abandon the current retrofit in favor of an LED retrofit and get the job done. The current situation of one-half metal hallide and one-half high-pressure sodium lamps makes the building look undignified at night. It is our hood ornament, the most striking image of our City, and for a fairly low cost, we could do a ton to improve its looks at night.

Obviously Yorktowne mall is owned by a company who actually cares... I think a Trader Joe's would be great. I have already written to the corporation online and let them know this. Maybe if enough people did this. The one all the way on Fabyan and Randall is pretty far away. That and that empty torn down eyesore area on Rt 38 there where the St. Charles mall used to be.... it has been way to many years getting that thing developed!! Get a move on!

Eh- how soon we forget. The Towne Center proposal would have brought $300 mil to the old mall site. Whole Foods had been looking at the former Dominic's site for a west suburban location. It all went away when opponents were unwilling to compromise on a residential component of the TC proposal, and pressured the council to vote it down.