The Rundown with Allison Longenbaugh

10/07/2026

There are a multitude of construction projects all over Naperville right now, and traffic is not great (to put it mildly). Here's an update on the WaterLink project on Book Road.

As Councilwoman Mary Gibson explained at last night's meeting, she & Councilman Wilson have been discussing the traffic flow with residents and working extensively with City/Waterlink to update the traffic plan for NORTHBOUND flow for the section of Book Road south of 95th.

🚧 Book Road Construction Update, Naperville 🚧

Beginning late next week, WaterLink construction will extend south of 95th Street along Book Road.

As work moves into this area, Book Road between 95th Street and Conan Doyal Road will be open to southbound traffic ONLY. Northbound traffic will need to follow the posted detour.

We appreciate your continued patience as we continue to build a more sustainable water future for our region.

Sign up to receive construction updates and follow our progress at https://www.waterlinkpipeline.com/

DuPage Water Commission - Government Village of Oswego, Illinois Village of Montgomery, IL United City of Yorkville

10/07/2026

Holy meatballs, Batman! Brixmor came to Council in June to add $1.85M sales tax to the Block 59 business plan* because they were looking to sign a “home furnishing establishment” and the demolition was costing more than they planned. (I guess there was some assembly required.) It passed 6-2 contingent on them signing a lease with the new tenant. Well, we know who it is now!

*Customers pay an additional 1% special sales tax in the new part of Block 59 which goes back to Brixmor to cover redevelopment costs. Total cap is $15.25M or 23 years, whichever comes first. Council passed this in 2023.

IKEA announced Tuesday its plans to relocate its Bolingbrook store to a smaller location at Westridge Court and Block 59 in Naperville.

10/07/2026

I’ll be live commenting below. Big UPDATE: Pulte withdrew their petition for the Naperville Ridge development.

Xfinity (channel 10)
Legistar link: https://naperville.granicus.com/player/event/0f5e35c5-31e7-4d90-b223-d7dc173c76d7?redirect=true
YouTube link to meeting (you can turn on closed-captioning, which is helpful): Legistar link to live meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNMkyrcam3c

10/05/2026

There’s a short agenda on Tuesday, but will have a lot of discussion at the end (Naperville Ridge).

These caught my eye, too:
1. Proclamation for the 175th Anniversary of the Mason Euclid Chapter #13 Royal Arch Masons. In October 2024, we honored chapter #65- Ancient Free & Accepted Masons with a 175th proclamation. Who knew there were multiple chapters! https://www.napervillemasonic.org/

2. Another emergency procurement ($554KK) for debris collection from severe storms. (There was already $627K in emergency procurement from June storms; this is for August.) I hope they address the growing trend of extreme weather events at the Oct 27 budget workshop.

The bulk of the discussion will be about the Naperville Ridge development. It passed PZC 4-2 in June. I voted no because of the number of variances requested and absence of a binding conservation management agreement.

Full agenda: https://naperville.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1355613&GUID=47BBD309-8C2F-4EE5-A71B-85F9DA1F3462&Options=&Search=

You have until 4pm Tuesday to submit written comments and until 6:30pm to sign up for public comment. https://www.naperville.il.us/government/board-and-commissions/city-council-meetings-and-workshops/city-council-speaker-sign-up/

10/05/2026

Only one project on this week’s PZC agenda, Towns at Naper Commons, a 262-unit townhome development on the 40-acre Lucent property. After Council voted against the Data Center, the petitioner offered a draft of this proposal for their feedback. Council was amenable to the development.

For PZC consideration:
1. Rezoning from ORI to R2 (single family & low-density multiple family)
2. Conditional use for townhomes in R2
3. Multiple variances: front yard setback, reduction in parkway landscaping, height

Almost 68% of the units are visitable! Approximately 50% will be open space (stormwater, parks, courtyards). No affordable units; petitioner will target market-rate owners ($515K-$680K). There is no commercial— (it will not be a “mini Block 59”, as suggested at Council.

Agenda: https://naperville.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1369889&GUID=F51EB4C1-D041-472F-B752-5983B6058EA1&Options=&Search=

Sign up to speak at the Municipal Center between 5:30p-5:50p before the meeting starts.
Submit written comments/position statements to [email protected]. https://www.naperville.il.us/government/board-and-commissions/planning-and-zoning-commission/

09/28/2026

Tonight’s council workshop (Monday 6pm) is Electric Strategy. Since May, staff presented 4 options for the future of the utility: Joint Action Agencies, market participation with asset ownership, market participation without asset ownership, and sale of the utility.

Here’s what’s on Monday’s agenda: history & trends, vision statement, decision framework, and review of options. Staff is looking for direction on options to present during next summer’s rate study.

Full agenda: https://naperville.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1421966&GUID=8523CA25-BCFA-4FDE-A093-611B1EE7489D&Options=&Search=
You have until 4pm Monday to submit written comments and until 5:30pm to sign up for public comment. https://www.naperville.il.us/government/board-and-commissions/city-council-meetings-and-workshops/city-council-speaker-sign-up/

09/20/2026

First of three Budget Workshops (10/27 & 11/10). This one tackles the $210M Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The CIP is about the acquisition & maintenance of city assets. Expensive stuff: buildings, streets, water treatment, electrical, hardware/software, vehicles, etc.

The $210M budget is up 11% y/y ($20M). A lot is necessary and should come as no surprise because we’ve heard about it every year.

$14M of the $20M increase is buildings, parks, & water treatment. I’d have questions about the Riverwalk Extension, Nichols Parking Deck, and even a $145K Naper Settlement “feasibility study”. Are there projects that should be deprioritized (e.g. $7.6M Riverwalk (hopefully no fountains))? How have tariffs and recent inflation impacted the budget, especially since there is an upward trend of new acquisitions vs maintenance (page 5)?

There’s a lot in this presentation.

Full agenda: https://naperville.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1421965&GUID=A5510D07-36C8-4800-AB0D-BD70A2FC9C28&Options=&Search=
You have until 4pm Monday to submit written comments and until 5:30pm to sign up for public comment. https://www.naperville.il.us/government/board-and-commissions/city-council-meetings-and-workshops/city-council-speaker-sign-up/

09/16/2026

I’ll be live commenting below. NOTE: there are sound issues in Council Chambers and on all streaming platforms. (I am going to be super startled when my TV at volume 50 suddenly starts working!)

Xfinity (channel 10)
Legistar link: https://naperville.granicus.com/player/event/184332b0-5671-4f30-91e6-40c06147271a?redirect=true
YouTube link to meeting (you can turn on closed-captioning, which is helpful): Legistar link to live meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C8Ve-YTBFY

09/15/2026

With so many meetings this month, I can’t blame staff for taking it easy on tonight's council agenda.

1. 151 N Wright (Historic District)- Height variance (26’ vs 18’ for a detached garage). Passed PZC 7-0. No one thought they met any hardship standards. It passed because they did a good job matching the garage to the house and maintaining the architectural compatibility with the Historical District.*

2. 540 Weston Ridge - micro apartments north of the Metra Route 59 station. Variances for density (65 units vs 25), height (47’ vs 43’), and signage. Passed PZC 7-0. I like that it’s putting an underutilized space to use with affordable units. However, there are no rental restrictions to guarantee that they’ll stay affordable.

3. Final design engineering of the 87th Street Bridge over Springbrook Creek. We last voted on this in 2024. Total cost $5.7M ($2.7M city CIP; $3M Federal funds via IDOT) https://www.naperville.il.us/projects-in-naperville/87th-street-bridge-replacement/

*This one is interesting because I learned that garages are not subject to HPC approval because they are in the back of the property. This corner lot is not an exception to that.
It’s also interesting because it’s across the street from Heritage Place (Kroehler Mansion) which was in the news recently for using different color windows than what was in their approved plans. Given that the developer is receiving $450K from the city for the project, they should have gone through the proper approval process when they changed the windows from white to black. In the HD, there's a pattern of asking for forgiveness vs permission.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/28/naperville-kroehler-mansion-color-windows-preservationists/

Full agenda: https://naperville.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1355612&GUID=3E3A04A9-BBF2-43BE-A4D6-0E9E9D010E0D&Options=&Search=
You have until 4pm Tuesday to submit written comments and until 6:30pm to sign up for public comment. https://www.naperville.il.us/government/board-and-commissions/city-council-meetings-and-workshops/city-council-speaker-sign-up/

09/11/2026

Twenty-five years later, and I still get emotional watching 9/11 footage. I will never forget that morning. I worked in the markets, in a building next to the Sears Tower. I watched it live on CNBC. After the second tower fell, building management forcefully escorted us out. I rode the El home to Lakeview with mostly silent commuters, some of whom didn’t know that both towers had fallen.

Condoleezza Rice said in a speech this morning that “Freedom is fragile.”

She's right. I'm thankful that in 2001, we had calm, steady leadership who acted together. I don't believe we'd get that same response if this happened today, and that scares me more than the memory of 9/11 does.

Join the community at 5pm today at the annual service at the Dan Shanower Memorial.
https://www.naperville.il.us/2026-news-articles/2026-sept.-11-remembrance-ceremony

If you’re visiting NYC, I highly recommend visiting the memorial. https://www.911memorial.org/