EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD: SSMMA works behind scenes to improve lives

Many aren’t aware of it, but there is a committed group of people working quietly behind the scenes to renew and restore Chicago’s south suburban region in more ways than you can imagine.

Picture this:

1. A new I-294/I-57 interchange between Midlothian, Dixmoor, Harvey, Markham and Posen.

2. New Metra stations in Robbins, Tinley Park and Oak Forest.

3. The site of the former Dixie Square Mall now leveled, cleaned up and ready for redevelopment.

4. Former brownfields in Markham, Riverdale, Lansing, Robbins, South Chicago Heights, Harvey, Dixmoor, Burnham and Posen are cleaned and ready for redevelopment.

5. Crews are poised to install miles of fiber broadband throughout the southland region for lightning fast Internet service.

6. More than $50 million for road projects in nearly two dozen communities.

These are just some results of the work done by the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association. They are mayors working with mayors, city managers and administrators working with each other, who work collectively with other intergovernmental organizations as well as county, state and federal officials to effect change for not just their own towns, but the whole region. Click here to read Ed Paesel’s editorial in the Times of Northwest Indiana.