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2022/10/24 - Mayor's Column: O'Fallon's Great Rankings and Roadway Grant

“AN OPEN DOOR TO O’FALLON”
A WEEKLY NOTE FROM MAYOR HERB ROACH

I recently shared the results of our citizens survey and how our citizens thought we are performing. We now have received some more good news about how outside groups look at our city and compare it with others. 

A national organization, NICHE, which does ratings annually on communities, schools and other entities has just released their study on thousands of communities from across the country. I thought that I would share with you of how O’Fallon rates with cities across the country, across the State of Illinois and in St. Clair County:

  • O’Fallon received an A+ rating.
  • We ranked in the top 8% of cities to buy a home in the U.S.
  • In the top 7% of places to raise a family in the U.S.
  • In the top 8% of places to live in the U.S.
  • In the top 5% of places to buy a home in Illinois.
  • #1 place to live in St. Clair County.
  • #1 place to raise a family in St. Clair County.
  • #1 place with the best schools in St. Clair County.

This is the result of a lot of good work by our City Council, City Staff, O’Fallon Schools, and the support & efforts of our citizens and businesses.

On a different note, I know everyone was happy to see Rt. 50 resurfaced recently, but I have more good news about Rt .50.  As we continue to look forward to the continued growth and development of our city, we must look at traffic flow, and walking and biking paths. Multi-purpose paths were one of the most important items that residents wanted when we did our 2040 Master Plan.

Due to the fine work of our Community Development Department and our Public Works Department, the City of O’Fallon has been awarded a $500,000 Grant by the East-West Council of Governments to study the future development of Route 50 through our city.

This is the largest Grant (non-road construction) that the city has ever received. This study will take a little over a year to complete.

As residents of O’Fallon, you should always be able to reach out to your elected officials and ask questions about what is happening in O’Fallon. Having open communications is important to me and something I care very deeply about. Thank you for reading, and please remember, my door is always open.