Dan Schryer
Contributing Writer
This past Tuesday, October 28, Governor Pat Quinn announced a $1.4 million grant to North Central College in addition to a $1.1 million investment towards Riverwalk area rehabilitations.
The Governor’s visit and subsequent investment to the school, coming right before Illinois state election season, are part of Quinn’s Illinois Jobs Now! capital construction program. According to the Governor’s Office, the program has given $300 million to private universities in recent months.
The restoration investment is directed towards the 1-acre site found at 430 S. Washington St. and will be used to construct what will be known as North Central College Washington Street Riverwalk Park, according to a press release from North Central. The area was previously occupied by an abandoned strip mall.
After being introduced by Naperville Mayor A. George Pradel, Quinn discussed the investments being put towards the college and the importance of private institutions in community education. “it’s quite important that we invest in education in Illinois and everywhere else… across our country, so that we have these committed, special volunteers who understand that being on Earth is an ethic of service.”
Quinn also elaborated on various topics, from the importance of state-funded scholarship opportunities to the recent spread of the Ebola virus.
College President Troy Hammond gave a short speech after the Governor, praising the effort put in by Naperville and North Central College towards the rehabilitation of the Riverwalk area. “This project is truly community based, a project that both symbolically and physically bridges the city and the college,” said Hammond, “while also enhancing the beauty of Naperville’s most important amenity, the Riverwalk.”
In the upcoming gubernatorial elections, Quinn is running against the Republican nominee, Bruce Rauner. According to Real Clear Politics, “all signs…point to a close race” in the approaching voting season.
