MT. VERNON (WSIL) - The Mayor of Mt. Vernon filled the conference room of the Double Tree Inn Wednesday morning for his annual State of the City address.
In his 6th State of the City Address, Mt. Vernon Mayor John Lewis addressed everything from federal issues to local concerns, from gun legislation to infrastructure.
"People ask me what it's like to be Mayor... This is what it's like," Lewis said with a chuckle, as he donned a white pair of underwear over his slacks and a red and green sequin jacket over his dress shirt. All jokes aside, Lewis said he was standing in his skivvies to prove a point: people tend to defer their attention to in the wrong direction. It was certainly an attention getting way to begin to his speech.
Moving on to more serious matters, Lewis addressed the state issue of recent gun legislation and the banning of some firearms. "Three percent of all murders are done with an assault weapon. But we don't see them doing anything about the other 97%. It's devastating our families and communities."
On the local level, Lewis touted many upgrades made across the community including growth within the business district, major improvements to infrastructure like water and sewer, the new police department, numerous financial moves that improving the city's bottom line and increasing the city's security cams - now at around 100.
"(The cameras) proved whether a claim was valid or bogus, whether a statement given to police is credible, identify the driver of hit and runs, help officers observe where a criminal threw his weapon, and help solve homicide cases with video that's admissible in court," Lewis said, as videos from those very cameras played on the large screens behind him.
Overall, a positive address, sprinkled with a few laughs and also some serious realities. Lewis says, in 2023, he anticipates further growth in town, the new downtown plaza to be complete, as well as the new police station and an operational business hub.
