The silk top hat will be there.
At mid-day Monday, Naperville Mayor A. George Pradel will step to the podium one last time to recap the recent past of the state’s fifth-largest city, and share a peek into its near future. The affable Pradel — who has served full time in an enthusiastic and high-profile way as the city’s top elected official for an unprecedented 20 years — has developed a tradition of donning black tie when he attends the luncheon, which is co-sponsored by the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce and BMO Harris.
“It’s going to be a little personal this time, because my wife is going to introduce me,” he said earlier this month.
Pradel, 77, launched his annual address a year ago with a somber announcement that his spouse of 56 years, Pat, had experienced a setback in her battle against cancer. This time, the mayor said, her blood counts have greatly improved. Aside from being undeniably welcome news, it also has given Pat more time to rehearse the introductory comments she’ll deliver to a sell-out crowd gathered at the Chicago Marriott Naperville Hotel for the event Monday.
“I hope everything just works out the way she’s been practicing, because whatever she says will come from the heart,” Pradel said.
When he takes center stage, the mayor will go over the past year’s developments and what the rest of 2015 is likely to bring.
“We’re going to talk about some of the past, and some of the good things that are happening, like our triple-A rating with Standard & Poore’s and Moody’s,” Pradel said. “We’re going to talk about economic development, we’ll talk about the Water Street (redevelopment project), talk about some of the places that have developed, like Embassy Suites.”
There will be plenty of familiar faces in the crowd, among them George, Carol and Gary Pradel.
“My kids will be there, and that’s good, because they’ve stood by me through thick and thin,” he said.
Also seated in the audience will be someone who gave a few State of the City talks in the pre-Pradel era.
“It’s so different. Back when I was mayor, in the old days, I had to write my own,” said Peg Price, the city’s mayor from 1983 to 1991. “It took me days to write the darn thing, and we didn’t have the overhead (projector).”
Price also had to deliver her comments twice, she said — once for the local chamber luncheon, and a second time at a Chicago location, for members who worked downtown.
She recognizes that Monday’s address from a unique municipal leader will be bittersweet.
“He’s done well,” Price said. “Nobody is ever going to be able to do the same things George did. Nobody’s got that kind of energy or time.”
