Mark Eckert takes ‘bittersweet’ look back at his term as Belleville’s mayor
One of Mark Eckert’s favorite memories on the job as mayor of Belleville occurred some years ago after a thunderstorm.
A lightning strike had knocked out a woman’s electricity and it was “hotter in the house than it was outside” when he checked on her after getting a call about her plight.
With the help of Joe Hubbard, the retired founder of Catholic Urban Programs who now works with the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the woman was able to get a hotel voucher to escape the heat.
The woman’s daughter was surprised to find that the mayor was in the neighborhood helping her mother.
Eckert recalls the daughter saying, “Why would you help my mother like this?” and “I just can’t believe the mayor would do this.”
He told the daughter that her mother is “one of my citizens” and that “I’d sure wish somebody would do it if it was my mother.”
“This is the nice part of the job,” Eckert said.
This is one of what seems like a million memories for Eckert as he leaves office Friday.
Art on the Square founder and Mayor-elect Patty Gregory won the April 6 mayoral election and takes office on Saturday as the city’s first female mayor.
Eckert, who served as mayor for 16 years and four months, was appointed to the position on Dec. 20, 2004, and won elections in 2005, 2009, 2013 and 2017.
Former Mayor Charles Nichols remains Belleville’s longest-serving mayor, according to city records. He took office on May 1, 1961, and served until his death on Nov. 1, 1978, for a record of 17 years and six months.
If Eckert had won re-election, he could have surpassed Nichols’ record.
But Eckert said that didn’t have any bearing on his decision to run for re-election, but rather that he wanted to serve another term to help the city during through the coronavirus pandemic.
Sometimes, he said, voters “just want a change.”
“It’s been bittersweet the last week or two going through the files and stuff,” Eckert said. “It’s been a busy couple of weeks trying to get 16 years wrapped up.
“I truly enjoy coming to work every day,” he said. “As a team I think we accomplished a lot. It was an honor.”
Eckert’s plans
Eckert, 65, said he would like to continue working.
“I’m interested in finding the right job,” he said. “I don’t feel like I’m ready to totally retire. I want to find something’s that meaningful.”
With the demands of the mayor’s job off the table, Eckert said he plans to spend more time with his grandchildren this summer. He has three already and one is expected in June.
Before he was appointed mayor in 2004, he had served on the City Council beginning in 1997.
So does he have plans to run for office again?
“I’ll never say never,” he said. “But I don’t have any plans at this time.”
City highlights
“Truly, there have been a remarkable amount of events each and every year,” Eckert said.
Ecket said the downtown streetscape improvements on Main Street stand out as he looks back at his tenure.
When Eckert was president of the Illinois Municipal League in 2018, mayors from around the state visited Belleville for a meeting. He said two mayors pulled him aside and told him how much they admired the downtown streetscape project.
He said the mayors told him, “We just love your downtown, we love what you’ve done, we love those lights strung across the street, the bumpouts with the people sitting there, the atmosphere was so wonderful.”
“It’s one of the parts of our legacy I think here because it really has turned around downtown,” he said.
He said the downtown improvements set a welcoming backdrop for festivals such as Art on the Square, Christkindlmarkt and Oktoberfest.
Eckert said infrastructure and street improvements totaled about $130 million during his tenure.
“Everybody talks about streets but I don’t think they realize sometimes, some of these new people, how many streets we have done and there’s only so much money so you have to prioritize,” he said.
Along with the downtown streetscape project, other roadwork projects include the North Illinois streetscape; the West Main streetscape from Sixth to 12th streets with plans underway to extend this to 17th Street; McClintock Avenue; Raab Avenue; Union Avenue; South 10th Street; South Eighth Street; East Belle Avenue; Juanita Place; Dapron Drive; East A Street; East Washington Street; North 37th Street; North 39th Street; North 42nd Street; Centreville Avenue and North Virginia Street.
Eckert said other accomplishments and developments that occurred during his tenure include the renovation of City Hall to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act; the rennovation of a new fire station off Illinois 15 and the lowering of the city’s ISO rating from a 4 to 2, with 1 being the best rating; establishing a new police headquarters and “tornado proof” dispatch center at 720 W. Main St.; about $90 million in sewer system improvements; celebration of the city’s 200th anniversary in 2014 and development of Bicentennial Park in its honor; library renovations; new biking and walking trails; opening of Belleville Crossing and Green Mount Commons shopping centers; and maintenance of Mount Hope Cemetery after the owners stopped cutting the grass. He also noted plans have been set for a splash pad to be built this year at Bicentennial Park.
Mayoral advice
Eckert credits his friends and family for assisting him during his career as mayor.
“I’ve made some fabulous friends,” Eckert said. “I’ve made some lifetime friends and no doubt because I was in the right place at the right time in this position and I have to say that for that I’m extremely blessed and extremely appreciative.”
When asked about advice for Gregory as she takes office, Eckert said he recommends that she listen to the city’s department heads and staff for their input.
“We’ve got good professional people,” he said. “I think I’m leaving the city in good hands.”
Eckert said he tells new aldermen to vote for “what’s best for Belleville.”
“That’s all you got to ask yourself,” he said. “I would say the vast, vast, vast majority of the time you’re going to get it right when you look at it from that perspective. Don’t look at it personally, look at what’s best for Belleville.”
