At long last, Naperville's Millennium Carillon is open to the public, offering people a chance to take in a spectacular view of the city. Are taxpayers who criticized the city-funded bailout finally ready to accept it?
What's good about the carillon is that it's world-class, and it exemplifies Naperville's reputation for doing things right. What's not-so-good is that we're a good seven and a half years into the millennium, and the project tested the limits of Naperville citizens' generosity and can-do spirit.
Now that it's finally dedicated and open to the public, is the controversy about having to use city funds to complete it behind us? And do you plan to hike up all those stairs to the top someday?
I was there this afternoon, it was awesome to see the carillon (a project I've casually followed since the ground breaking) finally complete. Describing the saga of the carillon's construction as "bumpy" would be an understatement... but really, can't that be said for almost all massive man-made landmarks? I'm absolutely overjoyed and I can't even begin to imagine the sense of accomplishment that Chuck Seidel and the rest of the founding fathers of the carillon are feeling right now.
I really really hope all the carillon funding drama is behind us. At the grand opening today, standing far from the crowd there was a lone protester with a sign that read "TAX PAYER TOWER". What is the point of complaining anymore? The money is long gone, and in its place we have a world-class carillon which hopefully will become the symbol of Naperville.
I wasn't lucky enough to be a lottery winner today, but I plan on climbing to the top as soon as possible.
Another bloated monument to Naperville's sense of self-importance. It would have been a lot cheaper to build a stack of oversize SUVs.