“Yes, $40 million is in this state budget for Proviso West High School to build a sports complex and I make no apologies about it,” said Chris Welch, speaker of the Illinois House. Welch is widely credited, and sometimes criticized, for getting the Proviso funding into a tight state budget.
Welch was back in the cafeteria of his alma mater on Thursday, Nov 20. to speak with D209 administrators, community members and stakeholders about the $40 million grant designated for the construction of a new sports complex at the high school.
The town hall was held at West to discuss the Sports Complex Design Proposal as a collaboration to figure out community wants and needs for the project.
“It is going to be transformative … it is going to help not just Proviso West — it is going to help all of District 209 but it is also going to help this community and all of the neighboring communities,” Welch said.
Welch said he sees the positive impact other such facilities have brought to school districts and their communities, including the construction of new hotels, restaurants and schools.
“Schools not having to raise your property taxes because there are outside sources of revenue coming in because of all of these folks that are visiting the community because of these sports complexes,” Welch said. “It is a non-property tax base source of revenue which allows the school district to do some other things and maybe not raise property taxes.”
Welch, the former longtime president of the D209 school board before he entered state politics in 2013, said the central location of West’s campus in Hillside would help make it a destination people would travel to.
Supt. Krish Mohip, who had invited Welsh to speak at the meeting, said it was rare for a school district to receive this type of support from the state.
“It is not solely because Speaker Welch is the Speaker and this is some place that means a lot to him but I think it is also because this district means a lot to the state and I saw that because I was at the state level,” Mohip said.
Mohip said there had been a lot of conversation at the state level about how to improve conditions for students and staff at Proviso.
“It is not lost on me that this was put into the state budget,” he said. “This is not only something Proviso Township wants but this is something that the entire city wants. They want to see a Proviso that is thriving. A Proviso that is doing great things.”
Deputy Superintendent of Operations Elizabeth Alvarez led the meeting, providing information from previously collected data.
According to feedback from the sports complex survey, 67 percent of participants said it was very important for the new development to have “safe, accessible facilities for all community members.” Additionally, 69 percent said spaces for multiple sports were very important – with soccer being the top answer for which sports and activities should be prioritized in the design of the complex.
Spaces for family-friendly and community events, such as concerts or festivals, also received a favorable vote, with 40 percent of participants strongly agreeing on their importance.
L.T. Taylor, building manager, said a new facility would help elevate and motivate student athletes.
“I think the school should be a safe haven for the community,” Taylor said, adding the community needs to feel valued. “Proviso West is the only school in its conference that doesn’t have a turf football field. That is how far behind we are. Just closing that gap on the sports page would be huge in providing 2025-26 components for our kids to thrive.”
“It is for our children,” said Alvarez who joined District 208 after serving for several years as the superintendent of the District 91 public elementary schools in Forest Park. “It is for our community. It is for our families here.”
Attendants participated in roundtable discussions where they submitted answers to what they would like to see included in the new facilities.
Submissions will be reviewed by Thought Exchange, a platform used for surveys, and information will be shared with the school board to help draw out the plans before making final plans.
Alvarez said the district would like more feedback.
“This is a once in a lifetime [opportunity], not many people get this when it comes to school districts,” Alvarez told Forest Park Review. “Your voice gets to be heard. This is our dream and whoever is here today is really going to make a difference. If you use the QR code and answer those questions, your voice is going to be part of that.”
The post House Speaker Welch joins town hall on D209’s Sports Complex at Proviso West appeared first on Forest Park Review.
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November 25, 2025 at 01:29PM
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