Edwardsville Mayor Reflects on City's Growth and Projects

Our Daily Show Interview! State of Edwardsville 2026: Mayor Risavy & Cathy Hensley

EDWARDSVILLE - The City of Edwardsville has a variety of projects on the table, and Mayor Art Risavy is looking forward to their completion.

Risavy and Edwardsville’s Communications Coordinator Cathy Hensley recently spoke about the projects and events happening in Edwardsville. They shared that residents have a lot to look forward to, with plans for two new parks, a new indoor sports facility, a new space for the Edwardsville Arts Center, and more.

“We’ve got a lot of amazing things going on in Edwardsville,” Risavy said. “We’ve got some huge projects going on in our community.”

Risavy explained that phase 2 of Plummer Family Park is now complete, with two new baseball fields, 12 pickleball courts, and six sand volleyball courts. They are currently working on the next step, which is the addition of The Courthouse 618, an indoor sports facility.

Activity is important to Risavy, who noted that he loves seeing kids playing outside and enjoying the parks and sports facilities in the community. This is partly why he is looking forward to breaking ground on the new all-abilities playground that will be built in conjunction with Lewis and Clark Community College on the N.O. Nelson campus.

Risavy is especially excited because this playground will be near the Children’s Museum and the trails. He underscored the value of the MCT trails and Edwardsville’s commitment to walkability.

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“Everything we do in the city of Edwardsville, we focus on being a walkable, bikeable community,” he said. “We really try to connect the whole community and think about how people can get there by walking or biking.”

Downtown Edwardsville is also getting a “transformation,” he said. Crews are currently working to replace the water mains through a $2.87 million dollar grant from the Rebuild Illinois Downtown and Main Street program.

The City of Edwardsville recently purchased the building next to the Wildey Theater, where Risavy hopes to relocate the Edwardsville Arts Center. He added that they want to create a rooftop bar so people can enjoy drinks and fresh air during concerts at the Wildey.

They also plan to build a new park called Goshen Commons “in the heart of downtown,” Risavy shared. This public courtyard will have bike racks, gaming boards, an interactive video wall and more. The Land of Goshen Community Market will use this space for their market during the summer months. (This year, as construction starts, the market will be held at City Park.)

With several events also planned for the coming months, Risavy and Hensley encourage community members to visit the official city website for more information about their work. Hensley expressed her appreciation for the community and the city employees who do everything they can to support Edwardsville’s growth.

“It’s just been incredible to see how this town has evolved and just to see all the amazing things,” she said. “Personally, it's just such a joy to see it from the inside. I’ve never worked with a harder-working group of people, people who not only have the vision and creativity, but they collaborate and they know how to put things together.”

Risavy echoed Hensley and added that he enjoys his friendships and work with the alderpeople as well as the employees. He noted that he sometimes is asked about the difficulties of the job, but he always remembers there are many positives and reasons to love the city.

“In Edwardsville, we’re fortunate,” he said. “We're not perfect. We have a lot of things we need to work on. But most of the people who contact me are contacting me to tell me how grateful they are for what the aldermen and I are doing. They want to know how they can help. They want to know how they can volunteer and be on committees. They just want to be a part of making Edwardsville a great place to live. It is challenging, but I’m really grateful for the support we have from our residents."

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