Robbins mayor named '2023 Mayor of the Year' by community organization

ROBBINS, Ill. (WLS) -- The mayor of a southern suburb has been honored by a local community organization.

Robbins Mayor Darren Bryant was named "2023 Mayor of the Year" by the "From the Roof Down Organization," which is based in Matteson.

"I am grateful, honored, and blessed to be recognized in this fashion," Bryant said in a news release. "However, our Village Board of Trustees are well deserving of recognition for the many improvements within our community. I could have never achieved this much success with a strong and vibrant village board. Moreover, we collectively have benefitted from the enormous support we have received from our residents. The Robbins Pride is back and more energized than ever."

The mayor made history in 2021 when he became the youngest ever African-American mayor in Illinois at the age of 29.

Bryant was presented with the award Dec. 28 at a Community Service Awards Gala event in Matteson.

"What Mayor Bryant has exhibited as a first term Mayor is simply amazing," Lakia Colquitt, CEO of the From the Roof Down Organization, said in a news release. "He lured 40 million of dollars of development to a town that had no significant new development in over five decades. The 20 plus million-dollar MWRD project that was launched under his leadership has ignited enthusiasm and restored the Robbins pride in which residents there have been known for."

Bryant has notably been involved with calling for more state resources to be allocated to south suburban communities to address aging water infrastructure issues, among other initiatives.

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"There is so much more work to do," Bryant said in a news release. "But I am primed, energized, and prepared to complete our mission of a more efficient, effective, and engaging Robbins."