On Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, Illinois Tollway and Village of Rosemont unveil the sign dedicating the Donald E. Stephens Memorial Bridge along Balmoral Avenue and the Tri-State Tollway. Approximately 12 area dignitaries and leaders participated in the Monday morning ceremony that was also witnessed by a number of Rosemont residents and employees. Watching the unveiling was Rosemont Mayor Brad Stephens, and Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, State Rep. Marty Moylan (D-55th) and State Sen. Laura Murphy (D-28th) led the effort to dedicate the bridge to the later mayor.

This event is a tribute to the remarkable contributions & legacy of Donald E. Stephens a figure who left an indelible mark not only on the Village but also in the State of Illinois.

“This (bridge naming) is important because, again, O’Hare is important to us,” Brad Stephens said. “People coming from the South suburbs and South Side to be able to get off here and not have to go up and down all those loop de loops and all that convoluted spaghetti mess to get into the airport — that was big.”

“Don Stephens was a builder, and there’s no better way to honor him than with a bridge,” said Senate President Don Harmon, an Oak Park Democrat, who was one of the politicos from both sides of the aisle there Monday to honor the former Rosemont Republican.

“The mayor was able to cross party lines, work with Democrats and Republicans, to get something good done for the community,” said Moylan, who shepherded the bridge naming through his House Transportation: Regulations, Roads & Bridges Committee last spring. “He was a visionary and could see things other people couldn’t see at that time. And now look what the result is. It’s a great draw to the whole Midwest.”