City Council Meeting - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everybody. Welcome. This is meeting of the Joliet City Council with Councilwoman Quillman, me being pro tem, and the mayor, Terry Darcy, attendance as well. And 06:30 on April 21. Okay. Too many papers here.

So we'll start out with the roll call.

I'm gonna do the indication.

Oh, indication. I'm sorry. I'm fuddled. Okay. Well, who's coming? Oh, Robert Herbert Brooks, pastor of Saint John's Missionary Baptist Church. Oh my goodness. Oh my I haven't seen you for so long.

I can do the roll call too if you want. I can do that. Can I do that? Laura said I can. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen and audience. Won't you pray with me? Father God, we thank you, Lord, for this day in this place called Joliet City Hall in the state of Illinois. We ask your blessings upon them. Those that elected here, elected, sworn in by the powers of God to do the work that they have been called to. Your word reminds us of Romans thirteen and one, let every soul be subject to a higher power, and that higher power is our Lord God.

Blessed agenda on tonight, all of the staff of the city of Joliet, and most of all, the residents of Joliet that make us the city of camp champions. In our lord's name, we pray. Amen. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible,

We'll begin with roll call. Mayor Darcy?

Here. Council McCartney? Here. Councilman Clement? Here. Councilman Hug? Here. Councilman Navarro?

Here.

Councilman Moreno?

Here.

Councilman Mudrin?

Here.

Councilman Quoman?

Here. Councilman Reardon? Here. Under mayor, we have a proclamation recognizing April 25 as Arbor Day presented by Councilwoman Jan Quoman.

I hope I get this one right.

Take your kiss.

Okay. Good evening, everybody. And we have a proclamation from the city of Joliet, whereas we have Rita Runmacre with us. In 1872, J. Sterling Morton proposed to the Nebraska Board of Agriculture that a special date be set aside for the planting of trees.

Whereas on this holiday called Arbor Day was first observed with the planting of more than 1,000,000 trees in Nebraska. Trees can clean the air, produce oxygen, provide habitat for wildlife, reduce the erosion of our precious topsoil by wind and water, cut heating and cooling costs, and moderate the temperature. Whereas trees in our city increase property values, enhance the economic vitality of business areas, and beautify our community. Joliet has been recognized as Tree City USA for the thirty fifth consecutive year by the National Arbor Day Foundation, and Joliet desires to continue its tree planting ways. Now, therefore, I, Terry Darcy, mayor of the city of Joliet, on behalf of the city council, do hereby proclaim 04/25/2026 as Arbor Day.

In the city of Joliet, and I urge all citizens to support the efforts to care for our trees and woodlands and to support our community's forestry. And it's dated 04/21/2026, signed by Terry Darcy, mayor of the city of Joliet, Illinois. Great.

And we have really Runway.

Run she has been at this for many, many years. If it wasn't for Rita, I don't know if it would keep going. So keep on going, darling. You look great. Great. And then on Friday, you want to tell us about the planting. Oh, sure. I'm going to say a few words. It's all yours, the planting.

Yes. Thank you, mayor and members of the city council, for once again proclaiming Arbor Day for the city of Joliet and for supporting the care of our urban forest. We've been recognized for thirty five consecutive years as a Tree City USA, which is a long time. Arbor Day Tree City has existed for fifty years. So we were kind of in pretty much at the beginning of the whole thing.

As the proclamation said, trees make our neighborhoods cooler, more walkable, clean the air we breathe, reduce flooding, bring wildlife into our lives. In fact, we have hawks nesting in my neighborhood, kind of exciting. And they add to the beauty of the changing seasons. In other words, they improve our quality of life. With the council's support, the city is currently undergoing a survey of all the trees in the public right of ways, parkways.

And if you've seen Great Lakes Urban Forestry in your neighborhood, that's what they are doing. We have an inflation reduction act grant that we got like three years ago that funds part of this effort. And results will be used to update our current urban forest management plan to better care for and maintain our trees. Findings will let us know which trees need to be removed, trimmed, and where new trees can be planted. But we're here for more than the proclamation. This year, again, we did a poster contest. And Doctor. Teresa Woodard, who I would love for you to come up with me, principal

Elementary School agreed to host this year's celebration, which is going

to be Friday at Lynn Lynn Thickpen School at 10AM. And we're very excited for that to happen. Students at the school participated in a poster contest. And we've got the posters here today. And students will be celebrated and awarded their certificates.

But we really appreciate principals and staff who agree to do this because you know how much teachers and principals have going on. It's often right when the kids are going to testing. And somehow they fit this into, which we really, really appreciate. So tonight, we're going to recognize the Arbor Day poster contest winners. And Karen Fonte with our tree advisory board is going to come up and join us.

But how about winners come and stand by the posters? I love these names, Dahlia, Julissa, Olivia, and Ruby. Would you come and stand This is always so much fun. And Friday, we will also have Twig, the tree costume that somebody on their staff is going to wear. We don't know. It'll be a surprise. So as I announce the winners, I'm going to have each one of you come up. And Karen will hand you a certificate. Or Doctor. Woodward could do that.

So we had a tie for third place. Julissa Terrazas, third place. Another third place, Olivia Guardiola. Second place, Dahlia Ramirez Rios. And first place, Ruby Giardina. Giardina. Thank you so much. And I know we're going to be taking some photos. So good job, kids. We're going to be showing those that poster at your school on Friday.

And you all did such a great job. All of these posters have facts that went along with them. And we judged probably 100 posters, 200 posters. Quite a good submission from your school. So we thank you too. Okay. Thanks.

Next is the approval of the agenda. Is there a motion to approve the agenda as written with the following change? Vote on council memo number 232Dash26 resolution authorizing the sale of a police dog to canine officer Adam Stapleton following our appointments in consideration of our canine police officer and our police dog's attendance at this meeting tonight.

So moved. Second.

It's a motion and seconded to approve. Councilman Cardenas.

Aye. Councilman Clement. Aye. Councilman Hug. Aye. Councilman Guarra. Councilman Moreno.

Aye.

Councilman Mudrin. Aye. Councilman Coleman. Aye. Councilman Reardon. Aye. Mayor Darcy.

Aye. Motion carried. Okay. Next is citizens to be heard on agenda items. So is there anyone to speak on an agenda item? We do have some speakers. Yolanda Farmer.

Thank you. Good evening, mayor.

Good evening.

And city council members. My name is Yolanda Farmer. Farmer. I serve as the executive vice president at Joliet Junior College. And And I'm here this evening on behalf of our college president, doctor Klein Namuo, who is currently in Denver representing the college at a major conference.

So I'm here to speak on the city council's agenda item two two five dash 26. I had the opportunity to review the recording of last night's pre council meeting. There were many questions surrounding Joliet Junior College's awareness regarding the amendment. I appreciate the opportunity to address the council this evening on behalf of the college. There is indeed a time for everything.

There was a time when this residential complex was operated by the college. A time when student residency requirements aligned with the original intent of the development. We respect, I wanna be clear about this, in honor our history at Joliet Junior College. Since that time, however, housing demands have evolved as they often do. And the requirements governing this property has also evolved.

Today, the college has established a constructive, future focused relationship with the current and the future owners of the residence, one that reflects present day realities and serves the best interests of all involved, especially the 45 JJC students currently living in Rock Run Residence. Those students remain our highest priority, our highest priority. And we are committed to supporting safe and supporting learning environments that allow them to focus on their education and thrive. In a moment, you'll hear from the Joliet Junior College Chairman, Jim Buzinski, who will speak on behalf of the JJC Board of Trustees. In advance of his comments, I will share that at the March, the board approved an agreement with the purchaser of Rock Run residents to support a short and long term maintenance responsibilities of the Richard T.

Rivera Way. This represents the first time in the college history that an agreement of this nature has been reached, marking a meaningful and forward looking approach to this collaboration. The college administration is pleased with this agreement that has been established, And it also reflects the shared responsibility, thoughtful planning, and commitment to infrastructure in the community impact. It is also reassuring that the property is in good standing with the city's rental inspection program, reflecting a well managed living environment. In addition, probably most important to Joliet Junior College is our safety efforts.

They're strengthened through an effective memorandum of understanding between the Joliet Junior College campus police and the Joliet Police Department, promoting clear communication, coordinated responses, and responsiveness for our students, the residents, and the broader community. Doctor. Namur often says that a successful community college is deeply embedded in the college community, one that is intertwined with the fabric of the community it serves. And I believe those connections are very much alive here tonight. While we honor the past of the development, JJC is supporting and moving forward very thoughtfully and responsibly into the future.

So at this time, I would like to introduce the chairman of the board of trustees, Jim Buzinski, for his comments.

Good evening mayor, city council members. My name is Jim Blodzinski. I serve as the current chairman of the board of Joliet Junior College Board of Trustees. As a chair, my role is to speak on behalf of the board as a whole and reflect the decisions and positions taken by trustees during our public meetings. At Joliet Junior College, the board of trustees acts as a single collective body.

Trustees have authority for official board action only when acting together in duly notice public meetings and it is through that collective voice that I speak today. With that in mind I can state confidently that the leadership of Joliet Junior College and the current Board of Trustees were made aware of the proposed amendment to the plan unit development and are supportive of and in peace with the city's consideration of this amendment. Zoning requirements appropriately fall under the city's authority and we respect that and trust both the city's community development process and its commitment to sound planning processes. I would also like to note that during our March meeting the JJC Board of Trustees approved an access easement maintenance agreement with the purchasers of Rockland property to jointly support improvements along Richard T. Riviera Way.

That action reflects our shared commitment to collaboration, thoughtful planning and responsible stewardship of the surrounding area. Ultimately, the Board is supportive of practices that align the developments plan with its current practical use, particularly when those practices contribute positively to the community and support safe nearby living conditions that serve the needs of students and other residents. Joliet Junior College values its long standing relationship with the city of Joliet and remains committed to being a good neighbor and a collaborative community partner. And at this time, I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of JJC tonight. Thank you. Thank you.

Okay. I also have Andrew Scott.

Good evening, mayor, members of the city council. My name is Andrew Scott. I'm with the law offices of Dykemacassette. And I'm here on behalf of the contract purchaser whom you've heard about Midwest REO five LLC. I'm sorry I couldn't be here last evening, but I was been fully up to speed about some of the questions and some of the concerns.

And we really can't speak to sort of the past practices on the property. But I think our petition before you today is evidence that going forward, when we purchase this property, we want to do the right thing and that we want to make sure everything is above board and there's absolute transparency as to how the property is going to operate. So hopefully, our position is evidence of that. And something I want to also clarify is that this is not an intent to convert this multifamily property to wholly public, you know, open it up to the public. The students that live there, the faculty that live there, they're great tenants, as best we're able to tell through all of our due diligence.

And we will continue to welcome them, and we want them as part of the tenancy at the property. Over the past decade or so, based on my research, the student population has fluctuated a little bit. And so again, I can't speak to the past. But going forward, you need the constancy in order to be able to keep up a property, maintain it to the high standards that the college expects, that the city expects, and also the tenants expects. And so you do need to be able to draw upon as broad a pool of tenants as you can.

And so while we will look to the general public for tenants, we will also continue to work with the college and work with the students and their faculty to make living arrangements available to them. I think you heard that we have established a good collaborative relationship with the college. We worked through some naughty infrastructure issues that came to the fore as we were looking at the property. And our hope and expectation is that we will continue that collaborative effort between Juliette's Unit Lodge and the contract purchaser going forward, not only on infrastructure matters, but also, again, keeping this property to the high standards that both the college expects, the city expects, the tenants expect, and also ownership expects. So we're available to answer any questions if needed.

Thank you.

Any questions?

Is there anyone else who would like to speak on an agenda item this evening? This is for agenda items. Okay. Under appointments, the mayor is recommending Norise Moffett be appointed to the Joliet Public Library Board to replace Amita Ostrom.

So moved.

Second. It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Clement.

Aye. Councilman Hug.

Aye.

Councilwoman Abarra. Aye. Councilman Moreno. Aye. Councilman Mudrin. Aye. Councilman Coleman. Aye. Councilman Reyden. Aye. Councilman McCartney.

Aye.

Mayor Darcy.

Aye.

Motion carried. Now we have council memo number 232Dash26, resolution authorizing the sale of a police dog to canine officer Adam Stapleton. It is recommended said resolution be adopted.

So moved. Second. Any comments?

Mayor, councilman, thank you. In 2017, I was able to fulfill a lifelong dream, and that was become a k nine officer. Ever since I was a little kid, I it's what I knew, what I wanted to do. Took me a long time to get there. I have since retired, and now he is retired. One of the things about our canine unit is we're always told there's three things that our canines are able to do. First and foremost, they're the only thing in our arsenal that we can recall. If you shoot your pepper spray, it's gone. It doesn't come back. Anything else for that matter.

They're the only ones that will come back. In his time, he's had actually over a dozen apprehensions where he actually didn't even make physical contact with the people because he was able to be recalled to me, and they gave up. The other thing is is that they work around corners. I can't see what's around the corner, and I surely don't wanna stick my head around the corner if I know there's something potentially bad around there. They can go around the corner, and they can see if there's stuff there. They are the best locating tool

that we have in our arsenal

by far. Even with all the technology of FLIR and drones and everything else, we always say, you can fool our eyes. You can fool our ears. You can fool our nose. You cannot fool that nose.

He is not just a tool for my family. He is a family member. He is as protective of me as he is of my wife and my family, and he has been since day one. I, again, would like to say thank you. You made our family whole, and he's got it from here.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Congratulations.

Thanks, Adam. Thank

Nice to play.

Thanks a lot.

Thank you so much.

Okay.

We can talk about

it. Yeah.

Alright. It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Hug?

Aye. Councilman Navarro? Aye. Councilman Moreno.

Aye.

Councilman Mudran. Aye. Councilman Coleman.

Aye.

Councilman Reardon. Aye. Councilman Cardenas. Aye. Councilman Clement.

Aye.

Mayor Darcy.

Aye.

Motion carried. Next we will have council committee report. We'll start with finance.

Thank you. The finance committee met here in chambers at 05:30 today. On the committee is councilwoman Sherri Reardon, councilman Larry Hug, and myself Pat Mudran. It was a relatively short agenda, but financially very impacted. We accepted an ordinance for a million dollar grant from the Will County Community Mental Health Board for a no cost consulting program amendment to the 2026 budget to receive and expend the grant funds and creation of an additional social worker position to perform this grant funded activity.

An ordinance authorizing an amendment to the annual budget to the city of Joliet for 2026 to spend the 2025 funds that were not spent. Monthly financial report is all are moving as expected or above a couple items, one being video gaming sales and utility taxes that run-in slightly ahead of the budgeted amount. The sewer and water fund revenues are trending on budget. The parking report revenues are down, but when it was running again the next day, they were actually up. So I would say they're trending as expected.

We have one quarterly report from the Rialto. This would be from January through March. The Rialto had over 20,000 visitors. For that first quarter, they attended 16 events, four weddings and two movies. Sherry, Larry, wanna add anything? Nope. That's my report. Thank you.

Legislative. Okay. Legislative met here in council chambers on April 13 at 10AM. In attendance was Councilman Reardon, Councilman Cardenas hello and myself, Jan Quillman. And we were discussing the ordinance amending chapter two, article two of the Gillette Code of Ordinances to authorize pre separation recruitment and temporary appointments. And we discussed it at length. We had a very good discussion. And now I'm going to turn it over to our attorney so he can explain the whole ordinance for everybody.

Thank you.

You're on, Todd.

Thank you.

I'm on. Thank you. Basically, this ordinance does two things. It allows over overlap hiring. So if someone puts in their retirement notice, the city manager under this ordinance can start recruiting and hire. After discussion, it was decided that the six months would just be for the recruitment, the post and trying to find someone. But it would be limited ninety days as to them being on the payroll. So that was the modification versus last time that this was at the city council. And then it was also temporary recruitment. So that's the situation where you don't have any time frame, and you need someone before you can find someone.

So the city manager can hire someone temporarily for that. It was voted on to move this back to the fullest city council with the recommendation to approve with those changes.

Okay. Thank you, Todd. Alright.

That concludes our report. Public

assets.

Public assets committee met on Wednesday, April 15 at 03:30 in the Executive Conference Room. In attendance were myself, councilman Clement, and councilman Marino, along with Dawson Anderson, the community development director, Blake Klein, facilities director, Joe Fleischauer, neighborhood services director, Greg Prewold, Joliet Area Historical Museum, and Nick and Sharon Sharon Farrell of the Miracle League. We approved the minutes from 02/25/2026. There were no citizens to be heard items. There were two agenda items.

The first was an approval of grass cutting for vacant city lots. The city contracts cut a 159 vacant lots. There will be 15 cuts from May 1 to October 1. The second item was an agreement for the replacement of the fire suppression piping on the concourse level at Slammer Stadium. This is year two of three of a capital improvement plan to replace the fire suppression pipe that has formed leaks requiring emergency repairs.

Greg Prieble gave an update on the Joliet Area Historical Museum and specifically the Big House ballgame. There is a lot of excitement for this game and the events surrounding this game. Recently, they were featured in the museums along Route 66 in the New York Times, and NBC has featured sub a piece that'll be coming out soon. Reminder, the game is April 30 at the Old Joliet Prison. Sharon and Nick Farrell gave an update on the Miracle League, which starts not the ninth.

Continued improvements in the bathroom and larger dugouts are in the works for this season. A 120 Miracle League kids are expected to participate this season. Additionally, we talked about the the contributions of the person that retired, Brent Frazier, and everything that he has brought to this committee. Also, all of those items were passed unanimously. Councilman Clement, do you have anything to add?

I do not.

Councilman Marino? No. Okay. That will be my report. Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay. And finally, we have public service.

Always finally, right? Yes. You gotta change that out. Public service committee met yesterday here in City Hall in the Council Chambers at 04:30 in the afternoon. On the committee in attendance was councilwoman Reardon, councilman Madryn, and myself, councilman Hagen.

Very short agenda, so it shouldn't take me thirty seconds here. Under contracts, we only had two items. Both have to do with the what's referred to as the former PACE Building, which is where we're moving much of our fleet management and repair operations to update and modernize. So there's some improvements that need to be done as we lease the building we're leasing that building from PACE. And the two items, one was for 500 not to receive $550,000 and that was for a number of different lifts from 12,000 pounds up to 20,000 pound auto equipment lifts to lift vehicles so they can be worked on.

And the other one was for about $85,000 so that we could floor this concrete floor as it sits now is very smooth. It didn't have any anti slip additives to it. So working there full time would be a little bit when it gets wet and so forth. So it's 85,000 to put a an additive over the top of the concrete so it's non non slip. We have one change order, and that was just for 15,000.

And it was for Hutchinson Engineering Incorporated, and we looked at that. And that's for the Ferrell Road over Spring Creek Bridge improvement project that we're hoping to get into the final phase in the fall and start to build. And there were some additional items that were required to be engineered, if you will, by IDOT in order for us to make it through the phase two. So kind of housekeeping, if you will. Under the change orders and I'm sorry, under ordinances and resolutions, we have one ordinance which was to approve this expenditure of MFT taxes for that $15,000 engineering bill that we I just mentioned.

And then resolution accepting grant of permanent easement at 18711 South County Line Road. For the County Line Road between Van Dyke and Kennedy Road roadway improvements project, this included sidewalks. If we hadn't done this particular thing, which didn't cost any money, no cash exchanging hands. Sidewalk would go like this, and then like that, and then back there again. So we needed to align it so it wouldn't be goofy. Or we'd be missing a big segment of it. So that's pretty much it, very exciting as it was. Did I miss anything, folks?

No. No.

Mayor, with that, that is my report. Thank you.

I show no other reports. Under consent agenda, approval of minutes. It is recommended the minutes of the pre council meeting, 04/06/2026, and the city council meeting held on 04/07/2026 stand approved as recorded. Invoices to be paid. It is recommended this report be approved.

Council memo number 210Dash26, award of contract for vehicle lift equipment purchase and installation to NAPA Auto Parts in an amount not to exceed $550,000. Council memo number two eleven dash 26 award of contract for the 9 Osgoode Street floor resurfacing to integrity concrete coatings in the amount of $84,913.20 council memo number two twelve dash twenty six approval of amendment number three for the phase two engineering services for the Feral Road over Spring Spring Creek Bridge improvement project m f t section number 21Dash00542Dash00BR to Hutchinson Engineering Incorporated in the amount of $15,000. Councilmember number 213Dash26 approved the purchase of body armor vests for SOS from first spear in the amount of $54,616.25. Councilmember number 214Dash26 purchase for Fire Station one of cabinets from Riverton cabinet company in the amount of $35,194 and the installation of cabinets for Fire Station 1 from heights construction incorporated in the amount of $32,450 for a total amount of $66,744 dollars Councilmember number 26, Award of Professional Services, purchase and installation of the Joliet Slammers fire suppression pipe replacement to AMS Industries Incorporated in the amount of $186,770 councilmember number 216Dash26 award of contracts for grass cutting on vacant city lots to summit lawn care in the amount of $38,970 and to Culpepper lawn works in the amount of $17,535 it is recommended council memos two ten dash 26 through two sixteen dash 26 be approved is there a motion to approve all said consent agenda items

Motion approved. Second.

Mayor? I need to amend my public service report. Forgot one thing. Probably the most important thing. We went through the five items of which they're they're on this consent agenda. I forgot to mention folks. It was unanimously approved by the count the the committee that it be sent to the full council with a recommendation to approve all five items. That's my amendment. Thank you. Okay.

It's a motion and seconded to approve. Councilman Navarro.

Aye. Councilman Moreno.

Aye.

Councilman Mudrin.

Aye.

Councilman Quillman. Aye. Councilman Verdun. Aye. Councilman Cardenas. Aye. Councilman Clement. Aye. Councilman Hug.

Aye.

Mayor Darcy. Aye. Motion carried.

Under license and permit applications. Council memo number 218Dash26. Issuance of class b and class m liquor license at 227 North Gauger Road, Barber Overworkman Horticultural Center Venue 98. Is there a motion to approve the issuance of said liquor license?

So moved. Second.

Any comments or questions? Thank you.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Moreno?

Aye. Councilman Mudrin? Aye. Councilwoman Quoman? Aye. Councilman Meridian? Aye. Councilman Cardenas?

Aye.

Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hug? Aye. Councilman Navarro? Aye. Mayor Darcy?

Aye. Motion carried. Councilmember number 219Dash26 issuance of class e liquor license at 81 North Chicago Street Innernode, Granary And Home. Is there a motion to approve the issuance of said liquor license?

So moved. Second. Any comments or questions? Thank you.

It's been motion and seconded to approve. Councilman Mudrin?

Aye.

Councilman Quillman?

Aye.

Councilwoman Meriden. Aye. Councilman Cardenas.

Aye.

Councilman Clement. Aye. Councilman Hug.

Aye.

Councilman Navarro. Aye. Councilman Moreno. Aye. Mayor

Darcy. Aye. Motion carried. Councilmember number 220Dash26 issuance of class b liquor license at 3147 West Jefferson Street, the Prime House. Is there a motion to approve the issuance of said liquor license?

So moved. Second. Comments or questions? Thank you.

It's been motion and seconded to approve. Councilwoman Quillman?

Aye. Councilwoman Reuven? Aye. Council McCartiness. Aye. Council McClement. Aye. Councilman Hug.

Aye.

Councilwoman Navarro. Aye. Councilman Moreno. Aye. Councilman Mudrin.

Aye. Mayor Darcy.

Aye.

Motion carried. Council Member 221Dash26 issuance of class e liquor license at 101 McDonald Avenue Wingate by Wyndham Joliet. Is there a motion to approve the issuance of said liquor license?

So moved. Second. I'm sorry.

Any comments or questions? Thank you.

It's been motion and seconded to approve. Councilman Rudin. Aye. Councilman Cardenas.

Aye.

Councilman Clement. Aye. Councilman Hug.

Aye.

Councilman Navarro. Aye. Councilman Marino.

Aye.

Councilman Mudrin.

Aye.

Councilman Quillman. Aye. Mayor Darcy.

Aye. Motion carried. Councilman number 222Dash26 issuance of class B liquor license at 16329 South Boulevard Place Longhorn Steakhouse. Is there a motion to approve said liquor license?

So moved. Second.

Comments or questions? Thank you.

It's been motion and seconded to approve. Councilman McCartney.

Aye.

Councilman Hug. Aye. Councilwoman Navarro. Aye. Councilman Moreno.

Aye.

Councilman Mudrin. Aye. Councilwoman Quillman. Aye. Councilwoman Bruden. Aye. Mayor Darcy.

Aye. Motion carried. Under ordinances. Council memo number two twenty four dash twenty six. Ordinance approving the preliminary plan development of New Stoneshire phase two PUD dash two dash 26. It is recommended that ordinance be adopted.

So moved.

Second. Sorry.

Any comments or questions?

Yeah, actually, if you don't mind, just one more comment. It's actually in Sherri's district. Because of your district and I'm joking we have all those farm fields there that for years we did mitigate with the water coming. And it was unincorporated. And it would cause flooding in the subdivisions. There's somebody in this room that actually lives in the subdivision. And this is a march towards starting to develop that. The only way to completely mitigate flooding off a farm field is to actually

Develop it.

Develop it. So this is good news. Thank you. Alright.

Okay. It's a motion and seconded to approve. Councilman Clement.

Aye. Councilman Hug.

Aye.

Councilman Navarro. Aye. Councilman Moreno. Aye. Councilman Mudrin.

Aye.

Councilman Quoman. Councilman Meriden. Aye. Councilman Cardenas.

Aye.

Mayor Darcy.

Aye.

Motion carried. Council memo number two twenty five dash 26 ordinance approving an amendment to the preliminary and final plan unit development of Joliet Junior College student housing subdivision ordinance number 13,226 PUD dash three dash 26. It is recommended that ordinance be adopted.

So moved. Second.

Any comments or questions? Mayor. Yeah, Drew.

You know, I'm I'm glad we have pre council. You know, you hear a lot of things day one, and then you learn a lot more on the second day. So I just wanna make that comment. It's you know, we spoke earlier, and I talked to a few other people. So those are my comments.

Thank you.

Can I say one more

thing? Sure.

Just wanted to let everyone know that coming here to speak at council really does make a difference. I was convinced of the way I was gonna vote last night and you can definitely make a difference coming here to speak. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else? Okay.

Okay. It's been motion and seconded to approve. Councilman Hug?

No.

Councilman Navarro? Can you

pass me and come to me last? Is that legally

Yeah.

Just say pass.

Pass. Oh, we've never done that before.

Well, can do it now. I

think you do either pass or present. Like, present I think you have

to go. I've done anything.

I've seen Jan Dahl. Robert's Marjorie.

No. I've never done that. I've seen her do done that in air.

I definitely saw her do it.

I think you need to vote.

I vote

it. Yeah. Just vote how you wanna vote.

I do it. I literally don't know. There's never been a time where I haven't known. Okay. Aye. Aye.

Councilman Marino. No. Councilman Mudran? Aye. Councilwoman Quoman? No. Councilwoman Rudin? Aye. Council McCartiness? Aye. Council McClellan? Aye. Mayor Darcy. Aye.

Motion carried. Council memo number two 26 dash 26 ordinance accepting a 1,000,000 grant from the Will County Community Mental Health Board for the no cost counseling program amendment of the 2026 budget to receive and expend grant funds and creation of an additional social worker position to perform grant funded activities. It is recommended that ordinance be adopted.

So moved. Second. Any comments or questions? Thank you.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilwoman Navarro.

Aye. Councilman Moreno. Aye. Councilman Madran. Aye. Councilman Quoman. Aye. Councilman Verden. Aye. Councilman Cardenas.

Aye.

Councilman Clement.

Aye.

Councilman Hug.

Aye.

Mayor Darcy.

Aye.

Motion carried. Council memo number two twenty seven dash twenty six. Ordinance authorizing an amendment to the annual budget of the city of Joliet for the twenty twenty six fiscal year twenty twenty five projects funded in 2026. It is recommended that ordinance be adopted.

So moved.

Second. Comments or questions?

Mayor, just as I said yesterday from maybe somebody who's watching at home or somebody attended tonight and they didn't see yesterday, we are not adding any extra expenditures to this year's budget. This is a formality to carry forward projects that have already been funded last year. There might even be a couple of them that date back to '24 as a start date. But we technically have to approve bringing the money and the project into this So there's no new expenditures that were already approved in previous budgets. We're just bringing them forward. Thank you, mayor.

Thank you. Okay.

It's a motion and seconded to approve. Councilman Moreno?

Aye.

Councilman Mudrin.

Aye.

Councilman Quillman.

Aye.

Councilman Reuden. Aye. Councilman Cardenas. Aye. Councilman Clement. Aye. Councilman Hug. Aye. Councilwoman Navarro. Aye.

Mary Darcy.

Aye.

Motion carried. Councilmember number 02/2026, ordinance amending chapter two article two to authorize pre separation recruitment and temporary appointments. It is recommended that ordinance be adopted.

So moved. Second.

Any comments questions? Thank you.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Mudran. Aye. Councilwoman

Quillman. Aye. Councilman Bruden. Aye. Councilman Cardenas.

Aye.

Councilman Hug? No. Councilman Abarra? No. Councilman Moreno? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried.

Under resolutions councilmember number 230Dash26 resolution appropriating supplemental motor fuel tax funds for amendment number three to the phase two engineering services contract for the Feral Road over Spring Creek Bridge improvement project m f t section number twenty one dash zero zero five four two dash zero zero dash b r it is recommended that resolution be adopted

so moved

second comments or questions Thank you.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilwoman Quillman.

Aye. Councilwoman Reardon. Aye. Councilman Cardenas.

Aye.

Councilman Clement. Aye. Councilman Hug. Aye. Councilwoman Navarro. Aye. Councilman Moreno.

Aye.

Councilman Mudrin.

Aye.

Mayor Darcy.

Aye. Motion carried. Councilmember number 231Dash26 resolution accepting a grant of permanent easement at 18711 South County Line Road for the County Line Road Van Dyke Road to Kennedy Drive roadway improvements project it is recommended that resolution be adopted.

So moved. Second. Any comments or questions? Thank you.

It's a motion and seconded to approve. Councilman Rudin. Aye. Councilman Cardenas. Aye.

Councilman Clement. Aye. Councilman Hug.

Aye.

Councilman Navarro. Aye. Councilman Moreno. Aye. Councilman Mudrin. Aye. Councilman McClellan. Aye.

Mayor Darcy.

Aye.

Motion carried. Next is the city manager's report. Good evening, everybody.

Yesterday we held a press conference in council chambers. I want to congratulate detectives Petro and detective Espinosa in their work, along with Plainfield School District two zero two, for their work in taking an alleged person into custody for being inappropriate with a minor. JPD is really the best police department. And they have people working so hard every day. A lot of what you see in the press is always negative.

But there are good things happening every day as well. So thank you to those detectives. Thank you to the whole police department chief, deputy chiefs for all their work to keep us safe. This morning, had an opportunity to briefly meet and greet crew and cast this morning for the new HBO show American Blue that we'll be filming here in Joliet. We will have some road closures associated with that.

So please keep a close eye on our media releases, on our social media, and our website for those. Employee news. Brent Frazier was here last meeting. But I also wanted to highlight other people that retired on April 16. So Brent Frazier, Sylvia Esquivel, and Joyce Riggs, we wish them the best and thank them for their service.

Joliet Central Art teacher Nissa Jib, nominated by a student for a Crystal Apple Award, which is an annual national contest looking to honor educators for their impact on students, their impact within and beyond their school, and their effectiveness and creativity of teaching. Nissa was one of the five teachers nationwide to win this award.

Oh my goodness.

She wins educational funds for herself and the school as well as a personalized trophy. And I'd just like to add that the student that nominated her reached out to us asking if we could give her a shout out during the meeting. So she's well loved by her students. We want to congratulate Nissa on this amazing award.

I'm sorry. Missed what school was.

It was Joliet Central, an art teacher. And then community events attendance since last meeting, attended Dancing with Our Local Stars. Our one and only Cesar Cardenas blew the roof off the building and did such a good job. It was really fun to watch and remarkable turnout for Guardian Angels. There were so many people there, maybe the most tickets they've ever sold.

So it was a really great event for that. Last Thursday, had dinner with the Zanta Club. So if you're not familiar with the Zanta Club, they help women and girls nationwide, actually, but do a lot here just in Joliet. And it was lovely to have dinner with them and conversation with them. They are having a big event this Thursday evening. I think the tickets are sold out. But doesn't mean you can't try. Maybe get in the door. It's their Women of Distinction Awards Night. And they're such a great organization.

I recommend anyone try. And then last week, we also had a Blackhawks game with the City of Joliet staff. So thank you to Ann. Why am I forgetting your last name right now? I Ann was blanking because it used to be something different in our old days. To Ann Sylvester for organizing. There were a lot of people there. Johnny Perry was there. I was there. There's a lot of family members there.

It's really a great opportunity for our staff to get together, get to know one another, and pretty much get a Blackhawk tickets for half price for the service to Joliet. So great event. Thank you for everyone who attended. And we will continue to have these positive events for our staff to continually thank them for the work that they do. That concludes my report.

Next we have public comments. This is for anybody that wants to address the council for a non agenda item. Is there anyone who would like to speak this evening on a non agenda item?

Okay.

Good evening, mayor and council. Marybeth Gannon, Joliet resident. I almost didn't come tonight, but I felt compelled because I think most of the public isn't aware that recently the city changed its website in the FOIA section. You used to be able to file a FOIA anonymously. You know, it worked much like shield laws with journalists.

It guaranteed you some kind of protection without fear of retribution. And for anybody who says that doesn't happen, they're either a fool or they're a liar. I would kindly ask the city return to the option of filing FOIAs anonymously or with your name. I've certainly done both over the years. And there have been two other administrations that allowed that, two very different from each other administrations who allowed anonymous VOYAS.

Citizen journalists should be able to do that. I'm no longer a journalist. I'm just a resident. But I did work as one. And I did get my master's in it from Northwestern.

And somehow I feel like all my professors would be pushing me right now and saying, go fight for the people right now because you should be able to file that FOIA request anonymously. I also question the legality of it. Looking at ILCS 140, section one, public records must be available to quote any person. And the act does not require a requester to provide a name or personal identification to exercise this right. Furthermore, per section five of the same statute and official guidance from the Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Counselor, a public body cannot require the use specific form that mandates the disclosure of identifying information.

So what are we going to do about this? I know you can't respond to me right now. But I believe what you're doing is not only illegal, it's unethical. People should be able to file that FOIA request and be able to file it anonymously and not worry about any kind of repercussions for it. Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Is there anyone else who would like to address the council this evening on a non agenda item?

Good evening, and staff. My name is Diane Matter, and I reside in Joliet. I'm here tonight to give you information I have gathered about the Loves truck stop being built near my home. Loves is supposed to open in two weeks. Instead, we've heard three months behind schedule. So they are in a hurry, making mistakes, and causing safety issues. So who knows when they'll open? Here are some of the few issues that I have found out. Permits Loves has not been able to get proper permits from the city. Luvs has not met the requirements the city requires in order to obtain permits.

Traffic lights. A traffic light on Briggs And New Lakes Road has not been installed or approved. We understand the state of Illinois and IDOT are now involved. No notice to residents. No one was notified about the road closures.

The school bus cannot pick up kids this at the stop because of construction. Out of common courtesy, it would be nice for Luv's or for the city of Joliet to notify all residents down Oak View Avenue and the immediate homes on New Lenox Road, time frames on what can be expected from this construction site, and letting us know the days we will be able to get in and out of our homes. An officer of the law informed my neighbor that there are violations that are being ignored. Power Commonwealth Edison has not hooked up to electricity. Right now, the site runs on a generator twenty four hours a day, which is causing some residents issues to sleep.

It's not me because I can sleep through anything, pretty much. Mail in services stop. Mailboxes have been taken down. Mail cannot get delivered for days in the neighborhood. Garbage can't get through. We are overflowing with trash. A service we pay for can no longer, because of Love's and the city of Joliet, allow this to happen. We feel it is irresponsible and demeaning. We can't even get our garbage taken away that we pay for. Unsafe road conditions. New Lenox Road is in front of my house. It's so soft that my car starts sinking. The gravel is unstable. I drive, and it feels like I'm gonna get stuck. The undercarriage of my car has already hit the bottom, and so has my husband as well as my neighbors.

This is a real nightmare. Residents on Oakview Avenue have literally been restricted. Let's just hope there's not a fire or someone needs an ambulance, because they would not be able to get through. There are days there's so much construction going on that you literally are unsafe trying to get in and out of your home. We are prisoners in our own homes. Safety flammable, hazardous tank. There literally is a 500 gallon flammable, hazardous tank sitting on the side of the road. There's a lot of construction equipment moving around. And this 500 gallon flammable hazardous tank is parked on the side of the road. I'm concerned if something hits it, it'll blow up.

It's called safety. We don't feel safe with this tank, only a few feet from a road that has massive amounts of construction going on it, with residents having to use this road to get to their homes. Property damage. Workers told us that they are so close to our fence that they can't guarantee if our fence will remain standing with the work being done. This is destruction of my property. They do know that they have to fix this, but I still did not ask for this. Signage there is a huge sign constructed. I believe Joliet has ordinance for signs being too tall and neon flashing and brightness and only two signs to a pole. I like to have that be looked into. We believe this goes against city rules with this sign that has taken up half the sky.

We are living in the middle of construction and it feels like no one in the city cares how this affects our safety and quality of life. We did not ask for this, but yet, our safety is being threatened, let alone our quality of life. Basic services we pay for cannot reach us mail, garbage, school buses. Our homes are not safe, and our properties are not at risk. This is irresponsible planning by the city of Joliet and loves truck stop.

We did not ask for this project and is making our life a living hell. Sean has been working with us, and I do appreciate his effort, But we also need honesty about what's happening in our neighborhood and what we have to live through on a daily basis. Being informed will help us plan our days. Some of us have work, doctor's appointments, therapy classes to attend, and obligations that we need to be at. We have had to miss important appointments or postpone trying to leave our homes because of all this construction that surrounds us. Driving New Lenox Road and Oak View Avenue is dangerous for anyone to drive on it. Safety of our lives has been threatened. We need action now. Protect residents before you protect this project. Thank you for your time.

And I do have some pictures showing you how close this tank is to the intersection and also this construction of our homes. I know

it's either like I have around. Thank you.

Good evening, everybody. You're on mute, Kathy. Hey. I wanna congratulate Bob, being a known Illinois journalist. Illinois, thank you. Congratulations. You're you're you're everywhere. You know? But when you gonna do my story? Another day is this Arbor Day thing.

It was blessed that you guys like to, you know, wanna preserve the trees, but I wanna say something here. You go out to where I used to live, all the industry development here from Route 6 all the way into the CenterPoint Intermotals and all around that area. All the trees have been taken down. All the woods have been totally destroyed. You know, I went down the road the other day, and it's like, I'm looking down my old road, and there ain't no no no trees there anymore. The trees have all been taken out. The woods have been taken out. I can see clearly from my road. I can see all the way to yellow warehouses in the area because all the trees have been taken down for industrial development. I think if you want Arbor Day thing, you gotta improve Arbor Day everywhere, not just inside the city here.

You need to see it all around the city of Joliet, which is, you know, we know expanded south of here. You need to start saving the trees. And I wanna talk about the important issue here is the truck accidents. Just in the last week, we've already had three there there's been three deaths for semi trucks. Last week, there was a a semi truck hit a motorcycle down there by bridge by grade wood down if I reach street over there.

Regrow over there on I 55. That semi truck, of course, ran over that motorcycle and just kept right on going. Other motorists had to flag them, follow the follow the semi truck, and let state police know where that semi truck to get that truck early. End up eventually end up killing that motorcycle rider. We had in Chicago today. We had no Chicago, a lady got got run over by a container hauler truck. She was just standing on the road, you know, one side of the road, I guess. The old story happens that she got ran over by a semi truck that killed. Today, break on Brandon Road there, Route 6 or what you call now, Shanahan Road. I don't know why it should be called Route 6 over here on Brandon Road over here today.

Another death to a semi truck. It was semi truck being involved. I need to know, like, when we're gonna start regulating these semi trucks because we need to start concentrating on the laws of the semi truck drivers and everything, the laws that you know, with these semi trucks. Following distances, you know, at 40 miles an hour, semi trucks should at least be four seconds behind the vehicle in front of them. How many times you're driving through these streets here,

and you

got a semi truck right on your back end? The semi trucks are not here, and they're not staying in proper distance, yet they know they cannot stop on a dime. You you hear them arguing all the time. Oh, we can't stop on a dime. Well, then why are you following so close? Why are you going so fast? Semi trucks have their own speed limit on the highways, which are five to 10 miles an hour slower than the regular speed limit. That's why a sign that follows the regular speed limit on a highway says truck speed limit or trucks over 8,000 pounds or trucks over four tons need to go to speed limit. That's normally five to 10 miles slower than the regular speed limit. So why is it you're in your vehicle, you're in your car doing regular speed limit?

You got semitrucks flying right past you on the highway. You know, we don't have enough police around here to get these semitrucks and make them drive safe. But the semitruck accidents and the deaths with semitrucks accidents keep increasing, and we all have getting tired of it. We're all getting suffering here and not to mention the roads and bridges suffering too. You know? But I think the law enforcement need to start stepping up. And even here in the city, to start stepping up and start getting these trucks to learn the proper following distance and learn to go to speeds that they can handle and not be sitting here right on people's tails. Let's stop the deaths of semi truck accidents, please.

Okay. Is there anyone else who would like to speak on a non agenda item this evening? Okay, seeing none, we'll move on to mayor and council comments.

I just want to say thank you again to our Joliet Police Department. I did see that report on the news this morning and job well done. It sounds like we have a potential creditor off the streets. So thank you very much.

Well, Kathy beat me to this a little bit, but I just wanted to read this. Shaw, local reporter O'Connor named Illinois Journalist of the Year. I'm going to read this about you. You deserve credit. Veteran reporter Bob O'Connor was honored by Northwestern Illinois University as recipient of the school's Illinois Journalist of the Year. He is an associate professor, was Andrea Guzman, who presented him with the award. She says, I appreciate this award really because it recognizes the effort devoted to local journalism. Many people do this work like I do, and it's not always given a lot of value. But it's said to see the work valued by Northern Illinois University, Mr. Ocon said.

A Joliet native, Ocon graduated from Blackburn College in 1979. His entire journalism career has been reporting on local government and business news from Waseca to Chicago and the suburbs, including for many, many years in Joliet. For years, Bob has been a steady, trusted voice in Will County. And this award reflects the countless stories he's told and the relationships he's built along the way. We at Shaw Media couldn't be more proud of Bob for this award, which reflects a career defined by curiosity, integrity, and a deep commitment to local storytelling.

In addition to his many years at the Herald News, where he also previously served as news editor and business editor, Ocon worked at the Daily Southtown, the Iroquois County Times Republic, and the former Romeoville Beacon. He lives in Joliet with his wife and has two grown children. Mr. Ocon praised the quality of the journalism program at Northern Illinois University and the work of the alumni from the school. And his quote here is, I have worked with many Northwestern graduates over the years, including Shaw Media colleague Felix Server Sarver, sorry.

Very tiny print here. They always know what they're doing and are well schooled from their days at NIU. So Bob, you deserve this. Congratulations. And since you were here and waited, I'm glad I was able to read this little thing on my phone. So congratulations to you. Go right ahead.

No. Go

ahead. You got it.

I call. No. I'm just gonna let it go because I don't wanna stir the pot here. So thank you. Sorry.

Robert, I'm not gonna read anything, but congratulations. I think all of us had the opportunity to have a squad car pull up behind you with their lights on. And most of the time when that's happened, I'm thinking I know I wasn't going that fast. I got my heart and my throat. But yesterday, I had a disabled vehicle just off the corner of Larkin on Jefferson Street at about 01:30 in the afternoon.

And I'm sure all the other cars trying to get around me were not happy. But fortunately for me, a Joliet squad pulled up almost immediately. Officers Bell and Gomez, I wanna thank you for being there for me and getting my car towed to a dealership related to people. Thank you, everyone. That's it.

I just wanna say congratulations to our Joette Via. She was named 911 communication Jesus Christ, I can't say that word. Telecommunicator. Jesus. Sorry.

Do you need glasses?

Yeah, I do. Oh, the year of 2026 of our own Joliet Police Department. So congratulations to you.

Nice. That's it. Thank you.

I wanna congratulate the fire department and the police department for their exciting rescue. I'm sure most of you saw the video of them rescuing someone from the water. I wanna also commend this entire council for putting protections on the water to save lives. Trista Graves Brown and Speak Up came again and again and again. And the protections are there, but the quick action, it was so exciting and amazing.

I felt like I was there watching it. So congratulations to the Joliet Police Department and the fire department for the exciting water rescue. Also, I wanna encourage everybody. I know I talked about this last year, but those government subsidized rain barrels, I cut my water bill from spring all the way through until the planting season is over by about 75%. They're only $54 maybe with tax, and you can save yourself the 40 or $50 delivery fee by just driving out to Morris and getting them.

So if you pay a city of Joliet water bill, you definitely need to get your subsidized rain barrel and save money on your water bill. It really works. It works so well. I got two. I wanna thank our public relations may media manager for posting about that because the spring season is here. One weekend, I had one barrel completely full. My second barrel is 75% filled. I'm ready for the planting season. Also want to agree, actually, with Mary Beth Gannon, and I wanna thank her for coming here to talk about that. Immediately, when there's changes made outside of this council, the the residents notice were getting those calls.

I thought of first, I thought maybe it was a mistake. Like, I must be missing it. I must be not on the right page. Maybe it was moved somewhere else. And I thought definitely, eventually, we would get an explanation on why that happened. And I am definitely looking for an explanation. I like to give people time to explain to us why something has happened. But I agree with you. Because then what are you gonna do with that information? What are gonna do with it? It may not be it may be totally legal. I'm not sure about that. That would be a Todd Lindsey question. But whether it's I'm sure we're not doing anything illegal, right, Todd? I think it's a question of ethics, though.

I also just want to say, for the record, I am not in favor of us taking votes. Nobody up here made that decision for us to take votes on an agenda item, and then the public cannot speak on them. That if we're so self assured in the votes that we're taking, we should definitely have no problem hearing what the residents have to say about those votes we took. And I think we agreed to that when we were elected. So thank you.

As a throwback to the old days when we used to have separate new or old business not for final action and then comments, we combined them. Remember, we all did this a couple of years ago. Would like an explanation of by whose authority and what was the thought process of removing the ability to FOIA anonymously. I will say upfront, there's nothing in life I do anonymously. That's not how I'm wired, there but are people that are wired that way. And some people are afraid of government, too. I get that. Can someone give me an explanation, please, from staff?

As far as I know, we still accept anonymous inquiries. That means I'll get an update from the clerk's office on what's going through. And many of them are anonymous.

I'm Was just a change in the format on the screen then? You're you're gonna look into it.

I will look into it. Okay.

Yeah. There we go. We're gonna look into it. You know, I'm in agreement. You know, hopefully, it was just a mistake or or what have you. That's great to hear of you.

There's no way we would restrict that.

I mean Okay.

Thank you. That's the see how easy it is to clarify?

Yeah.

Bob, congratulations, man. I'm an alma that's my alma mater, Northern Illinois. So I would have voted for you too. Congratulations, Bob. You do keep up the great work you've been doing for decades.

You want a photo?

To me? No. Bob.

With the council.

With the council.

Yeah. If I know him.

He put it on

the front page tomorrow. Yeah.

We had a

good story.

I think I just wanna congratulate Mary Aguirre. She also retired. She was with the Joliet Police you know, twenty five years. She was with the Joliet Police Department, front desk area, motor maintenance. She was in finance as a meter reader and also public utilities as a repair person. So congratulations to her. You know, we did get some emails on people that were retiring. It'd be nice to know, like, maybe a day or two who who's retiring because we do have a lot of friends here that, you know, next thing you know, you ask ask about them, and they were gone three months ago. So it'd be nice to to find out who's retiring like that day or day before. Also, great news.

Chicagoland Speedway was up and running today. They had the tire testing out there, so that's great news. Looking forward to July here in their event. So thank you Mayor. Thank you.

All right yeah I just wanted to say thank you for everybody that came out I think doing the dancing with the local star was probably one of the most stressful funnest things I've ever done but it was for a great organization The Guardians do great work in our community that are over 100 years old. So if anybody ever is thinking about it or wants to try it out and wants to get out of their comfort zone, I recommend to try it and do it. It was a lot of fun. Again, very stressful, but a lot of fun, but a great organization. I also wanted to say that we got a lot of exciting things happening next week with the red carpet corridor kicking off here.

Obviously, we've got the big game going on. Our square is going be activated with the first event, Sounds On sixty six, happening on Friday, the Rialto is having Sunday All Day Family event as well which our square will also be activated, so a lot of cool things happening in Joliet and I know when we talked about there's a lot of negative stuff online and we need to try to focus more on the positive and I've seen a couple of posts that popped up on my feed and we think about the city of Joliet being the city of champions and things that are happening. Even though I didn't get the championship of the dancing, I'm still I'm not going to harp on it too long, but it was good. I want to say congratulations to Detective DJ Green on receiving the Excellence in Public Safety Award from the Illinois State Senate and the Alliance for Civic Engagement, ACE, for his amazing contributions to community engagement. So he's a Joliet police officer who's doing great work in our community.

Another young gentleman, Mr. Jeremiah Fears, he made history in the NBA. He's a Joliet native. He dropped 40 points the first time in NBA history for a point guard. These are exciting stories you know we got Jojo the boxer who's doing great things, going to go to the Olympics so I think we need to you know I really encourage a lot of us to start really looking into the positive news of things that are happening in Joliet because there's a lot of amazing things happening so I encourage everyone to start looking out for those type of stories and just thanking everybody up here for all the work that we do and congratulations to all. So thank you.

Thank you.

I wanna know what dance you did.

A salsa. Ah. It's online.

I'll send Sometimes you the

it's good to go last because I can cut about half of what I was gonna say out here. Thank you all. A couple things though I'd like to mention. It's been a busy month welcoming new businesses to Joliet. Uni Uni Baba held their ribbon cutting last Friday, which is I was glad to attend that along with members of our economic development team. And if you stop by there, they got the greatest desserts I've ever seen. They got these cool little panda bears. I had two myself that day. Anyway, they're they're excellent. Another neat new business in Joliet. Another one that's gonna open up Thursday at 04:00. There's gonna be a ribbon cutting for the Banks Bridal Suites and Lodging. They're right down on Chicago Street across from the County Building. And it's really cool. What is that? A nine unit building, Cesar?

Yeah.

And we did for the longest time, I didn't know what they were doing with it. They've turned that into a really neat spot where on these wedding venues and stuff, folks can come and people can stay there like a VRBO. It's been really, really well done. So we're excited about that. City Center Square, I've been talked over on that. Slammer's game, talked over on that. There's something kinda cool though. There's a special project involving a local Korean war veteran, a long time Joliet resident, Bill Waters is being honored through a video project organized by his daughter, Deanna. It's part of a documentary about his life and service. She's collecting short video messages from across the country wishing her father well and thanking him for his service.

If you'd like to participate, can record a message and send it to Sydney. She'll pass it along. And Bill especially loves the song Get Your Kicks on Route 66. So anybody that might know Bill have some thoughts on that, that'd be great to send something to him. Bob Cronkite, I too would like to congratulate you on your recognition. I call you Bob Cronkite because you tell like it is. And that's all I've got. God bless you, and have a great day. Thank you.

Is there a motion to adjourn?

So All

in favor?

Aye. Alright.

Meeting adjourned.