City Council Meeting - Regular Meeting

Everybody ready? Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the Tuesday evening city council meeting for the city of Joliet, September 1st at 6.30 in council chambers, with Honorable Mayor Terry Darcy presiding. We will be led in the invocation by Pastor Curtis Bryant from Mount Zion Baptist Church, 402 St. Winston Place, after which he'll lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

It's a pleasure to stand before you all. Let's go to God together in prayer. Gracious and eternal God, we thank you for this city we know as home, the city of Joliet. We thank you for its people, its history, Thank you for your blessing upon our mayor, the city council, administration, staff, and all who accepted the responsibility of leadership. God, we pray that you will grant them all humility to listen before they speak, courage to do what is right, and integrity to place the needs of the people above personal interests. God, remind each leader that's been entrusted by you, remind each one that has authority that they have been given, and that same authority is a sacred responsibility to serve. Lord, right now we pray that you grant our city faithful stewardship over every resource entrusted to its care. God, give us wisdom in the management of our finances, our infrastructure, our public safety, economic development, and community resources. God, we pray that all the decisions made in this chamber strengthen our part of Joliet and prepare our city for generations yet to come. God, let there be fair and faithful representation and circumstance, that God make no community ever feel forgotten, no voice ever feel insignificant, and that no resident ever feel that their concerns do not matter. And finally, God, we pray that you renew within all of us a commitment to faithful service to our neighbors and to this city. Remind us that this great city is built not only through policies and projects, but through people who are willing to serve one another. God, where there is disagreement, let there be respect. Where there are challenges, God, give us creativity to navigate them. God, where there are divisions, help us find common ground. And God, where there are needs, give us compassion enough to respond. Bless the work of this city council. Bless all those who represent these communities. And bless the people of Joliet. May everything accomplished here move us forward as a city. that is safer, that is more just, and more united. And to your son Jesus' name we pray, that all God's people say amen. May we embrace our flag by way of our Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

Under mayor is a proclamation recognizing the 2026 neighborhood hero award winners presented by councilwoman Pullman I

Okay, good evening everyone, and Ruth Staroff, and just so you know, you have to listen to every single proclamation. I'm going to read one proclamation, and then after that I'm going to call each family up after that to give them their awards. So, we will start with, whereas since 2015, the Neighborhood Hero Award Program has recognized residents who take pride in their property. Neighborhood Hero Award honorees have outstanding yards that include maintained lawns with flowers, shrubs, and decorative trees. Neighborhood Hero honorees have labored intensely to create visual beauty at their property. By showing great pride in their property, these residents demonstrate great civic pride in their neighborhood and in our city. Now therefore, I, Terri Darcy, Mayor of the City of Joy, Illinois, On behalf of the Joliet City Council, do hereby recognize the efforts and outcomes of the 2026 Neighborhood Heroes and hope others will follow their example. And it's signed September 1st, 2026 by Mayor Terry Darcy. So the first one will be the Walsh family at 3309 Blackwater Drive. Are you here, please? And we will save this for them. Not everyone can make it today. Next, Ashley family, 1700 Maserati Drive.

Don't leave me.

Pantera's family, 816 Dawes. Yay! The Lopez family, 1101 Black Road. Okay, but we did stop by and get a picture with them. Oh, here we are.

Yeah, there we are.

Councilman Marino and myself. We did that Saturday before the parade. The Angenet family, 3571 Buck Avenue. Okay. Probably should have taken attendance at the beginning, huh? Okay. The Nielsen family, 521 Town Lane. The Roju family, 700 Woodlawn Avenue. Because I had no practice on that one. Rougeau. Rougeau, okay.

Congratulations. Thank you. You're welcome.

The Mulvey family, 3225 Rosemont Drive.

They couldn't be here.

They cannot be here tonight. Councilwoman Sherry, did you want to get this? I'll take it. You'll take it? Okay, I'll just bring it. Thank you. Okay, the Stoyer family, 865 Angelica Circle. Uterus family, 551 Herkimer Street. Okay, Sandoval family, 559 Herkimer Street. Down the street from Tara's family. Are you here? No, we can't drop it off, okay. Summers family, 350 Whitney Avenue. And thank you and congratulations. The Hyde family, 1212 Nicholson Street. Contreras family, 342 South Ottawa Street. Beatriz Carrasco, 907 Fisk Avenue. Beatrice Carrasco. I got it. Suoli Family, 335 Wheeler Avenue. You're welcome. Thank you. Scordo family, 325 Dwight Avenue.

They won't be here either. They had a beautiful yard.

Unlike my mom, I do not have eyes in the back of my head. The Chavez family, 10 South Williams Street. Okay, and last but not least, the Ringo family at 722 West Marion Street. they were supposed to get it last year but no one told them to be here so I said well you didn't come this year to make it right so thanks to all our neighbors and friends and keep up the good work and keep our neighborhoods beautiful that concludes my part

Should we do a group picture?

Can everyone come up to the front, please, so we can get a group photo?

I got your back.

I got your back.

How many of you guys won last year? I feel the air I think the AC is back on

Okay. Next is the approval of the agenda. Is there a motion to approve the agenda as written?

So moved. Second.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilman Navarro? Aye. Councilman Marino? Aye. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilwoman Coleman? Aye. Councilwoman Reardon? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Next is citizens to be heard on agenda items. Is there anyone who would like to speak on an agenda item this evening? I don't have anybody signed up. This is on an agenda item. Okay, seeing none, we will move on to council committee reports. We'll start with public safety.

Thank you. The City of Joliet Public Safety Committee met today here in the council chambers at 536 hours. It was Councilwoman Coleman, Councilwoman Ibarra, and myself. We approved the minutes from August 4, 2026. There were no citizens to be heard on any agenda items. We jumped down to resolutions. Chief Brown, this was his item, resolution approving an intergovernmental Police Service Assistance Agreement between the City of Joliet and the County of DuPage on behalf of the DuPage County Sheriff's Office. Basically, this is our alias police team. They will be there assisting in the President's Cup at Medina Golf Course. There were no questions or comments. Very similar to what we do if Chicago, I believe the Democratic Party had a conference or a convention there, and we assisted Chicago. Kind of the same thing. Under new or old business, not for final action or recommendation, I just asked Chief Brown to briefly talk about the flock hammers. He is working on a department policy. So more information will come at a later date. Corporate Council Todd Lindsey spoke about the law that was passed in Springfield about e-bikes, which will go into effect January 1st. He just received the documents last week, so he is going through them, and we will come back at a later date on how we're going to deal with the e-bikes here in the city of Joliet. Let's see here. There's more information on the Secretary of State's website if anybody feels like loading that up and reading it. There was no public comments, and we then adjourned. Is there any questions or comments, Jan or Susanna?

No, thank you.

Okay, Mr. Mayor, that's my report. Thank you. Yep. Public service.

The Public Service Committee met here yesterday at 4.30 in the Council Chambers. which was Monday, the 31st of August, 2026. On the committee is Councilwoman Reardon, Councilman Mudren, and myself.

Councilman, can you turn your mic on, please?

It is on.

Oh, well, we couldn't hear you then.

Can you hear me now? Do we have time? Not yet, no. All right, so the... Let me go back. Okay, contracts. We have five contracts. A small contract of $36,600, which has to do with the biosolids, what's left over after we treat the sewage. And then we pay farmers for the right to spread it on their field. And then sometimes we also pay the farmers if they have a loss in production or a loss in yield because of the process, as far as weighting is usually the reason. We looked at a $300,000 east side wastewater treatment plant pump replacement project bid. The two big ones were for 2,800,000, 2,800,000 for contract B on the resurfacing as we continue the resurfacing this year. The resurfacing has gone up from some years back down between three and a half and four million a year up to 22, 21, 22, 23 million a year. And that's resurfacing and that's sidewalks and that's bridges, everything that is part of that. It used to be only four million. We're making headway. We're catching up. And then we had a contract we looked at for $5 million that was awarded to Austin Tyler Construction. And that's for the Splains River Tunnel water main improvement. We're replacing, and I think it was in the 1920s it was installed. We're replacing the pipe, essentially, the big oversized pipes that run under the river to connect the east side to the west side as far as water. Then we looked at some change orders. Of the four change orders, we're Three, a change order is commonly an increase. They found something that they didn't realize that they would have to do, so we have to pay more. These three were credits back and then a disposition finalizing it, these were 20-25 contracts. And then we also had a $95,000 increase. Core and Main is the name of the company for the water meter asset management, and that's because we are, as a city, dividing the city into smaller districts, if you will, or smaller areas so we can locate leaks quicker. So that included having to put in quite a number of new valves and then now the actual system to monitor these areas. Under Ordinance and Resolutions, we have the typical motor fuel tax, which is what we call housekeeping internally on the committee because if you approve expenditure on a project of the motor fuel tax, the state requires that you do a separate resolution acknowledging that you're spending it and letting the state know. A little redundant, but that's how we have to do it. We looked at the resolution requesting the partial closure for Route 6 and Route 30 for the 2026 Joliet Central Homecoming Parade, which will happen on Saturday morning. They didn't do it Friday night because I understand they didn't want to interrupt traffic. Saturday should be a lot slower. And then we looked at resolution, intergovernmental agreement with the Forest Preserve District of Will County for our Farrell Road project for the bridge over Spring Creek. It's a replacement of the bridge. And of the $179,000, the $169,000 is for... vegetation remediation. In other words, since we have to tear up bushes and flora and fauna and trees, we actually have to pay for that. And I believe the Forest Preserver uses that to plant and cultivate more vegetation in other areas. So it's not a bad idea. That's all I have, really, unless I missed anything that you guys think I should mention. No. Then that would be the Public Service Committee report, Mayor. Thank you.

I show no other reports. Under consent agenda, approval of minutes. It is recommended the minutes of the pre-council meeting August 17, 2026 and the city council meeting held on August 18, 2026 stand approved as recorded. Invoices to be paid. It is recommended this report be approved. Council memo number 430-26, approval of biosolids application spring lease payment to Jackie Stunkel in the amount of $36,600. Council memo number 431-26, award of contract number 2999-09, 26 for the east side wastewater treatment plant pump replacements project to Aries incorporated in the amount of two hundred ninety nine thousand eight hundred eighty seven dollars Council member number four thirty two dash twenty six a word of contract number three thousand dash zero nine twenty six for the thought for the southeast Joliet sanitary district water tower well house demolition project to national wrecking company and the amount of one hundred and sixty four thousand dollars council memo number 433-26 approval of amendment number one to the professional services agreement for the water meter asset management program to core and main lp in the amount of ninety five thousand dollars council member number 434-26 authorization to fund draw 17 for tax increment financing district number seven in the amount of three hundred eighteen thousand five hundred twenty four dollars and ninety cents It is recommended counts the memos 430 dash 26 through 434 dash 26 be approved Is there a motion to approve all set consent agenda items? It's a motion seconded to approve councilman Clement Councilman hug Councilman Abarra Councilman Moreno Councilman Mudron Councilman Coleman Councilman Reardon Council McCartan is mayor Darcy motion carried Under agenda items, council memo number 436-26, award of contract for the 2026 MFT resurfacing contract B, MFT section number 26-00577-00-RS to Austin Tyler Construction Incorporated in the amount of $2,769,186.30. It is recommended council memo number 436-26 be approved. So moved. Second. Any comments or questions? Thank you. It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilman Nabarro? Aye. Councilman Marino?

Abstain.

Councilman Mudren?

Aye.

Councilwoman Coleman? Aye. Councilwoman Reardon? Aye. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Council Member Number 437-26, Award of Contract Number 2997-0826 for the Des Plaines River Tunnel Water Main Improvements Project to Austin Tyler Construction Incorporated in the amount of $5,063,328.90. It is recommended Council Member Number 437-26 be approved. So moved. Second. Comments or questions? Thank you. It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilwoman Navarro? Aye. Councilman Marino? Abstain. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilwoman Coleman? Aye. Councilwoman Burden? Aye. Councilman Cárdenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Council memo number 438-26, approval of change order number one for the Upper Bluff Water Main Improvements Project to Austin Tyler Construction Incorporated for a deduction in the amount of $551,910.46 and pay estimate number seven and final in the amount of $869,608.13. It is recommended Council memo number 438-26 be approved. I move. Second. Comments or questions? Thank you. It's a motion and seconded to approve. Councilman Marino? Abstain. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilwoman Quillman? Aye. Councilman Reardon? Aye. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilman Navarro? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Councilmember number four thirty nine dash twenty six approval of change order number two for the Broadway Street Theodore Street to Ruby Street water main improvements project to Austin Tyler construction incorporated for a deduction in the amount of one million five hundred sixty one thousand nine hundred fifty four dollars and ninety one cents and pay estimate number eleven and final and the amount of five hundred eighty four thousand six hundred thirty three dollars and fourteen cents it is recommended councilman number four thirty nine dash twenty six be approved any comments or questions thank you It's a motion and seconded to approve. Councilman Mudren?

Aye.

Councilwoman Coleman? Aye. Councilwoman Burden? Aye. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilman Nabarro? Aye. Councilman Moreno?

Abstain.

Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Council memo number 440-26, approval of change order number two for the North Prairie Water Main Improvements Project to Austin Tyler Construction Incorporated for a deduction in the amount of $647,156.35 and pay estimate number eight and final in the amount of $418,270.88. It is recommended Council memo number 440-26 be approved.

Any comments or questions?

Thank you. You know, Todd, I kind of want to vote for these since it's money back to the taxpayer. Just kidding. I'm going to abstain.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilwoman Coleman? Aye. Councilwoman Reardon? Aye. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilman Navarro? Aye. Councilman Moreno?

Abstain.

Councilman Mudren? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Under license and permit applications, council memo number 442-26, issuance of class B liquor license at 35 East Cass Street, Johnny's Bar. It is recommended council memo number 442-26 be approved.

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

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Council Member Reardon? Aye. Council Member Cardenas? Aye. Council Member Clement? Aye. Council Member Hugg? Aye. Council Member Navarro? Aye. Council Member Moreno? Aye. Council Member Mudren? Aye. Council Member Quillman? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Council Member number 443-26, issuance of class B liquor license at 508 North Chicago Street, Judge's Bar. It is recommended Council Member number 443-26 be approved.

Motion approved. Second. Any comments or questions? Thank you.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilman Nabarro? Aye. Councilman Marino? Aye. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilman Coleman? Aye. Councilman Reardon? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Under ordinances, council amendment number 445-26, ordinance amending chapter 28, adding regulations for municipal use tax of the city of Joliet code of ordinances. It is recommended that ordinance be adopted.

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

It's a motion and seconded to approve. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilwoman Nabarro? Aye. Councilman Moreno? Aye. Councilman Mudren?

Aye.

Councilwoman Quillman? Aye. Councilwoman Reardon? Aye. Councilman McCartanis? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Councilmember number 446-26, ordinance approving a special use permit to allow a truck repair facility within an existing maintenance and repair facility located at 608 Railroad Street, ZBA 2026-31. It is recommended that ordinance be adopted.

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

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilwoman Ibarra? Aye. Councilman Moreno?

Aye.

Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilwoman Coleman? Aye. Councilwoman Reardon? Aye. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Council memo number 447-26, ordinance imposing a business district retail's occupation tax, a business district service occupation tax, and a business district hotel operator's occupation tax within the Rock Run Collection business district in the city of Joliet, Will, and Kendall Counties, Illinois. It is recommended that ordinance be adopted.

I move. Second. Any comments or questions? Thank you.

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Council Member Nabarro? Aye. Council Member Marino?

Aye.

Council Member Mudren? Aye. Council Member Quillman? Aye. Council Member Reardon? Aye. Council Member Cardenas? Aye. Council Member Clement? Aye. Council Member Hugg? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Under resolutions, Council Member number 449-26, resolution authorizing approval of an intergovernmental agreement with the Forest Preserve District of Will County for the Farrell Road over Spring Creek Bridge replacement project. It is recommended that resolution be adopted. It's a motion a second to approve councilman Moreno Council of Audren. All right Councilman Coleman Councilman Reardon Council McCartan s Councilman Clement Councilman hug Councilman Abarra. All right mayor Darcy motion carried Council memo number 450-26, resolution appropriating motor fuel tax funds for the 2026 MFT resurfacing contract B, MFT section number 26-00577-00-RS in the amount of $2,769,186.30. It is recommended that resolution be adopted. So moved. Second. Comments or questions? Thank you. It's a motion to second it to approve. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilwoman Quillman? Aye. Councilwoman Reardon? Aye. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilman Navarro? Aye. Councilman Moreno?

Abstain.

Mayor Darcy? Aye.

Motion carried.

Council memo number 451-26, resolution appropriating motor fuel tax funds for right-of-way related expenses for the Farrell Road over Spring Creek Bridge Improvement Project, MFT section number 21-00542-00-BR. It is recommended that resolution be adopted.

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

It's been motioned and seconded to approve. Councilwoman Coleman? Aye. Councilwoman Reardon? Aye. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilwoman Ibarra? Aye.

Aye.

Councilman Moreno? Aye. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Councilmember number 452-26, resolution requesting the partial closure of Route 6 and 30 for the 2026 Joliet Central Homecoming Parade Route. It is recommended that resolution be adopted.

So moved. Second.

Comments or questions? Thank you.

It's a motion to second it to approve. Councilwoman Reardon? Aye. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilwoman Navarro? Aye. Councilman Moreno?

Aye.

Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilwoman Coleman? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye. Motion carried. Council number 453-26, resolution approving an intergovernmental police service assistance agreement between the city of Joliet and the county of DuPage on behalf of the DuPage County Sheriff's Office. It is recommended that resolution be adopted.

Motion approved. Second. Comments or questions? Thank you.

It's a motion seconded to approve. Councilman Cardenas? Aye. Councilman Clement? Aye. Councilman Hugg? Aye. Councilwoman Ibarra? Aye. Councilman Marino? Aye. Councilman Mudren? Aye. Councilwoman Coleman? Aye. Councilwoman Reardon? Aye. Mayor Darcy? Aye.

Motion carried.

Next is a city manager's report.

OK. I want to take a moment to recognize the tremendous success of the Black Joy Parade in celebration this past Saturday. It was an incredible day that brought our community together and truly showcased the energy, pride, and spirit that make Joliet such a special place. An event of this size takes an incredible amount of work and dedication behind the scenes. I want to give a special thank you to Boise Walker, Betsy Satcher, Councilwoman Ibarra, Charlene Boyd. Wave your hand, Charlene. Ann Sylvester and the entire Black Joy Parade Committee for their hard work and for making this year's celebration such a success. Joliet Fire Department and Police Department had some swearing-ins yesterday morning. We swore in several new members of the Joliet Fire and Police Departments. Police added three new officers to the ranks while fire added ten new members. Please join me in congratulating and welcoming all of them to the City of Joliet. Okay, moving on. CMAP is kicking off the second phase of its My Daily Travel survey, and some Joliet households may receive an invitation in the mail asking them to share a little bit about how they get around each day. If you receive one, it is legitimate, and we encourage you to participate. The information collected will help guide future transportation planning and investments throughout our entire region. Just to close too, I would like to also recognize our new chief, Rob Brown, new chief of police. We will be doing a pinning ceremony on Thursday at 2 p.m. in council chambers if anyone would like to join us.

Want to say anything about it?

That's all I have for it. Next, we have public comments. So this is for anyone who would like to address the council this evening. We do have some names signed up. I have Todd Nobles. Do you want to go ahead and come up?

Good evening, council members. My name is Todd Nobles, and I am here tonight as a concerned citizen to advocate for improved services for a subdivision on the far west side known as Cumberland South, located on the southwest corner of Theodore and County Line Road. This neighborhood pumps over $4 million annually in property taxes, and after 25 years since phase one began, the residents finally receive a 0.8% in their return of investment from the city. I am requesting urgent council direction regarding three critical public safety and neighborhood service issues for the area. First is ADA compliance and pedestrian safety. I received a document from the engineering department that we are going to have some improvements performed in our neighborhood recently. I think that's slated for later this month. But I want to point out the part about the sidewalks. And the ADA coordinator that the city has for this, and I'm not sure if he vetted this before this was published or sent out, but it does talk about a vertical separation of one inch or more. That is just basically categorically false. It's actually an eighth of an inch. So I am just going to ask the engineering department to please measure twice and cut once. Additional sidewalk squares and the limits of construction are not marked for removals but should be per ADA requirements and compliance. These are immediate physical safety hazards for residents using wheelchairs, walkers, and strollers. I want to talk about the Park District. We have two city parks in our subdivision, which the ADA access into the parks, specifically Cumberland South 40 Park. There are ADA tiles that are well above the 8%. longitudinal way of travel. I did measure one on my square, or my level, that was 10%, which is obviously above the limits. I understand that the scheduled public right-of-way improvements will be staged, but yet we do not have a timeline for the remaining portions within the subdivision and how soon the residents can expect this work to be performed. Second, an increased visual police presence due to traffic and safety concerns such as burnout marks down residential streets, donut marks in the intersection, parking over the sidewalk, which is another ADA compliance issue. No plates, no front plates, expired tags, tinted front windshields, parking on the opposite side of the street facing backwards, speeding, running stop signs, passing vehicles, semi-parking on residential streets, not to mention the three fatalities on Hadrian Drive, all within a quarter mile of each other, which would not be considered an isolated event just by this matrix alone. I have requested the police department to increase visible patrols and our neighborhood and neighborhood walkthroughs during peak hours, specifically during school hour drop offs and pickups for the kids. Third, a comprehensive overview of neighborhood services complaints. Residents have filed numerous complaints over the past years regarding code violations, maintenance, and safety hazards, yet many feel left in the dark about the status of these reports. We need a clear understanding of what has been reported, fixed, and what is still lingering. I ask that neighborhood services compile and deliver a thorough overview of past and present complaints made in our neighborhood over the past 12 months, including response time and final resolutions. And I wanted to thank you for your time and commitment to make this neighborhood safe and accessible for every resident. Thank you.

Barry McHugh.

Barry McHugh from 808 Mason Avenue. It sounds like he has some good points, but I'm here to discuss the flock cameras. They've been in the news quite a bit lately, not only in Joliet, but around the country. There's been a lot of angst on how the flock system is used. I have a small suggestion I'd like to make to the council on that topic. Whenever it comes up, The police always say it's a very useful tool in crime fighting and in making our streets safe. My suggestion is to periodically, say every three, six months, put out a report that shows how many times the flock system has been used And in what general terms it was used for. This could be a simple report. Simple. Saying something like there were X number of times to find a stolen car. There were X number of times to find somebody with an outstanding warrant. Whatever the general categories you choose, but you should have some kind of idea. Get some kind of idea of what you're looking at and how many times. How many times did you have a success? Did you find one car? Did you find 100 cars? Were you 20% effective? Were you 100% effective? Give the people, give the residents of Joliet an idea, a concept, of what the Flockwork system actually provides them and what type of volume it concerns with. I would hope that these metrics should be very easy to find. Because when the police say it works, they must have these metrics that show that it really helps them, so there should be no problem coming up with the data and the information to put a small report like this together. It's a simple report. It would help lift the crowd over the secrecy that's seen by the public. We have the system. We know it's being used. We don't know how. We don't know what for or who. Simple report where you describe what you're doing and the real world results. 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?

Hey, I want to give thanks to you, Mayor Terry Darcy, for speaking up about the bridges, about the issues with IDOT and the bridges, you know, with the Ruby Street Bridge, how short a noise you guys got, and with the ongoing issues of the bridges. I thank you, Terry, for speaking up on this social media and speaking up about it, because you exactly said all the words that we all feel. And I thank you so much for speaking up and trying to lead the way and become that adversary for us because IGOT doesn't seem to care about us. What we have to say, you know, where they'll listen to you. You are highly, highly representative here and, you know, very valuable, important person, you know, whether they listen to you or they won't listen to us. And as far as the governor of Illinois, I don't know how many times I went on his website and tried contacting him and stating these exact issues. And of course, I never got no response from that governor. That's why he doesn't even have anybody answer his phone. I don't know. I thank you, Terry, for speaking up. But the trucks, I think the trucks are the things that keep on breaking these bridges because these bridges were made back in the 1930s and these bridges just simply weren't made to handle today's trucks. The trucks have gotten bigger, longer, and heavier. And the way the truck routes were made, when were the truck routes made to come through downtown Joliet? Back when the trucks were lighter and the bridges could handle them, that's when. So I think new things need to be updated here big time because they keep breaking these bridges and it ain't worth it. And now God's gotten to the point where they can't fix these bridges anymore. Now onto this thing. This is gonna come before the next city council member meeting, but 25 years from now, September 11th will be 25 years since the great attacks on American history, the terror attacks, the Trade Center going down, the Pentagon attack, everything, September 11th. This is so important, because 25 years, it's hard to believe it's already been 25 years. But I want to stress this about ICE, the way ICE was formed. A lot of people keep on bad-mouthing ICE, think it's Trump's idea. It's not. ICE was formed two years after his 9-11 attacks because of it. And I think that people need to stop getting on ICE and understand why ICE was formed, because these terrorists of 9-11 were living here in America for years before they plotted this attack on 9-11. And that's why ICE was formed. So I don't understand why people are so hard on ICE. I do understand that ICE sometimes over their boundaries a little bit, but it's only because we want to protect America from another 9-11 attack. And anybody wants to complain, they could go Google the 9-11 attacks and see how terrible they were and how many lives were lost and go see the image of the guy jumping out of the, above the flames of the World Trade Center to his death. If that ain't enough to get people to stop getting on ice. And lastly, I doubt we pardon. You rest in peace up there in heaven. And thank you for all you've done. Is there anyone else would like to address the council this evening on a non agenda item I

Okay, seeing none, we'll move on to mayor and council comments.

Thank you. Yeah, I just wanted to thank Barry for bringing up that conversation of flock. I had a conversation earlier with Chief Brown in regards to that, and just wanted to see if Chief Brown could make a couple comments on that. I know we have a lot of concerned residents sending us messages and talking about it, so I think it's a good time to bring up a little bit. Thank you.

Good evening, Chancellor. Good evening.

Yes, regarding our conversation, we do have a policy in place currently. What we are doing, we are updating our policy to reflect best practices at this time. We recognize what's going on in the community. We understand where people are coming from as far as civil liberties and people that are thinking that they're being spied on. What we're trying to do, number one, is I think a gentleman came up here and spoke about transparency. We are looking at doing that. What we're trying to do is integrate what we have now into our current software so we can at least put it on our website so we can start to post reports like that. So that's all in play right now. We're tightening up our audits, and we're doing a lot of work behind the scenes at this time. So I believe a new policy should be coming out In a few days. We already have one. We've had one for a long time But as things change we're updating it as flock gives us more information We're updating it as the public speaks about it.

We're looking at it and trying to find ways to shore up what we have Thank you Yeah, I just wanted to assure the residents that we are looking into it and we hear their concerns So we're definitely staying on top of that Thanks chief I also wanted to comment, I attended the Black Joy Parade as well, had a great time. It was fun to see a lot of people coming together and just celebrate. The weather was great and it worked out for a beautiful day to be out there celebrating. I want to also remind people to come on and celebrate Mexican Independence Day Parade next Saturday the 12th. The parade begins at one o'clock at Columbia and Collins Street. Then on Sunday the 13th, join us at City Square for the Fiesta on the Plaza from 12 to eight for some great music, delicious food, and culture. to support the Joliet Economic Development Association. That'll be Sunday in the square. So it'll be a good time to come out with the family and enjoy. And then lastly, I'd like to wish my wife Rosie a happy early birthday. She finally turns 21 this Sunday. So happy birthday to Rosie. Thank you.

Happy birthday, Rosie.

I just want to congratulate everybody that had a hand in the Joy Parade. I believe most of us here were there. It was a great event. I had a great time. We took some nice photos. And congratulations on a great event. I have nothing.

I just want to commend Ann Sylvester, Char Boyd, city manager, on an amazing parade. It's the first time I've ever been in a parade where I wanted to do a video to show everyone what it was like to be here and to see all these beautiful faces. It was just an amazing time. I'm sure Charboyd's phone has not stopped ringing because every person in my district on the east side wants your number and wants to collaborate on future events. So sorry if that's because of me giving out your city number. But they're very excited about having you here. I am very excited about the deputy city manager I had a chance to sit down and talk with Nolan Ming and Explain to him the things that I want the things that are important to me in district 5 He is a very smart man, and I think he's gonna do a great job here. I So I was very excited to have sit down time with him. Completely unrehearsed. And you know I'm Italian. I'll talk forever. So I kicked myself out of the office after a while. But thank you so much. These are great additions to the city of Joliet. Char Boy, Nolan Ming, and then Chief Brown to have him be the actual chief and not just the acting chief. There's very exciting things happening here in the city of Joliet. And we appreciate everything you do, everything you're about to do. I also want to wish my dad a happy surgery tomorrow. He's having another heart surgery. He's probably going to kick me for saying this, but I love you, Dad. Give my dad a couple of days off as the unofficial weatherman of District 5, and he'll be back by the weekend, I'm sure. So thank you. Everyone for all the hard work you do. I don't know why so many issues came up this week. I talked to Stephanie Brooks at least two dozen times and nothing short of amazing neighborhood services. Just amazing. Greg ready. I am so sorry. I was burning up the phone lines to you. Everyone was nothing short of amazing and professional. So thank you so much for everything.

Yeah, I just want to say thank you to everyone that took part in organizing the Black Joy Parade. It was a great event. I'm happy to be able to be in the parade. After so many years, I wasn't here for X reasons. So it was a great event. A lot of council members were there. It was a good time for my kids and myself. Even though one of my kids was mad, I took a photo with him. And then my aunt's like, hey, why is he mad? I don't know, they're just kids. You got to tell them to smile sometimes. But anyways, it was a great event. Looking forward to the Mexican Independence Parade. It's coming up soon. So see everyone there.

Thank you. As already mentioned, a lot of activities these last few days with the parade on Saturday, the 10 firemen sworn in yesterday, as well as the three policemen just after that. But I'd like to step back a couple weeks and read a statement from Tim Plaker, who was in charge of the Porch and Park Music Festival 19, excuse me, 2026. This is the fifth annual Porch and Park Music Festival in the cathedral area that was held on August 22nd. There's a video that you can start now and we can play during the statement. It was a beautiful weather day, not like the year before. That was a day like today, well into the 90s. A lot of people turned out. They filled the sidewalks, filled the yards of the cathedral area, soaking up great music, beautiful architects, and true feeling of community. For those who don't know, the Portion Park is a free, family-friendly festival. that shows live music on historic home fronts, the porches throughout the cathedral neighborhood, followed by a grand final concert in Preservation Park. This year, 120 performers, both local and touring artists, performed during the afternoon in 10 historic home porches. They covered a wide variety of music, including rock, blues, gospel, Irish, mariachis, brass and jazz, classical, bluegrass, plus Nashville artists on the porch. The event is a cooperative event of CAPA and Joliet Park District with the help of neighbors, homeowners, and many, many volunteers. Since the beginning of 2020, Porch Park Festival has been a toll free to anyone to attend. It's funded by groups of private patrons who grew up in the neighborhood, plus more than a dozen generous local business sponsors. The porch and park is a positive showcase of not just the cathedral area but the entire city of Joliet. The event draws many people from way beyond the borders who live in our town. A positive story telling time about the unique event and about our city. In a time of negativity that is rapid on social media, comments at Porch and Park Festival draws rave reviews. Congratulations, Kappa, and the huge success this event has looked forward to for the next year, which would be the sixth year on August 21st, 2027. And I personally would like to congratulate Tim Plaker, who's worked very hard on every one of them. Thank you.

My turn. Well, I'd like to say my little nephew is three years old, and he's watching at home in Elk Grove Village. He's streaming it, and he was three years old yesterday, so he was waiting for... Auntie Janice, say happy birthday to him. So happy birthday to Bryce on your third birthday, and it doesn't seem that long already because it was just yesterday. We were waiting for you to be born. So love you, little guy, and hope you're recovering from Santa's village the other day. I have another comment that I'd like to make. I'm very disappointed in finding out that... Our St. Joe's Hospital is no longer going to do maternity services. It was a total blindside, and I don't understand why they're doing it because they serve, and I wrote this out, Crest Hill, Plainfield, Shorewood, Joliet, West, and with the bridges out half the time and the traffic the way it is, if you are ready to birth a baby, you'd be lucky if you get across the river to get to Silver Crest Hospital to deliver that baby. i can't believe they're doing this with everything else they're doing over there and this is a total blind side it came out today babies don't wait and they're placing our mothers and babies in danger because they'll probably born in the car or maybe in an ambulance or maybe they won't make it something will be disastrous unfortunately because things happen as a nurse surgical nurse and i was a labor and delivery nurse at one time Babies don't wait, and sometimes they're not as smooth as they are like they show on TV all the time. So I'm very concerned about this, and I hope that there's something that we can do to keep the maternity ward there, because their complaint is they only do 20 birthings a month. Well, some things are slow. Sometimes they're 40 a month, sometimes they're 20, sometimes they're five. It depends on the hospital, it depends on the doctor, and it depends on who's having babies these days you know it doesn't you can't count on that but I'm very concerned I don't care if it's one baby or two babies you're putting those mothers and those babies at risk and I really have an issue with this and I say shame on them and I hope there's something that we can do to work this out to protect our moms and our families and on that note I would also say Happy, happy, happy to everybody in my family that are celebrating. I won't go through the whole line, but thank you to everyone, and I pray that there's something that we can do about St. Joe's Hospital and get that maternity ward back. That's all I have. Thank you.

I would just like to say again congratulations to Tim Plaker, CAPA and the Cathedral area, that was a great video, wouldn't you agree? I mean talk about, I wish I was there. I also want to again congratulate the new hires for the firefighters the ten men I think it was all men wasn't it one one was there one woman okay I'm sorry I shook her hand I'm sorry about that I mean I'm sure I knew she was a woman I just forgot anyways and then the men for the and woman for the police officers they happen to be lateral moves which means that us opening up that residency has brought us some good Fortune because these are all well-trained experienced officers that are coming in so Congratulations to all them they they have a great job here, and they're going to be spectacular They're gonna love it here, so congratulations to all of them

Thank you. I do want to back up what Jan said. We were taken by surprise that they were going to stop doing deliveries. And I wish there was something we as a city could do, or the state could do, or somebody to help us to get primed to realize we're the third largest city in the state of Illinois. And these are vital services that we need out of our hospitals. So we have been in contact with the new CEO and are diligently trying to find a path to help bring some of this back that they've changed. Last Thursday we held our annual State of the City Address and I say we because when I gave that address it was from the nine of us here at the dais, our city staff and all those that help keep this city running and vibrant and I thank everyone that is employed by the city and we know that we're here to serve the residents and businesses. We had a really big turnout, and we've really had a lot of positive things happen over the last few years. And we're looking forward to a bright future. We've got a lot of upcoming events and had great response to a lot of summer programming at City Square. It continues to grow. It's really fun to see the energy that that has brought to the center of our city and bringing our neighborhoods together. I do want to wish everyone a happy Labor Day and safe sound and have fun. It's recognizing all the hard work everybody does and I want to thank all those city employees for all the hard work they do. to continue to make our city safe and sound. And the first picture that we brought up there was actually from this afternoon. I had the good fortune and wonderful opportunity to be at the first wedding at the Unity Dome in City Square. It was actually pretty cool. Daniela Gomez and Avery Evans united today at the Unity Dome. He just got out of boot camp from the Marines. They met working together in Wisconsin some time ago. And he decided to follow his path and to serve our country. And rather than wait through a deployment and everything else, they decided to get married right now. And it was really a neat event to be at. And I don't think it's going to be the last time someone will get married at the Unity Dome. Real fun event. Again, the city square is really starting to generate some energy and some positivity. And I was glad to be there. So thank you, everyone, and God bless you.

Is there a motion to adjourn? Second. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Meeting adjourned.

I cannot stop smiling.