OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Joliet City Council Meeting - December 2, 2025

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, December 2, 2025
BodyJoliet, Illinois
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, December 2, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:20:51

Transcript — Verbatim
0:15

Council meeting for Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025 at 6 30 in City Hall Council Chambers with the Honorable Mayor Terry Darcy presiding.

0:23

We will have the invocation from Councilman Pat Mudgeon, after which he will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:45

A prayer for guidance and wisdom.

0:49

Heavenly Father, we gather to seek your guidance and wisdom as we begin this meeting.

0:57

Open our minds to listen attentively and speak with clarity.

1:03

Help us to focus on the task at hand and work together with the spirit of unity and respect.

1:12

May our time together be productive and lead to outcomes that honor you, Lord.

1:20

Amen.

1:48

Okay.

1:49

We'll begin with roll call.

1:51

Mayor Darcy.

1:52

Here.

1:52

Councilman Cardinals.

1:53

Councilman Clement?

1:54

Here.

1:54

Councilman Hutt?

1:55

Here.

1:56

Councilman Amaro?

1:57

Here.

1:57

Councilman Moreno.

1:58

Here.

1:59

Councilman Modrin.

2:00

Here.

2:00

Councilman Quillan?

2:02

Here.

2:02

Councilman Murden.

2:03

Here.

2:05

First, we have a presentation.

2:06

CERT graduates presented by John Lucas.

2:18

We're a team.

2:19

We come up together.

2:22

Good evening, Mayor Council.

2:25

It is my privilege to once again come before you and introduce another two graduating CERT classes.

2:34

So this has been a very special group, and we'll talk about why in a second.

2:39

But I just wanted to remind you about the community emergency response team concept.

2:44

In Joliet, we've been doing this since March.

2:48

We've been at multiple, multiple things for the city.

2:52

We've got over 2,000 hours of volunteer time invested already.

2:57

That's classroom and that's events as well.

3:00

So this has been around since the 1980s, and there are over 600,000 people in the U.S.

3:06

trained as CERT members.

3:08

We are one of the largest teams in the state of Illinois already, and we haven't even been at this a year yet.

3:14

So I'm very proud of these folks, and I'm very proud to be associated with all of them.

3:19

So we are one of the 40 plus teams in the state.

3:23

So on this team, we we strive to get everybody together from all areas of the community working as one team for the benefit of everybody.

3:33

And so far we've gotten folks from every council district, and we've gotten city employees, we've gotten a whole bunch of folks who have been part of this, and we are very excited to present our new graduates.

3:45

Okay.

3:46

So when we go through this program, as you can see on the screen here, uh this particular groups have gone through over 650 hours of training.

3:56

So they've all showed up, they've come for nine weeks, 27, 27 hours of training, and all of the things that you see on the screen.

4:05

Everything from disaster preparedness, incident command, disaster medical operations, search and rescue, you name it, they're trained in it, and they are ready to respond if something happens in the community.

4:18

So our graduates, we have 26 new graduates, and we have three brand new instructors that I want to present to you guys today.

4:28

So our new instructors, we have uh Flor Denise and Ana Campa Campa Castillo, two of our new instructors are bilingual, and they are already planning our first Spanish class.

4:41

So our first our class, our first bilingual class uh was this year, uh, class number three, and I'll go through uh those folks here.

4:49

Those are our new graduates.

4:51

So class three, we did at the Spanish Center, and uh all of those folks on the left left hand side are bilingual, and uh, and we had uh a couple folks who wanted to actually become instructors uh right out of the gate here.

5:00

And uh, and we had uh a couple folks who wanted to actually become instructors uh right out of the gate here.

5:06

So in the second quarter, we're gonna be doing a Spanish class, and uh and hopefully we're gonna pass this along to everybody in the community who wants to learn it.

5:15

If you look at your screen, you'll see our breakdown of our uh our council districts.

5:20

District two, councilman Mudron.

5:22

You are you are the highest uh CERT membership, but we got but as you can see, every council district is participating, and every council district is involved.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural██████████████████████████26%
Public Engagement██████████████████████22%
Historic Preservation███████████████15%
Community Engagement██████████10%
Public Safety███████7%
Utilities and Infrastructure██████6%
Economic Development███3%
Fiscal Sustainability███3%
Homelessness███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Joliet City Council Meeting - December 2, 2025

The Joliet City Council met on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at 6:30 PM in City Hall Council Chambers, with Mayor Terry D'Arcy presiding. All nine council members were present. The meeting included a presentation on CERT graduates and crime statistics, a public hearing on the 2026 budget, and votes on multiple contracts, ordinances, and resolutions.

Presentation

  • CERT Graduates: John Lukancic presented 26 new Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) graduates and three new instructors. The program has trained over 77 members, with 2,000+ volunteer hours. A bilingual class and high school classes have been completed. The goal is to reach 100 trained members by year-end.
  • Police Chief Crime Update: Chief Evans reported a 37% reduction in shooting incidents (386 year-to-date, down from 614 in 2024). Aggravated batteries decreased from 42 to 22, aggravated discharge of a firearm from 277 to 151, and robberies from 53 to 45. Homicide clearance rate exceeds 90%. 211 firearms recovered, up from 183. Officers responded to 83,638 calls for service.

Consent Calendar

  • Invoices to be Paid: Approved.
  • 630-25: Award of contract to Precision Truck Center for engine rebuild in Ladder Truck FD 779 for $28,454.54.
  • 631-25: Award of contract for 2025 Roadways Resurfacing Contract A to PT Ferro Construction Co. for $516,142.58.
  • 633-25: Award of contract for District Meter Area Chamber Installation Project to P.T. Ferro Construction Co. for $267,550.00.
  • 634-25: Approval of Amendment No. 1 for engineering design services for Des Plaines River Tunnel Crossing Rehabilitation Project to Jacobs Associates dba Delve Underground for $268,630.00.
  • 635-25: Approval of Change Order No. 1 for 2025 Sanitary Sewer Cleaning and Inspection Program to Pipe View America for $82,779.94.

Item 632-25 (electric sweeper) was removed from the consent agenda and voted on separately (see below). All other consent items were approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Alicia Morales (Joliet Township Precinct 4 Committeewoman): Expressed concerns about the 135 acres at 1125 Collins Street (part of former women's prison). Alleged unauthorized disc golf activities, alcohol sales, illegal dumping, and environmental damage. Urged the city to support transfer of open lands to Will County Forest Preserve and amend the resolution to pursue an IGA only for the prison buildings.
  • Christine Johnson: Spoke about the Joliet Correctional Center, stating she and other former DOC employees have been banned from the property. Asked the council to help reverse the ban, citing her husband's 25-year DOC career and historical value.
  • Hugh O'Hara (Joliet Area Historical Museum Board): Encouraged passage of the lease for the prison, noting $7.1 million in state stabilization funds already secured. Said the lease allows the city to control the site and continue pursuing state funding.
  • Sandra (resident): Supported Alicia Morales' comments and asked the council to consider the residents' concerns about the prison property.
  • Alma Montero (president of neighborhood group): Expressed distrust due to past promises. Said the city opposed transfer to forest preserve despite earlier statements. Asked council to table the resolution and get more information about land use issues.
  • Cathy Garthus: Spoke on tax levy items 642-25 and 643-25. Criticized rising property taxes due to warehouse development, arguing that corporate taxes are too low compared to residents' tax burden.

Discussion Items

  • 632-25: Approval of purchase of one compact electric sweeper from Brown Equipment Company for $342,523.00. Councilman Hug requested removal from consent agenda; item was pulled and voted separately. Passed 8-1 (Hug nay).
  • 637-25: Award of Business Continuity Grant for $63,733.50 to Cut 158, Inc. Passed 8-1 (Hug nay).
  • 638-25: Approval of Change Order No. 2 for Plainfield Road Water Main Improvements Project to Austin Tyler Construction Inc. with a decreased amount of ($1,735,236.11) and final pay estimate of $564,960.68. Passed unanimously (8-0-1, Councilman Moreno abstained).

Public Hearing

  • 640-25: Public Hearing for the 2026 Fiscal Year Budget. No speakers; the public hearing was closed.

Ordinances and Resolutions

  • 642-25: Ordinance for Levy and Assessment of Taxes for Joliet Public Library (FY2025). Kevin Sing explained the levy increase is funded by new construction, not existing taxpayers, and the rate is expected to remain stable or decrease. Passed 7-2 (Hug and Quillman nay).
  • 643-25: Ordinance for Levy and Assessment of Taxes for City of Joliet (FY2025). Similar discussion. Passed 7-2 (Hug and Quillman nay).
  • 644-25: Ordinance Authorizing Amendments to Rules and Regulations of Board of Fire and Police Commissioners. Passed unanimously.
  • 646-25: Resolution Approving Dedication of a Portion of Maple Street as Public Right-of-Way. Passed unanimously.
  • 647-25: Resolution for Surface Transportation Program Local Match Commitment for Theodore Street Widening Project (city's 20% match of $569,000 on a $2.3 million grant). Passed unanimously.
  • 648-25: Resolution Approving Easement Agreement for Water Delivery Structure between City and Grand Prairie Water Commission. Passed unanimously.
  • 649-25: Resolution Authorizing Intergovernmental Agreement for City's Use of Joliet Correctional Center. City Manager Beth Beatty explained the three-year lease, noting the city has sent cease-and-desist to disc golf operators. She opposed a Senate bill to transfer 135 acres to forest preserve because she was not briefed, but now has positive relationship with forest preserve. Councilman Hug opposed, citing over $5 million in city investment and ongoing financial drain. Passed 8-1 (Hug nay).

Key Outcomes

  • Appointment: Pat Strocha III appointed to Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, replacing Herb Landy. Approved unanimously.
  • Consent Agenda: All items except 632-25 approved unanimously.
  • Electric Sweeper Purchase: Approved 8-1.
  • Business Continuity Grant: Approved 8-1.
  • Change Order for Water Main Project: Approved 8-0-1.
  • Tax Levy Ordinances (Library & City): Both approved 7-2.
  • Board of Fire and Police Rule Amendments: Approved unanimously.
  • Maple Street Dedication: Approved unanimously.
  • Theodore Street Widening Commitment: Approved unanimously.
  • Easement Agreement for Water Delivery: Approved unanimously.
  • Joliet Correctional Center IGA: Approved 8-1.

City Manager Report

  • Attended Chamber luncheon, Light Up the Holidays event, holiday lights map program, and upcoming Arts Commission presentation.

Public Comments (Non-Agenda)

  • Bill Dimitrioulas: Thanked city for assistance during construction affecting his downtown restaurant.
  • DiAnn Matter: Requested a cul-de-sac at New Linox Road and O'Fiel Avenue, concrete barrier at Love's Truck Stop, and more budget for CERT team. Congratulated CERT graduates.

Mayor and Council Comments

  • Councilwomen Ibarra, Quillman, Reardon, and Mayor D'Arcy made announcements about community events, thanked staff, and noted progress on traffic issues at Millsdale Road (rerouting to Compass Parkway).

Meeting Transcript

Council meeting for Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025 at 6 30 in City Hall Council Chambers with the Honorable Mayor Terry Darcy presiding. We will have the invocation from Councilman Pat Mudgeon, after which he will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. A prayer for guidance and wisdom. Heavenly Father, we gather to seek your guidance and wisdom as we begin this meeting. Open our minds to listen attentively and speak with clarity. Help us to focus on the task at hand and work together with the spirit of unity and respect. May our time together be productive and lead to outcomes that honor you, Lord. Amen. Okay. We'll begin with roll call. Mayor Darcy. Here. Councilman Cardinals. Councilman Clement? Here. Councilman Hutt? Here. Councilman Amaro? Here. Councilman Moreno. Here. Councilman Modrin. Here. Councilman Quillan? Here. Councilman Murden. Here. First, we have a presentation. CERT graduates presented by John Lucas. We're a team. We come up together. Good evening, Mayor Council. It is my privilege to once again come before you and introduce another two graduating CERT classes. So this has been a very special group, and we'll talk about why in a second. But I just wanted to remind you about the community emergency response team concept. In Joliet, we've been doing this since March. We've been at multiple, multiple things for the city. We've got over 2,000 hours of volunteer time invested already. That's classroom and that's events as well. So this has been around since the 1980s, and there are over 600,000 people in the U.S. trained as CERT members. We are one of the largest teams in the state of Illinois already, and we haven't even been at this a year yet. So I'm very proud of these folks, and I'm very proud to be associated with all of them. So we are one of the 40 plus teams in the state. So on this team, we we strive to get everybody together from all areas of the community working as one team for the benefit of everybody. And so far we've gotten folks from every council district, and we've gotten city employees, we've gotten a whole bunch of folks who have been part of this, and we are very excited to present our new graduates. Okay. So when we go through this program, as you can see on the screen here, uh this particular groups have gone through over 650 hours of training. So they've all showed up, they've come for nine weeks, 27, 27 hours of training, and all of the things that you see on the screen. Everything from disaster preparedness, incident command, disaster medical operations, search and rescue, you name it, they're trained in it, and they are ready to respond if something happens in the community.

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