OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Joliet City Council Meeting – June 2, 2026

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, June 2, 2026
BodyJoliet, Illinois
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, June 2, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 55:25

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Oh, okay.

0:01

Okay.

0:02

Well, good evening, everybody.

0:04

This is a monthly meeting of the Jolie City Council on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026, 6:30 in City Hall Chambers, with Mayor Terry Darcy providing, but I am Mayor Pro Tem, so um he gives us all a chance once in a while to be the mayor.

0:24

So the invocation tonight will be by Pastor Larry Tyler from Second Baptist Church, 156 South Joliet Street, followed by the pledge of the flag and run roll call.

0:41

Let us pray.

0:43

Gracious God.

0:45

We thank you for this moment in time to invite you into these proceedings.

0:51

We thank you, Lord, for the service and sacrifice of the city council.

0:56

Thank you, Lord, for their dedication, their focus.

0:59

Thank you, Lord.

1:00

And we pray for their continuing enablement.

1:04

We lift up all the constituents of this great city, Lord, the citizens, the stakeholders.

1:10

We just ask now, Lord, for the issues that lie before us that you would allow us to proceed for as one with grace and mercy, with sensitivity and understanding.

1:21

We ask that we may even be more united than ever before.

1:25

We thank you for all things in the name of Jesus.

1:28

Please superintend what we can't control as well as what we can.

1:32

We ask it all in the name of Jesus.

1:35

We pray that everybody say.

2:25

We'll begin with roll call.

2:26

Mayor Darcy.

2:27

Here.

2:27

Councilman Cardinals.

2:28

Here.

2:28

Councilman Clement?

2:29

Here.

2:29

Councilman Hug?

2:30

Here.

2:30

Councilman of Barrow.

2:31

Here.

2:32

Councilman Moreno.

2:32

Here.

2:33

Councilman Mudrin.

2:34

Here.

2:34

Councilman Quillman.

2:35

Here.

2:36

Councilman Redin is absent.

2:37

She did let me know she would not be in attendance this evening.

2:40

First, we'll have a presentation from the Will County Center for Economic Development by Kayla Sorensen.

2:49

Good evening, everyone.

2:50

Let me get this plugged in very quickly.

2:56

All right.

3:03

There we go.

3:04

All righty.

3:05

So good evening, everyone.

3:07

First, I want to thank City Council, Mayor Darcy, City staff, uh, and everyone else here tonight for allowing me the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Willow County Center for Economic Development and our long-standing relationship with the City of Joliet for over four decades.

3:25

And so for those of you that I don't know, my name is Kayla Sorensen.

3:28

I am proud to serve as the Vice President of External Affairs for the Will County Center for Economic Development.

3:33

Um unfortunately Doug cannot be here tonight, so you got me.

3:36

So much like the CED has called Joliet home for nearly 50 years now.

3:44

Um I too was born and raised here in Joliet and am incredibly proud and love this community a lot.

3:50

So I'm really happy to be here this evening talking on behalf of an organization that I'm very proud of to be serving as well.

3:57

And so I'd like to begin very briefly this morning or this afternoon.

4:01

This morning, with a little bit of history about the Will County Center for Economic Development for those of you that are not familiar with the CED.

4:09

Um so decades ago, during a time when Joliet and the surrounding communities were facing significant economic challenges.

4:17

A group of local leaders uh came together and understood that this community and Will County could not rely solely on the industries and the economic drivers that had built the region generations earlier.

4:28

They knew Joliet needed to and Will County needed to diversify its economy in order to attract new investment, create new opportunities, and reimagine what the future of this community could look like.

4:39

And so from that vision came the Will County Center for Economic Development.

4:44

Um and so since those very early days back in 1981, the City of Joliet has been one of our strongest champions of the work that we do and in many ways has helped build the foundation of that allows the CED to do the work that we do today.

5:00

And I quickly want to show some of the pictures that are up on the screen.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural██████████████████████22%
Economic Development██████████████████18%
Community Engagement████████████12%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████████11%
Public Engagement█████████9%
Workforce Development████████8%
Urban Planning████████8%
Water And Wastewater Management█████5%
Transportation Safety████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Joliet City Council Meeting – June 2, 2026

The Joliet City Council met on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at 6:30 PM in City Hall Council Chambers. The meeting included a presentation from the Will County Center for Economic Development, approval of appointments, committee reports, a consent agenda, routine contract awards, multiple ordinances and resolutions, a city manager update, public comments, and council remarks. All votes were unanimous (8-0) except one abstention. Councilwoman Sherri Reardon was absent.

Consent Calendar

The council unanimously approved the consent agenda, which included:

  • Approval of minutes from the May 18 Pre-Council and May 19 City Council meetings.
  • Payment of invoices.
  • Amendment No. 1 to the professional services agreement with Baxter & Woodman Inc. for construction engineering services on the Southeast Joliet Sanitary District Water System Improvements Project ($94,200).
  • Payment for emergency repairs to the Jefferson Street sewer to Airy’s Inc. ($260,545.62).
  • Purchase order for 2026 automotive and heavy-duty batteries from FleetPride Inc. ($60,000).
  • Purchase order for 2026 fleet tires and tire services ($200,000).
  • Award of professional services agreement to SB Friedman Development Advisors for study and designation of the Downtown Special Service Area (SSA) ($54,260).
  • Award of payment to Cosgrove Construction Inc. for the Ottawa Street Parking Garage Painting Project ($190,625).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Tim O’Donnell and Mark Basso (Autobahn Country Club) expressed gratitude to the City Council for past support and outlined planned improvements to the north circuit, designed by Tilke Group, including a 20-foot elevation drop and 10% banked corners. They noted the club is approaching 600 members and has the highest racing car counts among motorsports clubs.
  • Kathy Garthus spoke regarding the Autobahn Country Club item (Memo 299-26) and addressed personal concerns (details not provided in minutes).
  • Barb (area resident and board member of Gulfview Estates Homeowners Association) spoke during non-agenda public comments about flooding and erosion caused by runoff from the Knights of Columbus parking lot. She requested city assistance to mitigate the problem, noting an estimated $50,000 cost for a swale.

Discussion Items

  • Will County Center for Economic Development (CED) Presentation: Kayla Sorensen, Vice President of External Affairs, highlighted the partnership with Joliet (a legacy investor for over 40 years), noting that public investors like Joliet provide about one-third of CED funding. She cited the recruitment of Hyundai Translead (a $345 million investment creating 2,500 jobs) and the Will County Summer Internship Program, which placed 125 students this year and has earned students nearly $1 million in wages over three years. Sorensen also invited council to the upcoming Eye Opener Breakfast.
  • Appointments: The council appointed Luis Leon to both the Plan Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals (replacing Bridget Rohr), and reappointed George Stofan and Richard Raasch to the Police Pension Board—all unanimously.
  • Committee Reports:
    • Diversity & Community Relations (Councilwoman Ibarra): Reviewed the 2026 Community Development Grant program, noting a higher number of applications but concern that scoring criteria limited distribution to smaller nonprofits. Staff will work to adjust criteria for the next cycle.
    • Land Use & Economic Development (Councilman Cardenas): Approved recommending the Downtown SSA study, an amended development agreement, and Amendment #2 to the tax abatement for Supermercados El Güero (shifting abatement years due to delayed opening).
    • Public Assets (Councilman Clement): Approved awarding the Ottawa Street Parking Garage Painting Project to Cosgrove Construction; discussed paint color (Mexican sand, matching city hall). Also noted 5,500 people attended the baseball game at the prison.
    • Public Service (Councilman Hug): Reviewed eight items including emergency sewer repair, fleet battery/tire contracts (now stored on-site, pay-as-used), the Sanitary District water system improvements project ($2.98 million, funded by county/grants), and 2026 roadway resurfacing Contract A ($2.43 million). Also approved a property acquisition for the Farrell Road bridge project ($3,600) and an intergovernmental agreement with Kendall County for resurfacing a multi-use path (75% county funding).
  • City Manager Report: Beth Beatty noted the May 20 Memorial Day commemoration at City Square; recognition of Officers Joshua Battung and Jamere Price at the District 204 Athletic Boosters Night of Champions; and announced two public presentations by Urban3 on June 17 (lunch at Harrah’s, evening at Bicentennial Park) about community growth and municipal finances.
  • Council Comments: Council members congratulated Councilman Moreno on his marriage, welcomed Acting Police Chief Rob Brown, and recognized various events. Councilwoman Ibarra requested an update on the city staffing study and expressed safety concerns about traffic violations on Jefferson Street.

Key Outcomes

All votes were 8-0 with Councilwoman Reardon absent, except as noted:

  • Approved (Consent Agenda): All items under memos 289-26 through 294-26.
  • Approved (Agenda Items):
    • Award of contract for the Southeast Joliet Sanitary District Water System Improvements Project to Austin Tyler Construction Inc. ($2,982,535.68) – Councilman Moreno abstained.
    • Award of contract for the 2026 Roadways Resurfacing Contract A to PT Ferro Construction Co. ($2,434,217.87).
  • Adopted Ordinances:
    • Ordinance amending sidewalk café regulations (Chapter 18 and 26) – Ordinance 18853.
    • Ordinance (M-1-26) approving a special use permit for Autobahn Country Club to develop within the Cedar Creek Watershed Protection Area – Ordinance 18854.
    • Resolution (M-2-26) amending the Autobahn Country Club Master Development Plan – Resolution 8289.
    • Three ordinances for Vista Ridge Phase 1 Resubdivision 1 PUD (PUD-5-26, V-3-26, RP-2-26) – Ordinances 18855, 18856, 18857.
    • Three ordinances for Cherry Hill Business Park (21) Subdivision, Phase 2 (P-5-26, FP-1-26, RP-6-26) – Ordinances 18858, 18859, 18860.
  • Adopted Resolutions:
    • Resolution authorizing property acquisition for Farrell Road/Spring Creek Bridge improvements ($3,600) – Resolution 8290.
    • Resolution authorizing intergovernmental agreement with Kendall County for KC-TAP funding to resurface the multi-use path on Ridge Road – Resolution 8291.
    • Resolution approving Amendment #2 to the property tax abatement agreement for Supermercados El Güero de Joliet, Inc. – Resolution 8292.
  • Council directed City Manager to follow up with Barb regarding flooding issues at the Knights of Columbus property.

The meeting adjourned at an unreported time.

Meeting Transcript

Oh, okay. Okay. Well, good evening, everybody. This is a monthly meeting of the Jolie City Council on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026, 6:30 in City Hall Chambers, with Mayor Terry Darcy providing, but I am Mayor Pro Tem, so um he gives us all a chance once in a while to be the mayor. So the invocation tonight will be by Pastor Larry Tyler from Second Baptist Church, 156 South Joliet Street, followed by the pledge of the flag and run roll call. Let us pray. Gracious God. We thank you for this moment in time to invite you into these proceedings. We thank you, Lord, for the service and sacrifice of the city council. Thank you, Lord, for their dedication, their focus. Thank you, Lord. And we pray for their continuing enablement. We lift up all the constituents of this great city, Lord, the citizens, the stakeholders. We just ask now, Lord, for the issues that lie before us that you would allow us to proceed for as one with grace and mercy, with sensitivity and understanding. We ask that we may even be more united than ever before. We thank you for all things in the name of Jesus. Please superintend what we can't control as well as what we can. We ask it all in the name of Jesus. We pray that everybody say. We'll begin with roll call. Mayor Darcy. Here. Councilman Cardinals. Here. Councilman Clement? Here. Councilman Hug? Here. Councilman of Barrow. Here. Councilman Moreno. Here. Councilman Mudrin. Here. Councilman Quillman. Here. Councilman Redin is absent. She did let me know she would not be in attendance this evening. First, we'll have a presentation from the Will County Center for Economic Development by Kayla Sorensen. Good evening, everyone. Let me get this plugged in very quickly. All right. There we go. All righty. So good evening, everyone. First, I want to thank City Council, Mayor Darcy, City staff, uh, and everyone else here tonight for allowing me the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Willow County Center for Economic Development and our long-standing relationship with the City of Joliet for over four decades. And so for those of you that I don't know, my name is Kayla Sorensen. I am proud to serve as the Vice President of External Affairs for the Will County Center for Economic Development. Um unfortunately Doug cannot be here tonight, so you got me. So much like the CED has called Joliet home for nearly 50 years now.

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