Susie Barber resigns from Joliet City Council

JOLIET – District 4 Councilwoman Susie Barber resigned Wednesday from the Joliet City Council, citing health reasons that have prevented her attendance since August.

Joliet Mayor Tom Giarrante announced the councilwoman’s resignation following an early morning meeting with Barber. The mayor said Barber presented a note from her doctor, urging her to step down.

“Joliet is a better place because of Susie Barber,” Giarrante said in a written statement. “I thank her for the many years of dedicated service she has provided not only to District 4, but to all Joliet residents. She is a dear friend of mine, and I wish her nothing but the best.”

Reached at her home Wednesday afternoon, Barber said she was not available for comment.

Giarrante has 60 days to present a replacement for Barber to the council for approval, City Attorney Jeff Plyman said. The council then will have 30 days to approve or reject the mayor’s selection.

If the council rejects the first candidate, the mayor will present a second candidate, whom the council again will have 30 days to approve or reject.

If the council rejects the second candidate, the mayor then can appoint one of the two candidates without council approval.

“The statute is pretty clear, so I guess the mayor is on the clock,” Plyman said.

Giarrante said he would appoint a candidate as soon as possible, and urged District 4 residents interested in applying for the position to email him at tgiarrante@jolietcity.org or drop off a resume at City Hall.

Giarrante said an ideal candidate would be someone who has been active in the district either through a neighborhood association or politics. That candidate also should be someone who is electable, since the appointed position will be up for election April 2015, the mayor said.

District 1 Councilman Larry Hug proposed a series of District 4 public meetings that essentially would allow residents to choose their own candidate.

“As a council member I can only vote for a replacement that has been vetted by the residents of District 4,” Hug said in a statement issued Wednesday. “These residents must be seriously included in the process. It’s really their choice to make.”

The last time a council member was replaced outside of an election occurred in October 2010, when John Gerl was appointed to fill the position vacated by Anthony Uremovic, Plyman said.

Barber was elected to the city council in May 2007. The District 4 Joliet city councilwoman had been ill since leaving an Aug. 19 meeting in an ambulance. Since then, she has not been back to a council meeting.