Mayor proposes big campaign donor to fill Joliet council vacancy

Mayor Bob O’Dekirk is proposing one of his top campaign donors to fill the vacancy on the Joliet City Council.

The appointment of Herb Lande, chairman of the Joliet Board of Fire and Police Commissioners and the owner of Imperial Construction in Joliet. will be presented to the City Council at a special meeting Monday for a vote.

He is O'Dekirk's second proposed appointment after Todd Wooten was turned down by the council earlier this week.

O'Dekirk noted the council vote when asked about Lande's campaign contributions.

"He wasn't my first pick, but that was denied this week," O'Dekirk said.

O'Dekirk would not comment otherwise on the Lande appointment, which he said would be discussed at the Monday meeting

Lande and his company have contributed $15,500 to Citizens for O'Dekirk, the mayor's campaign fund, according to the Reform for Illinois' Sunshine Database, which compiles campaign contributions reported to the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Imperial Construction has contributed $12,101 to the mayor's fund and is the fifth largest contributor, according to Reform Illinois. The last contribution was in October 2018.

Lande himself made two contributions totalling $3,400, one of which was a $2,400 in-kind contribution.

Lande and his company combined are the second largest source of contributions for the mayor's campaign fund. The largest single donor is O'Dekirk himself.

The council on Tuesday voted 4-3 to reject Wooten’s appointment at a meeting in which Councilman Pat Mudron presented an outside legal opinion that according to state statutes the council, not the mayor, has the authority to nominate candidates to fill vacancies.

A Joliet city ordinance on council vacancies provides for the mayor to make appointments with advice and consent from the council, a procedure that has been followed for decades. O'Dekirk believes he has the authority to make a third appointment without council approval if the first two are rejected.

If approved, Lande would fill the seat vacated when Don Dickinson resigned on Nov. 23.