Joliet mayor race heats up

A quiet Joliet mayoral race has begun to heat up with challenger Terry D’Arcy calling for change in city government and Mayor Bob O’Dekirk characterizing his opponent as an out-of-towner.

D’Arcy last week issued a list of goals while criticizing the current administration on certain issues, calling for faster action on a downtown square and more spending on city sidewalks.

O’Dekirk in turn suggested D’Arcy may not be up to speed on what’s been happening in city government, repeating time and again that he hasn’t lived in Joliet very long.

D’Arcy moved into Joliet less than two years ago, although he said he has lived in the city previously and noted his presence as a corporate citizen for more than 30 years.

On the issue of sidewalk repairs, O’Dekirk said the city is spending “four times more than we used to spend. But then he (D’Arcy) didn’t live here two years ago, so he probably didn’t know what was happening in Joliet.”

D”Arcy in turn suggested more spending on sidewalks and increased hiring of police officers was connected to the April 4 election.

“We hired a lot of police officers last year,” he said.

Joliet hired 40 officers last year, although the police department two years ago announced it would step up hiring in large part to replace an exodus of retirees.

Meanwhile, the city’s two police unions have divided their endorsements in the mayor’s race. The supervisors’ union has endorsed D’Arcy, and the patrol officers union last week endorsed O’Dekirk.

A third candidate in the race is community activists Tycee Bell, who was among the voices for a citizens advisory board to the police department. The issue eventually died without support from the police department, mayor and City Council.

O’Dekirk signaled in his response to D’Arcy’s comment of city government that residency will be an issue in the remaining weeks before the election.

Answering D’Arcy’s criticism that the city is taking too long build the proposed downtown plaza across from the Rialto Square Theatre, O’Dekirk said the project had been delayed when the city pulled back on spending at the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic when the economic impact was unknown.

“Maybe it was different in Shorewood where he (D’Arcy) lived for 30 years,” O’Dekirk said. “But in Joliet, there was great concern about what the end result was going to be.”

D’Arcy is no stranger to Joliet, where he is a prominent car dealer and perhaps the best recognized philanthropist for local causes and organizations.

His family has Joliet roots that go back to the 19th century, although D’Arcy grew up in Plainfield and moved back to Joliet less than two years ago. D’Arcy said he has lived in Joliet as well as Shorewood over the years and does not believe residency will hurt him in the election.

“I’ve been a really good corporate citizen for 31 years,” he said. “I don’t think people are worried about where I put my head down at night.”

D’Arcy is appealing to Joliet residents whom he said in a written statement accompanying his goals “feel frustrated and, in some cases, ignored when it comes to how the city is run.”

Saying he wants to improve the city’s image and has the business experience to know how to get things done, D’Arcy said, “We deserve to be more of a world class city and looked at that way.”

O’Dekirk next week will give his annual State of the City speech in which he typically lays out progress Joliet has made over the years. But as of last week he was responding to D’Arcy’s campaign salvos.

“I’d say Terry D’Arcy doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” O’Dekirk said. “But I think Terry knows he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”