Mudron stays on Joliet City Coucil

Embattled Joliet Councilman Pat Mudron was unofficially winning Tuesday, while Suzanna Ibarra was headed to victory over incumbent Councilman Terry Morris.

Unofficial totals showed Councilman Larry Hug reelected in District 1 and Councilwoman Sherri Reardon reelected in District 3.

Cesar Cardenas appeared to have a narrow win in District 4 where the incumbent did not seek reelection.

The Mudron victory in District 2 where he faced three high-profile candidates was one of the most significant developments from Election Night.

Murdon in the past year has been the subject of three reports by the city’s inspector general accusing him of unethical conduct and violations of state and city law. But he has never been charged with any crime, and Mudron, who has been at odds at times with O’Dekirk on key city issues, has contended the reports were attempts to discredit him.

Ibarra’s 50-vote lead over Morris in District 5 would make her the only candidate to unseat an incumbent on the council in this election.

In District 1, Hug had 1,370 votes to 972 for Mike Eulitz with 100% of precincts counted.

In District 2, Mudron had 1,581 votes with 100% of precincts counted. Following were: Quinn Adamowski, 1,334 votes; Robert Wunderlich, 1,103 votes; Glenda Wright McCullum, 762 votes.

In District 3, Sherri Reardon had 1,775 votes to Janean Jackson’s 601 votes with all but two precincts counted.

In District 4 with all precincts counted, Cesar Cardenas had 610 votes followed by Christopher Parker, 543 votes, Wiliam Ferguson, 527 votes, and Rosa Hernandez, 476 votes.

With 100% of precincts counted in District 5, Ibarra had 981 votes followed by Morris, 931 votes, Jim Lanham, 381 votes, and Michael Carruthers, 258 votes.

Candidates said they were seeing low turnouts in many precincts, a trend that could favor incumbents with a track record of turning out voters on Election Day.

“It’s not even 10% (turnout) at some places I’ve seen,” Ibarra said at about 5 p.m. “It’s very low.”

By noon, Ibarra said, 17 people had voted at the polling place at the Nowell Park Recreation Center.

There were exceptions, however.

“I voted at 7:30 a.m., and I was 148th in my precinct,” Mudron said. “I think that’s pretty high.”

Mudron is in District 2, a West Side district that typically generates the biggest turnouts in the city.

Five district council seats were on the ballot.

The other three at-large council seats will not be up for election again until 2025.

The District 5 race featured a rematch between Ibarra and Morris who ran against each other four years ago. ibarra since was elected to the Joliet Township Board of Trustees.

The contest this time featured two additional candidates: Lanham, a security guard who has become increasingly active in local issues; and Carruthers, a member of the Will County Planning and Zoning Board.

District 4 was the one council seat assured to go to a new member since incumbent Councilwoman Bettye Gavin opted not to run.

Cardenas, who appears likely to be the next council member from District 4, is the owner of Unidos Marketing. Ferguson is a former executive director of the Will County Emergency Management Agency. Parker is a banker and president of the African American Business Association of Will County. Hernandez is a member of the city’s Board of Fire and Police Commissioners.

In District 1, Hug faced opposition from Eulitz, a former roadways engineer and public assets manager for the city.

The three challengers to Mudron for the District 2 seat all had experience in the public eye.

Adamowski heads three city commissions, is board president at the Joliet Area Historical Museum, and has been in the news as an official with Landmarks Illinois trying to save the old Will County Courthouse from demolition.

McCullum is board chairwoman at the Housing Authority of Joliet. Wunderlich was on the Joliet Junior College board for 43 years and narrowly lost an at-large seat on the council in 2021.

District 3 was the other one-on-one race in the council election as Reardon faced a challenge from Jackson, a member of the Joliet Board of Fire and Police Commissioners.