Joliet alley fight takes a new turn

A Cunningham neighborhood alley has been closed off again, the latest and perhaps last chapter in a political spat that ran for almost three years.

The question of whether the Joliet alley behind John Sheridan’s house should be open or closed has been an issue for three city managers and two mayors.

As of last week, it’s closed on one end again just like it was in 2012 when residents along the one-block stretch of alley first petitioned the city to limit access because of concerns about strangers, thieves and others using the alley for no good.

“The only thing that came out of this whole situation is much better signs have been posted,” Sheridan said Friday as he stood next to three posts topped by signs with no words but painted bright red to indicate no access on the Ingalls Avenue side of the alley.

Sheridan is president of the Cunningham Neighborhood Council and politically active, factors that he and others believe led to a standoff with City Hall over whether the alley should be open or closed.

The alley behind Sheridan’s home in the 1100 block of Center Street is open on the other end but with a sign advising motorists that they cannot drive through.

Interim City Manager Rod Tonelli said the alley was closed again after notices were mailed to residents living on either side asking if they wanted access restricted.

“There were no noes,” Tonelli said. “There were some non-responses.”

Tonelli said the alley was closed using “the practice that the Public Works Department has for access modifications like that.”

It was at least the third time residents signed petitions to close the alley since 2012.

Sheridan said he first told neighbors not to respond to the latest petition, upset that they had to go through the process yet again. But on Friday, he said he was glad another round of petitions was used.

“It was all done by the procedure that’s in place today, so no one can say Mr. D’Arcy did John Sheridan a favor,” he said.

Sheridan worked for Mayor Terry D’Arcy in the April election. He previously worked to help Mayor Bob O’Dekirk get elected in 2015. But by 2020, Sheridan had become an outspoken critic of O’Dekirk.

When the alley was reopened without notice to the neighbors, Sheridan said it was done by O’Dekirk to spite him. O’Dekirk said he told city officials to look into the matter after getting complaints and referred to suggestions that the matter was political as “all John Sheridan’s made-up nonsense.”

Public Works Director Greg Ruddy said at the time that he had received a call in 2019 from O’Dekirk asking why the alley was closed and answered that it was done using a practice in place for such requests.

But then-interim City Manager James Hock ordered the posts blocking the alley removed in September 2020. Hock, however, said the posts could be put back with another petition drive. After petitions were circulated showing residents wanted access blocked, Hock said the city first should develop a written policy for restricting access to alleys.

Hock left before a City Council committee in February 2021 voted 3-0 to recommend a policy that largely replicated the practice already in place.

New City Manager James Capparelli then refused to put the proposed policy on a council agenda for a vote, saying it needed more review. Capparelli acknowledged talking with O’Dekirk about the recommended policy but said it was his decision to block the council from voting on it.

It was an unusual move by a city manager to stand in the way of a vote on a council proposal, but Capparelli never did bring the policy or a revised version back to the council for consideration before he resigned in June.

“Hopefully, it’s the last time we have to deal with this,” Sheridan said as he stood by the posts that now block access to the alley again. “Nobody’s against it.”