Joliet Planning Director Torri retires after a career in his home town

Joliet Planning Director Jim Torri this week is wrapping up a 34-year career with the city that started with an internship out of college.

Torri, a Joliet native, likes to tell the story about how a professor at Iowa State University cautioned him and other planning students not to get their first jobs in their home towns.

But after Torri landed an internship in Joliet in 1990, the city was coming out of its recession doldrums and embarking on a period of growth that would bring a housing boom, casinos, racetracks, a new logistics industry, redevelopment and more.

“There are so many opportunities and so much growth going on here,” Torri said, ticking off some of the big projects that came to the city during his early years on the job. “How many areas can you go to that have racetracks and casinos and the Autobahn Country Club?”

Torri’s last day of work at city hall is Friday.

He was a low-profile planner for most of his years.

But he increasingly had a hand in projects large and small, becoming a reliable source of information on various developments around Joliet.

He became the city’s planning director in 2021 at a time when staff was changing. Torri said he stepped in to serve what he saw as primarily a transitional role.

“Hopefully, I did a good job during that transition,” he said, reflecting a customary modest demeanor.

Noting that city planners often also get involved in homeowner issues, Torri said he also tried to be helpful to residents who needed help with zoning matters that affected their property.

Council member Jan Quillman commented on Torri’s reliability at a Nov. 4 City Council meeting where he was recognized for his service to the city.

“Jim, I’m going to miss calling you, and I bet your wife won’t care,” Quillman said, indicating Torri was not averse to taking calls at home. “Thank you for all your help.”

Torri told the council the story of his college professor’s advice and added that he had no regrets that he returned to Joliet to pursue his planning career.

“There are opportunities galore here for a planner to learn, and I continued to learn my whole life,” he told the council. “There’s no other place I would rather work than Joliet.”

In retirement, Torri plans to continue living in Joliet. He and his wife still have two of their four children in local high schools.

A 1985 graduate of Joliet West High School, Torri next took classes at Joliet Junior College before going on to Iowa State University for a bachelor’s degree in regional planning. Those few years in Ames, Iowa were the only he spent living away from Joliet.

As he retires on Friday, Torri said he regrets that he will not be around to see the continued development of the Rock Run Collection project at Interstates 55 and 80 as well as the completion of the first comprehensive plan for Joliet since the 1950s.

But Torri said he is happy to have had his career in Joliet.

“I”m not sorry that I always worked for my home town,” he said. “I find that gratifying. If we did good, I did good for my community and the people I grew up with, and for new residents.”