At Joliet Township candidates forum, Guerrero controversy goes unmentioned

Controversy that swirled around the Joliet Township supervisor election for weeks went unmentioned during a forum on Wednesday that featured the two candidates on the ballot.

Democrat Cesar Guerrero and Republican Darrell Boisdorf took several questions at the forum.

But none were about Guererro’s challenge to get on the ballot after paying penalties for late campaign finance filings, and neither candidate brought it up.

[ Find all our coverage and candidate questionnaires at The Herald-News Voter Guide for the April 2025 election. ]

Incumbent Democratic Supervisor Alicia Morales was not there but sent in a statement about her write-in campaign for reelection and had a proxy make another statement on her behalf.

Boisdorf and Guerrero took questions about their management background, plans for services and fiscal oversight of the township at the forum sponsored by NAACP-Joliet and several neighborhood councils.

Boisdorf questioned township operations and finances, asking if vans were being used for the right reasons and whether the budget truly reflected spending.

Contending the township budget “doesn’t make sense to me,” Boisdorf said, “I’d like to bring a little more transparency to what we’re spending the money on.”

He also suggested that Joliet Township should take a role in keeping Senior Services of Will County in Joliet as the agency plans to leave its Center Street building.

Guerrero often pointed to his experience on the Joliet City Council for the past four years and made a final statement in support of government services.

“Life is hard,” Guerrero said in his closing statement, pointing to the perils that can endanger people’s health and finances. “That’s why the social safety net has to exist. That’s why government exists.”

Guerrero said he believes in a “bottom-up management style” in which he would respond to “staff who have boots on the ground” in running the township. He pointed to his mediator experience, including a past warehouse job advocating for co-workers, among his qualifications.

Boisdorf, a Joliet lawyer, said he trains attorneys at his firm and leads efforts to resolve issues.

“We resolve problems on a daily basis involving multimillion-dollar deals and conflicts,” he said.

He questioned the use of township vans, pointing to January meeting minutes indicating that out of more than 700 rides in one month, fewer than 150 were used for seniors.

“There was no accounting for what those other rides were used for,” he said.

The comments were made in response to a general question about fiscal management and avoiding tax increases.

“Township government operates within guidelines and statutory limits,” Guerrero said. “There are guidelines in place that would prevent major increases in township budgets.”

Boisdorf came close to being the only candidate on the April 1 ballot for Joliet Township supervisor.

Will County Clerk Annette Parker announced in early February that Guerrero and three other candidates in elections throughout the county would not be on the ballot after their names appeared on a ballot forfeiture list issued by the State Board of Elections for failing to pay fines related to campaign finance violations.

Guerrero had been fined $6,550 for not filing quarterly campaign finance reports since at least July 2023.

He paid the fine after the county clerk announced Guerrero would not be on the ballot. But Parker and the state’s attorney’s office contended it was too late.

Guerrero went to court and won a decision, which was held up on appeal, that put him on the ballot.

Joliet Township Democrats in December chose Guerrero over Morales as their candidate for township supervisor

Morales announced she would run as a write-in when Guerrero’s spot on the ballot was in doubt.

Morales, formerly the township clerk, became supervisor in July when former Supervisor Angel Contreras resigned after pleading guilty to felony drunken driving charges.