NonViolent Cities Project looks for peace in Joliet

NonViolent Cities Project-Joliet members marched to City Hall this week to make their case for a more peaceful Joliet.

About a dozen people were in the march.

The NonViolent Cities Project is two years in the making in Joliet and still trying to build up steam for its cause.

“We’re trying to end some of the violence,” said Doug Kasper, a leader in the group. “We’re in a culture of violence. We’re trying to turn that around.”

Just how that gets done isn’t clear yet.

But the NonViolent Cities Project is trying to get the City Council to make a proclamation declaring Joliet a nonviolent city.

After that, Kasper said, it’s a matter of listening to people in the community and developing a course of action.

“It will take the involvement of everyone in the city to be successful,” he said.

A proclamation has been written up by the group. But it could not get on the agenda for the city council meeting on Tuesday as it wanted. Instead, members spoke at the end of the meeting during a period for public comments and stated their cause.

The also spoke at a gathering in Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park before the short march to city hall.

Maria Rosas-Urbano said one goal is to attract more financial investment into development in neighborhoods throughout the city.

“We want people more vested in our communities,” Rosas-Urbano said.

While the group did not get on the agenda for the council meeting on Tuesday, Kasper said NonViolent Cities Project does expect to be on the agenda for the council’s Diversity and Community Relations Committee the next time it meets.

The Joliet chapter is part of a national NonViolent Cities Project that lists 26 chapters on its website.

According to the website, the organization advocates restorative justice, renewable energy and trauma healing in the pursuit of nonviolence. It promotes polices to foster affordable housing and healthcare, community safety teams, and violence deescalation.