Joliet crime rate, cost of crime ranks as 8th safest US city by MoneyGeek study

A survey from MoneyGeek earlier this year has listed Joliet as the eighth safest city in the U.S., a hallmark that some of the city’s civically engaged residents may agree with, but some not at all.

The Jan. 19 analysis from MoneyGeek determined the safest and most dangerous cities in the U.S. by using 2021 crime statistics from the FBI and academic research to measure the cost of crime within individual cities.

Two cities in Illinois were considered among top 10 safest cities in the U.S., Joliet and Naperville.

Joliet, which has a population of more than 150,360, ranked eighth while Naperville, which has a slightly lower population at about 149,540, ranked first.

The results were not too surprising to Don Ciesielski, president of the Cathedral Area Preservation Association, a neighborhood group for the city’s Cathedral Area. Ciesielski said he moved from Chicago to Joliet in 2019 and he’s felt safe in Joliet since then.

“I can see why it’s possible,” Ciesielski said.

But John Sheridan, president of the city’s Cunningham Neighborhood Council, disagreed with the analysis. He said he’s seen an increase in crimes such as shootings and gang activity in the city. He also mentioned the Jan. 7 slaying of Maya Smith, 24, as a recent example of disturbing violence in the Cunningham neighborhood.

“It brings home the fact maybe we are not the safest city,” Sheridan.

Joliet Police Chief William Evans said he didn’t delve too much into MoneyGeek analysis as a lot of studies on crime statistics can depend on the metrics involved. Evans said his focus is not so much on studies than on what his department can do to curb violent crime.

“My focus is on what we can do in Joliet to make this a safer city, regardless of whatever any other study says,” Evans said.

Evans, the third police chief in Joliet since 2018, has pushed for proactive policing to reduce violent crime. One example Evans noted was Operation New Year’s Resolution, which targeted suspects with high-profile arrest warrants.

Evans said the department is moving toward establishing teams to perform targeted and specialized enforcement throughout the city. He said he’s focused on increasing the number of officers on the street, which will then lead to moving more officers into specialized units to keep violent crime in check.

Mayor Bob O’Dekirk pointed to the MoneyGeek analysis during his State of the City speech Feb. 15,. O’Dekirk did not claim a big drop in crime in Joliet but he said other cities have seen big increases.

“That hasn’t happened in Joliet. Our crime numbers have not spiked like you see at other places,” O’Dekirk said.

O’Dekirk said the analysis, along with Evans’ recent report to the city council on crime trends, reflects well on Joliet.

Yet Terry D’Arcy, one of O’Dekirk’s opponents in the upcoming mayoral election, questioned the value of the analysis.

D’Arcy cited a Jan. 8 study from the website HouseGrail, which ranked Joliet the eighth most dangerous city in Illinois. Rockford is ranked as the most dangerous while Chicago was No. 10. The HouseGrail analysis used mostly U.S. census and FBI data and limits its focus to Illinois instead of the U.S.

Sheridan said the HouseGrail analysis is the one he believes is correct.

Tycee Bell, another mayoral candidate, noted data from the Illinois Department of Public Health that showed Joliet was among the highest of 29 selected municipalities in Illinois with most fatal and non-fatal shooting victims between 2016 and 2020.

Bell said she’s done work on firearm violence prevention while on the Reimagine Public Safety Act Local Advisory Council for Joliet.

“There’s many things we have to do with violence prevention,” Bell said.

O’Dekirk and D’Arcy gave credit to the Joliet Police Department for any improvements in public safety.

“I do think we have a fine police department, and we have to give them the credit for making Joliet as safe a city as it can be,” D’Arcy said.

Kathy Spieler, a member of the city’s Reedwood Neighborhood Association, also commended the police department under Evans for making Joliet safer. She said while she knows people have been critical of the MoneyGeek analysis, she believes crime has gotten under control in the past year.

“I think we need to keep working on things but I believe Chief Evans and the officers have things under control and that makes me feel better,” Spieler said.

Yet it takes more than just a police department to get crime under control, according to Garland Mays, a commissioner at the Housing Authority of Joliet who lives in the city’s Forest Park neighborhood.

Mays brought up housing, schools and neighborhood involvement as factors that can help bring crime down.

“You have to change the mindset of your residents. It’s not just policing, it has to be a group effort,” Mays said.