Joliet mayor says city ‘a leader’ in COVID-19 response

Mayor Bob O’Dekirk described 2020 as a year of historic importance in Joliet and one in which the city rose to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I can honestly say some of the proudest moments I experienced as mayor did occur this last year,” O’Dekirk said in his annual State of the City speech on Monday.

O’Dekirk cited the local impact the COVID-19 pandemic, a “momentous and historic decision” on the future of city water, and the riot that broke out May 31 as events that he expects people to remember decades from now.

Looking toward the future, he said the city’s approval of the NorthPoint Development project and the commencement of Houbolt Road bridge construction will help gain better control of truck traffic in the area.

The annual speech to the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry was originally scheduled for Feb. 24 but was pushed back after the mayor broke his ankle in a fall the day before the initial date.

O’Dekirk described Joliet as a leader in its handling of issues related to COVID-19,.

He said other municipalities and fire departments are modeling vaccination sites after the clinic being run by the Joliet Fire Department at Joliet West High School. The clinic had provided 25,000 vaccinations as of Saturday, he said.

“It’s a great example of how the city of Joliet has been a leader throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” O’Dekirk said.

O’Dekirk also said Joliet’s public hearing process for the NorthPoint vote in April, which was held under conditions in which people were not allowed to address the City Council in person because of pandemic restrictions, was copied by Will County and other local governments around Illinois.

The process also was challenged in a lawsuit by the village of Elwood, which led to a judge ordering a new round of public hearings, although the order was based on the finding of a faulty public notice of the plan commission hearing held in February.

The heavily contested NorthPoint project continues to face opposition in court, and no construction date has been set.

But O’Dekirk described the NorthPoint plan as “a responsible step forward” because of its closed-loop design aimed at keeping trucks off local roads and replacing what he described as haphazard warehouse development spurred by the growth of the Joliet and Elwood intermodal yards inside the CenterPoint Intermodal Center.

“The railroads are in the process of doubling their operations inside CenterPoint,” the mayor said. “The NorthPoint project is not going to bring any additional trucks to our area. NorthPoint is seeing what’s already happening inside CenterPoint.”

He described the January vote to buy Lake Michigan water from Chicago to replace the well system Joliet has been using since 1907 as a historic decision that put the city “in a position where we can be a regional provider of water.”

The mayor also spent some time describing the events of May 31, when what otherwise had been peaceful Black Lives Matter protests broke out into a night of looting and rioting.

O’Dekirk never mentioned the ongoing investigation into his own encounter with two protesters that led to a scuffle and small melee involving police. Charges initially filed have been dropped against the two protesters, who now are suing the city.

But O’Dekirk described in detail how police foiled looters at Louis Joliet Mall and other shopping centers and blocked what he said was a plan to riot downtown and likely set fire to the Rialto Square Theatre.

“As long as I’m mayor of Joliet,” O’Dekirk said, “we will not sit back and allow lawlessness to rule the day or rule the night.”