Cesar Guerrero Passes Wunderlich In Joliet City Council Race

JOLIET, IL — As a result of Wednesday's tabulation of mail-in votes, 25-year-old Cesar Guerrero has emerged ahead of long-time Joliet business owner Bob Wunderlich in the race to fill the third open at-large seat on the Joliet City Council.

A total of 12 people were on the ballot in the April 6 elections for three open seats on the Joliet City Council. On election night, Joliet Patch reported that the race between Wunderlich and Guerrero remained too close to call after the unofficial totals, even though Wunderlich had a slight lead over Guerrero of about 60 votes.

Four-term incumbent Jan Quillman and retired Joliet Police Detective Joe Clement were the two top vote-getters in the City Council races.

As a result of Wednesday's tally of the mail-in vote numbers, Guerrero climbed ahead of Wunderlich by 69 votes in Will County, but he was down by 60 votes to Wunderlich in Kendall County, leaving Guerrero ahead by a total of nine votes overall.

"All the news today so far has been good, and we're feeling very good about our odds," Guerrero's campaign spokesman Andrew Herrera informed Joliet Patch. "Once we have a better sense of how many remaining mail-in ballots there are we should have a better sense of what the final margins will be."

Heading into the election, Guerrero did not gain the endorsement of the Will-Grundy Building Trades Council.

Besides endorsing Clement and Quillman, the building trade council chose to back the candidacy of Wunderlich, owner of Wunderlich Builders in Joliet. Wunderlich has also served on the Joliet Junior College board of trustees for more than 40 years.

On the other hand, Guerrero collected 15 endorsements heading into the election. His endorsements were:

• Congresswoman Marie Newman
• Congressman Chuy Garcia
• The Illinois Nurses Association
• State Senator John Connor
• State Rep Dagmara "Dee" Avelar
• Stop Northpoint
• The Sunrise Movement
• The Sierra Club
• Bishop Evans
• Commissioner Herb Brooks
• Workers United
• Our Revolution
• The Will County Progressives

"While some candidates run campaigns on vague promises of 'stability' and 'new businesses' this campaign is centered on the concrete challenges that face Joliet residents every day," Guerrero informed Joliet Patch during his candidate questionnaire. "Unlike other campaigns, mine is focused on the threat to our community posed by skyrocketing water prices, the irresponsible Northpoint development, unaccountable policing, a lack of representation for Joliet's Latinx community, and a lack of basic community staples, like a local grocery store."

Last summer, Guerrero was a regular demonstrator as part of the Black Lives Matter movement.

"Last summer, when George Floyd and Breonna Taylor's murders sparked protests across the country, I felt moved to stand in solidarity with neighbors I'd never met before to call for justice nationally and here at home," Guerrero informed Patch during his candidate profile.

"I stood at the corner of Larkin and Jefferson for weeks and was horrified when I saw our own mayor attack peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters as they demonstrated against exactly the kind of state violence they were out protesting against. It's no surprise that, even after two deaths in police custody this year, JPD still refuses to take the most basic steps toward police accountability and community safety by refusing to install dash cams in every patrol car and mandate all officers be outfitted with body cams.

"I plan to address each of these issues by bringing the community to the table. If elected, I will bring city hall into the community and encourage participation in the democratic process through regular town halls across Joliet, and I'll establish local community councils to help set a popular legislative agenda."

Joliet's two-term Mayor Bob O'Dekirk told Patch that it now looks like Guerrero will emerge victorious in the race to determine the third open Council seat.

The mayor said he's willing to work with Guerrero, and O'Dekirk said he holds no ill-will toward Guerrero regarding Guerrero's outspokenness with the mayor's conduct on the night of May 31 when street violence and rioting erupted on the city's west side.

Once the three members take office in May, O'Dekirk said he expects the residents will see a much more united City Council moving forward. As for Guerrero, "I would be happy to sit down with him and Councilman Clement to talk about City Council business," O'Dekirk said Wednesday after the mail-in ballots were counted.