Joliet City Council 2021 Election: 3 Seats, 12 Candidates

JOLIET, IL — Joliet voters will head to the polls Tuesday to cast their votes for three open seats on the Joliet City Council. Voters will choose the three at-large members who will represent residents across the entire city.

Joliet's five district seats and the mayor's position were not on the April 6 ballot.

For the three open seats, four-term Councilwoman Jan Quillman is the only incumbent seeking another four-year term of office in the non-partisan city elections. Joliet's longest serving councilman, Mike Turk, announced last year that he would not seek another term. Turk was first elected to the Council in 1987.

The other open Council seat was formerly held by Don "Duck" Dickinson. The now-retired Joliet Park District maintenance worker abruptly resigned his seat last fall in the midst of a controversy involving explicit photos and allegations Dickinson made suggesting that Mayor Bob O'Dekirk was trying to blackmail him, an allegation the mayor vehemently denied.

After Dickinson resigned, the city selected Herb Lande, a long-time Joliet construction company owner, to serve out the remainder of Dickinson's term, which expires in May.

Here's some information about the races and the 12 candidates in Joliet:

Warren Dorris:

One of Joliet's best known politicians is making a comeback after being away from elected office the past 10 years. Warren Dorris spent 24 years on the Joliet City Council representing the east side. In 2011, Dorris ran for mayor and lost.

When Patch asked Dorris in his candidate questionnaire to identify the top issues facing Joliet, he responded: "Fiscal Responsibility. Attempt to convince the Mayor and Council to put together a comprehensive five-year active budget with fiscal restraints. Address declining revenues along with the continued decrease in medium household income in Joliet. Need to attack higher paying jobs and reduce the incentive plans for developers."

On the issue of city spending, Dorris responded: "You can't out spend what is coming in, it is revenues versus cost. If your revenues are declining you must be able to adjust you cost immediately."

Jan Quillman:

A registered nurse, Quillman was first elected to the City Council in 2005. "I believe the most pressing issue is ensuring that the water supply is secured and to remain diligent in keeping cost and fees down," she wrote Joliet Patch.

On the topic of racial equality in Joliet, Quillman remarked that "The council is working to support racial equality as evidenced by the recent hiring of a female police chief who has assembled a racially and culturally diverse command staff. There has also been the hiring of minority females on the fire department for the first time in the city's history. Equality for all residents of our city can only be accomplished through continuing communication between the citizens and their elected officials."

Hudson Hollister:

The founder of downtown Joliet's HData technology company, Hollister recently announced 15 political endorsements. He said their support represents a broad consensus among Joliet's leaders, neighborhoods, and communities that he is the best candidate to "Get It Done!"

Endorsing Hollister were two state legislators, current members of the Joliet City Council Bettye Gavin and Pat Mudron, two Will County officeholders, eight business and community leaders, plus his grandmother, Joan Hollister Gillespie, widow of baseball and football coaching legend Gordie Gillespie.

Hollister's campaign flier outlines his focus on four priorities: Fix Our Downtown, Connect Our Neighborhoods, Strengthen Our Communities and Leave The Council War Behind.

"Our logistics industry has to provide the community support necessary for its workers to build lives and raise families," Hollister said in October. "Our tourism industry could be so much bigger, even in the pandemic, but we don't even seem to recognize that it exists. The police department has to earn and retain the support of all our people."

Joe Clement:

After serving four years on the Joliet Park District Board and working more than 27 years on the Joliet Police Department until retiring last August, Clement told Patch that "Although the Joliet City Council very recently seems to have begun to work cooperatively in the best interests of our city, the damage from the last few years of political infighting and administrative instability needs to be repaired. I hope to help ensure that we stay on the right track in terms of professional legislative behavior and responsiveness to the needs of our constituents."

During his candidate questionnaire, Clement informed Patch that his top goals, if elected, are to help "facilitate the creation of 100 new businesses for Joliet with living wage jobs, helping facilitate a better relationship between the Joliet Police Department and all of the citizens they serve, and supporting our city manager in leading the administration as our city rebuilds its economy."

Cesar Guerrero:

The 25-year-old legal aid staff member at the Spanish Community Center said that a lack of racial equity is not only a problem for the Latinx community, but for every minority community in Joliet.

"The most pressing issue facing Joliet right now is the City Council's decision to finance a fresh water pipeline to Chicago by raising the cost of water to an average of at least $138/month per household - making it unaffordable for Joliet's working families," Guerrero told Patch in his questionnaire. "Even before the vote was passed, my campaign called for a cap to be placed on the price of water to residences and small businesses, for a ban on residential water shutoffs, and for the implementation of tiered water pricing to make sure heavy industry pays its fair share, and helps keep clean water affordable to every working family in Joliet and across the region."

Part of Guerrero's motivation for running is to unseat Quillman.

"Instead of recommending meaningful reforms, she suggested that residents should work on 'learning English' after herself admitting that she wasn't able to learn Spanish despite trying," he said. "A lack of racial equity is not only a problem for the Latinx community, but for every minority community in Joliet as we are consistently left out of community programs and are the last to receive community resources. As City Councilor I will work for ALL of Joliet and will do my best to advance equitable access to critical resources irrespective of race, gender, or creed."

Glenda Wright-McCullum

McCullum told Patch that revitalization of Joliet's south side is her top issue, if elected.

"I have served the community in a ministerial leadership capacity for over 30 years, I know the heartbeat of the city with its strengths and weaknesses; I have led initiatives to promote character, skill building, mentorship, education, and training through workshops and seminars, I am a trusted leader in the community with proven character," she told Patch.

" My constituents and I have been successful in housing development endeavors, providing affordable housing through the Housing Authority of Joliet, the city; served in a managerial capacity for General Motors Corporation; implemented low-cost summer day camp programs for under-privileged youth; established a 501c3 organization to serve disadvantage youth; self-employed business owner involved in property rehabilitation, fragrance line distribution, music producer and recording artist, event coordinator."

Bob Wunderlich:

Besides Clement and Quillman, the Will-Grundy Building Trades Council agreed to back the candidacy of the owner of Wunderlich Builders in Joliet. Wunderlich has also served on the Joliet Junior College board of trustees for more than 40 years.

"He was the best candidate for the Will-Grundy Building Trades Council," according to Gregory, whose organization represents about 25,000 union members.

Wunderlich has been a Will County union carpenter for 27 years, and he was a member of Joliet Local 174, Gregory said. Wunderlich's brother is a long-time Joliet Fire Department firefighter/paramedic.

"He's a big union tradesman, and he will look out for the Will-Grundy County Building Trades Council. He's a Will County carpenter on top of being on the JJC Board," Gregory said.

Jeremy Brzycki:

A 38-year-old project manager who is a first time candidate for City Council, Brzycki told Patch that "the single most pressing issue facing our board is that patronage and corruption are running rampant in the city of Joliet. Too many members of the council are putting politics over people, making decisions that favor their friends rather than the good of the city. I intend to break this cycle forever by hiring only the most qualified people and making sure important decisions favor the citizens of Joliet over special interests."

Brzycki also believes the community should hold Joliet police to a higher standard.

"We need to drive more cooperation between the police and the community. Police should be encouraged to attend community events and communicate regularly with community groups. Body cameras are a necessity to protect the community and the good police officers," Brzycki told Patch.

Four other candidates running for Joliet City Council did not fill out the Joliet Patch candidate questionnaire for the April 6 election: Nicole Lurry, Isiah "Ike" Williams, Jim Lanham and Roger Powell Sr.

In February, Lanham showed up at a Council meeting, and he spoke toward the end of the meeting during the audience participation time asking Joliet officials "to pass a referendum" in opposition to the highly controversial criminal justice reform bill that Gov. J.B. Pritzker is waiting to sign.

The Council did not act on Lanham's suggestion and Pritzker signed the police reform bill into law, several days later.