Mayor O'Dekirk Back At Work: State Of City Gets New Date

JOLIET, IL — The Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry announced that Joliet Mayor Bob O’Dekirk will present his re-scheduled annual State of the City update on March 22. The update will focus on a review of 2020, updates on city projects and what to expect in the future.

O'Dekirk was injured and taken to the hospital on Feb. 22 after slipping and falling on a patch of ice outside Joliet's City Hall that morning. O'Dekirk is now out of the hospital and he was able to attend Monday and Tuesday night's Joliet City Council meetings.

He told Patch that he fractured his ankle and tore a muscle in his knee during the fall. He said he was released from the AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center last Wednesday.

"I think the people of St. Joe's hospital, all the nurses, doctors and surgeons did an outstanding job," O'Dekirk told Patch.

O'Dekirk said he is on the road to recovery and will need to undergo rehabilitation and physical therapy in the days and weeks ahead.

On a positive note, O'Dekirk said he is looking forward to giving his state of the city speech on March 22. The event will be held at the Holiday Inn & Suites at the Interstate 80 exit for Houbolt Road. A limited crowd of about 50 people will be allowed to attend the event for social distancing purposes.

O'Dekirk told Patch that he plans to discuss the city's finances as it related to the impact of the coronavirus on the city's bars, restaurants, casinos and other businesses that were forced to shut down amid the pandemic in 2020.

The mayor also plans to discuss the city's May 31 street rioting and looting that happened across Joliet after a Black Lives Matter demonstration at Jefferson Street and Larkin Avenue got out of hand and Joliet police shut it down and made the crowd disperse.

O'Dekirk expects to talk about Joliet's recent landmark decision to purchase Lake Michigan drinking water through the city of Chicago for decades to come. The mayor will also talk about several economic development projects across the city such as the new Chick-fil-A that opened in January.

The Joliet Chamber said it initially partnered with O’Dekirk to deliver his first State of the City address in 2016 and has continued the update on a yearly basis as a way to look back and forward on city programs and projects, Wednesday's news release stated. Although the pandemic has slowed many aspects of life down, the City of Joliet continues to see development and discussions on potential plans. We look forward to this informational update.

Those interested in watching the event live on Monday, March 22 can register to participate virtually at http://jolietchamber.chambermaster.com/events/ or call the chamber office at 815.727.5371. A video recording will be posted on the chamber website, YouTube channel, and City of Joliet / JCTV sites as well. We invite the entire community to join us for this update.