By Madhu Mayer
Worried about their quality of life, some Joliet residents are not happy an industrial development could possibly be constructed so close to their homes.
The Joliet City Council by a 5-3 vote Tuesday to approve the Kingsmen Industrial Park on 25 acres that sits on the site of the former Joliet East High School at 1101 Mills Road, despite the objections of nearby residents. The closed high school building currently houses the Joliet Job Corps.
Residents are concerned about the potential noise and pollution from the project, despite assurances from City Manager Jim Capparelli that plans are to develop the park into small lots for small businesses, housing mom and pop stores. Developers on Tuesday stressed there will not be any big warehouse projects on the site.
Councilwoman Bettye Gavin voted against the project, saying, “(This project) doesn’t uplift residents and their quality of life.”
Joining Gavin and voting against the project were Cesar Guerrero and Sheri Reardon. Supporting the business plan were council members Jan Quillman, Larry Hug, Terry Morris, Pat Mudron and Joe Clement. Quillman said she supports the project because it could eventually bring back a supermarket to the south and east sides of Joliet.
Despite the possibilities of what could be developed on the land, nearby resident Mavis Jackson said it is easy for the Joliet City Council to make decisions that does not directly impact them.
“We have to live with their decisions, and we are not happy about it,” said Jackson. “I never trust what the developers are promising. Once they break ground, it will be too late since we will be the ones dealing with the mess.”
Joliet resident Boise Walker said when the East Side Neighborhood Council held a meeting Aug. 30 with some council members and developers, more than 35 people were in attendance, including those from the Manningdale subdivision.
“Patriot Capital Ventures only has conceptual ideas on what would be built on subdivided parcels because their primary goal is to sell subdivided lots,” said Walker. ‘This development is not a vested opportunity for the community. The only plan is to subdivide the land and sell it to other businesses.
“The most disastrous thing that could happen is for the City Council to approve the rezoning today from residential to light industrial.”
Council report on alleged ethics violation
While it was not on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, the talk around City Hall after TV and radio reports circulated that the whistleblower who alerted the Illinois Attorney General’s Office that Mudron possibly violated the city’s code of ethics is none other than Capparelli.
According to the 78-page report prepared by Joliet’s inspector general, Mudron allegedly violated the code of ethics when his company provided a no-bid $248,000 insurance coverage with Rialto. Not only is Mudron a two-term member of the Joliet City Council, but he also serves as liaison to the 96-year-old downtown theater and operates an insurance company at 113 Republic Ave., also in Joliet. The inspector general learned of the conflict of interest between Mudron and Rialto via an anonymous tip that later was publicly disclosed to be Capparelli. If found guilty, Mudron could face felony charges from Kwame Raoul, Illinois Attorney General, and the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Currently, Capparelli’s contract will expire toward the end of 2022, as he has been on the job for two years. It requires a majority vote of the City Council for him to remain as city manager.
When the report was being written, Joliet’s inspector general Sean Connolly asked Mudron if he had duty to disclose this arrangement with the City Council. The report states that Mudron’s response was “no.” The inspector general’s report has asked the Illinois Attorney General’s Office to investigate Mudron as well as Bob Filotto, chairman of the Rialto Theatre. The report states that Filotto violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act when he approved the contract without getting board approval.
The report indicated that Rialto might have closed its doors earlier this year when operators realized its insurance premiums could increase by as much as 600 percent to $450,000 because the theatre did not have a sprinkler system. This prompted Rialto to sign a $248,000 annual insurance contract with Mudron Kane, which was $202,000 less than another quote, according to the inspector general’s report.
Mudron and Capparelli did not return calls for comment and did not speak on the issue at Tuesday’s meeting.
