Candidate Tycee Bell for Joliet Mayor said if she is elected, she plans to reset city government with more focus on how every program will impact the resident.

Bell is challenging incumbent Robert O’Dekirk and Terry Darcy for Joliet mayor in the April 4th election.

Bell, 45, is a community strategist with more than 20 years of non-profit experience advocating for the growth and development of communities and families, her Web site said.

She serves as a visionary director of Seven Mountains, LLC., which, according to Bell, focuses on her work as a high-level community strategist building coalitions. She previously served as center director for the Salvation Army Joliet Corps and regional membership manager of Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago/Northwest Indiana.

In 2021, Bell received the P.E.P.S award for community service and the 2022 Project Acclaim’s first quarter recipient of the Rev. James E. Allen Award for service to the community.

If elected, Bell said she will be an advocate for Joliet’s most vulnerable citizens, lobby for gun safety at local, state, and federal levels and provide economic equity through workforce development.

“I believe the biggest asset for any city is its people, and it is the only way to change things,” said Bell. “As a young child, I wanted insight, believed in people and wanted to save the world.”

While she understands the City of Joliet is doing major infrastructure improvements that will bring water from Lake Michigan, Bell worries if it will help the residents when rates keep rising.

“There are around 7,000 folks at risk of having their water shut off,” she said. “Also, there are people with little or no access to healthcare.

“I would also focus on building an economy where we look at how to help people prosper in the City of Joliet. We need to look at what do employers want and are there initiatives in the city to build the workforce?”

Bell said she plans to finance her initiatives by using federal funding for development and training that are available through local governmental agencies like the Will County Board, Joliet, and Troy townships. She cited the $1.6 million Reimagine Public Safety Act grant Joliet Township received from the Illinois Department of Human Services that aims to reduce firearm violence through targeted community investments with emphasis on neighborhood policing and mental health awareness.

“I just think we need a new focus and to reset the system on what we are doing,” Bell added.  “Being the mayor means I am in position to reset the system of what is our new norm.”

Bell touts a resume of community involvement as she is an ambassador for the Joliet Chamber of Commerce; membership chair with the African American Business Association from 2019 to 2022; Salvation Army advisory board member from 2019 to 2021; executive board member of J.A.Y. (Joliet Alliance for Youth); past officer with Will County Community Services; member of Will County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition; and Catholic Charities Board of Young Professionals.