By Madhu Mayer
Candidates are eager for change at Joliet City Hall. Many pull petitions for mayor and five district council seats in the April 4 election.
As of Wednesday morning, Terry D’Arcy, Gregory Lee, and Tycee Bell have pulled nominating petitions for Joliet mayor. Incumbent Mayor Bob O’Dekirk in the spring said he would seek re-election, though he has yet to submit a nominating form. Candidates have until December to file petitions to run for any of the seats on the city council for the April election.
Mike Eulitz is the only person so far to pull petitions for district 1 council seat. Incumbent Larry Hug previously indicated he intends to seek re-election.
For District 2, incumbent Pat Mudron, Robert Wunderlich, Quinn Adamowski and Nicole Lurry
have pulled nominating petitions. Mudron has been a subject of an investigation by the city
inspector general’s office regarding his business having dealings with the Rialto Square Theatre.
Wunderlich served for more than four decades as an elected trustee on the Joliet Junior College Board. Last year he lost to Cesar Guerrero for the third at-large seat on the Joliet City Council.
Only Sherri Reardon, the incumbent has circulated nominating petitions so far for District 3 council seat.
Cesar Cardenas, businessman, Christopher J. Parker, Rosa Hernandez, a member of Joliet Board of Fire and Police Commissioners are running for the district 4 seat currently occupied by councilwoman Bettye Gavin, who is not seeking re-election. Parker is a V.P. at Wintrust bank and chairman of the African American Business Association, (AABA).
Incumbent Terry Morris, Jim Lanham, Suzanna Ibarra and Michael W. Carruthers took out petitions in District 5. Lanham ran for the council-at-large race in 2021 but lost. Ibarra is chair of Will County Progressives and 3rd vice chair of Will County Democrats Executive Board, Carruthers has also run for the seat and lost. He is a local businessman.
Morris, who’s been under fire for not filing a required state board of election form, is seeking his fourth term as the district 5 councilman. Morris said that he has not heard back from the State Board of Elections whether he owes money after he did not submit paperwork declaring his campaign spending last quarter. Morris said he expects the board to render its decision in about a week or so.
“To the best of my understanding, it cannot stop you from running,” said Morris, adding he will take appropriate steps once a decision is made on if and how much he owes.
In October 2018, Morris found himself in a similar predicament when the state election board issued a $31,850 fine against the Citizens to Elect Terry Morris, a fundraising committee. According to the State Board of Elections, Morris’ committee was delinquent in filing its campaign disclosure reports to the State of Illinois as he was seeking re-election for his council seat in the April 2019 general election.