Alex Ledesma Returns To City Council To Pitch 3 New Businesses

JOLIET, IL — Former three-term Joliet City Councilman Alex Ledesma and Joliet Facebook Live personality Bob Hernandez convinced the Joliet City Council and Mayor Bob O'Dekirk to support a Hispanic businessman's effort to bring three new businesses to 251 East Jackson St.

At Tuesday night's meeting —against the wishes of Joliet City Planner Jim Torri —Joliet's Council voted unanimously to approve a variance for the vacant parcel across the street from the shuttered Certified Foods grocery store, closed since 2017.

Arnoldo and Maria Chavez of Channahon needed Joliet's support to construct their commercial building in an area of Joliet's east side surrounded by residential dwellings.

Arnoldo Chavez intends to construct a new building on his family's vacant lot near the corner of Franklin Street.

"I'm here to ask the Council to approve this project that is coming to the east side," Ledesma urged the Council. "It takes a long time for any development to come to the east side, other than the Thorntons, which is not doing us a favor by keeping their high prices."

Ledesma said that "this project would be more than welcomed because ... that area has been vacant for a long, long time. And we have the support from Mount Carmel and the residents from around that area ... it is an eyesore right now as far as I'm concerned being a vacant lot for all of these years. And I understand that a grocery store is coming across the street."

Ledesma revealed the three types of businesses that will be coming to Joliet's east side once the new commercial building is built at 251 East Jackson St.

"It's going to be an insurance company, a (cell) phone company and I believe a beauty salon of some type. But I can assure there will be no liquor licenses applying for that building," Ledesma told the Council.

Next, Hernandez addressed the Council, saying he was born and raised one block away from the lot proposed for the new businesses.

"So when I grew up, you had Super X, you had Kroger's, you had a liquor store, you had Zayre's, then across the street, where the church is at, we had Jewel. And right down the street ... you had the first Joe's Hot Dogs, so you had cars lined up all down Herkimer Street.

"So you always had business in that area ... there would be no problems, as Alex pointed out, with the church or the residents in the area of having a business there," Hernandez said.

Upon being reminded that the new businesses would include a beauty salon, insurance company and a cell phone store, Councilwoman Jan Quillman remarked, "And that's well-needed at that area, and so hopefully that will spur some other economic developments."

The recommendation from Joliet's city planner asked the Council to reject the business development. According to Torri's report, he stated, "The property has a long history of residential use. The site is undersized and can not be developed as commercial without a series of variations being approved. The blocks starting east of Franklin Street all contain residential uses until the Collins Street corridor.

"There are no hardships to develop this site single family residential as the underlying zoning permits. Due to there being no hardship to develop this site as the R-2 zoning allows and the surrounding properties being existing residential, planning staff does not support this request. It should be known that non-support of this request by staff was provided to the petitioner during initial discussions."

In the end, the business development at 251 East Jackson St. received a unanimous 8-0 vote of support from the Council.

"That was an abandoned piece of property for many years," Mayor O'Dekirk remarked prior to the final vote. "I think it's a nice addition to the east side of Joliet, and I ask that we do not follow the lead from staff, and instead approve this project."