Central Teacher Ernest Crim Runs As Write-In For City Council

JOLIET, IL - With no contested mayor's race on the April 2 election, the upcoming Joliet City Council elections have not had much excitement. That may change. Joliet Central High School teacher Ernest Crim issued a press release late Sunday night announcing he is running as a write-in candidate for the open city council seat in District 3. It's the seat of incumbent John Gerl, who is not running for re-election.

Crim has taught U.S. history for District 204 in Joliet the past seven years and "has garnered attention over the years on social media due to his community activism, speaking engagements, widely circulated hate-crime in 2016 and controversial comments at Joliet's City Council meetings regarding entrepreneurial diversity and police accountability," his press announcement reads.

Crim said his political race campaign focuses on being "a voice for the most underrepresented and overlooked residents" of Joliet.

"I said I could never be a politician. They're corrupt. They're crooked. They don't really care about the citizens. Somebody else with passion should do it. Well, I realized that I am that somebody. I don't have all the answers, but I'm willing to learn and I'm willing to find them," Crim said in his press release.

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Crim's candidacy makes District 3 a three-person race and much harder to predict to winner. After all, Gerl, a well-known Joliet politician, is not on the April 2 ballot as the incumbent.

The other two candidates are Joe Mutz, a current member of the Joliet Park District Board, and Sherri Reardon. All five District seats on the Joliet City Council are up for grabs, but no one decided to challenge Mayor Bob O'Dekirk, making him Joliet's first incumbent mayor in many decades to have no opponent.

Image of Ernest Crim via YouTube