Event To Mark Fairview Public Housing's Complete Demolition

JOLIET, IL - During the past year, Joliet Patch has chronicled the efforts by the Joliet Housing Authority to help hundreds of residents at the Fairview Public Housing Complex find a new place to live. As of this week, only two families remain. Both are getting close to moving out, according to outgoing Joliet Housing Authority commissioner Bob Hernandez.

On Saturday, June 8, politicians will gather at Fairview for a mock demolition event.

Joliet Mayor Bob O'Dekirk and Congressman Bill Foster will be among the key public officials who plan to attend the 10 a.m. event.

The Joliet Housing Authority has already awarded the demolition contract for the complete tear down of all the buildings and apartment units at Fairview.

The housing authority plans to level the structures and leave the land as open space. The removal of Fairview is expected to substantially reduce violent crime in Joliet's Forest Park area.

Year after year, Fairview was the site of multiple murders, often tied to gangs and drugs. Fairview was considered the most dangerous area in the city to patrol.

Fairview's most recent slayings include the Jan. 1, 2018 New Year Eve's double murder on Rosalind Street of 15-year-old Victor Arroyo, and Aliyah Monique Salazar, 17; the Aug. 11, 2018 killing of 24-year-old gang member Eric Ervins, who died of multiple gunshot wounds at the rear parking lot on Cardinal Lane; and the Oct. 1, 2018 deadly stabbing of Marcedes "Marcy" Flakes, 28, in the back in the 1400 block of Fairmont Avenue.

The initial two cases remain unsolved, however, Joliet Police arrested Flakes' estranged boyfriend, Christopher Beale, in connection with her homicide.