Giarrante, O'Dekirk Spar Over Evergreen Terrace After Slaying

Mayor Tom Giarrante (left) and Councilman Bob O’Dekirk will face off in the 2015 mayoral election. Credit: File photos.

A day after a young woman was brutally murdered in a laundry room at Evergreen Terrace, two City of Joliet officials took their disagreement over the fate of the problem-plagued housing development to the media.

Drumaine McKinley is accused of stabbing 20-year-old Joslyn Woods to death early Wednesday morning. He allegedly told police he met Woods for sex after finding her on a website for escorts, prosecutors said during McKinley’s bond hearing. Neither McKinley nor Woods lived at the complex, police said.

• Murder at Evergreen Terrace -- Young Woman Butchered in Laundry Room, Man Charged with Slaying
• Alleged Evergreen Ripper Found Victim on Internet Escort Site, Met With Her For Sex: Prosecutor

The City of Joliet has been involved in a nearly decade-long battle to acquire and redevelop the Broadway Street apartment complex, which has an estimated 800 residents.

On Thursday morning, City Councilman Bob O’Dekirk, who has said he intends to challenge Mayor Tom Giarrante in the April 2015 election, issued a press release saying that the killing had prompted him to renew his call for city leaders to outline a plan for if and when does acquire the development.

“For over a year, myself and others on the council have demanded a plan detailing how exactly we are going to proceed with the Evergreen Terrace demolition if we win the condemnation lawsuit,” O’Dekirk said, adding, “To date, the current administration has not disclosed any plan of any type to the council or the Joliet community at large. Wednesday’s murder is a call to action.”

O’Dekirk, a former Joliet police officer and owner of a downtown Joliet law firm, also accused Giarrante of having a “secret plan” for the complex.

“I know senior city officials privately are saying they believe we can own Evergreen Terrace and make money on the property. I am not interested in owning Evergreen Terrace.” O’Dekirk said. “The whole purpose of the lawsuit is to tear the buildings down. If that is no longer the direction the city is going to take, Mayor Giarrante needs to disclose this to the city council and the citizens.”

If the city does plan to tear the complex down, officials should disclose how that will happen, how much it will cost, who will pay for it and what will happen to displaced residents, O’Dekirk said.

Thursday afternoon, the mayor responded, saying the city has not yet won the Evergreen Terrace lawsuit.

“We are still waiting for the judge’s ruling on whether or not we can continue with the condemnation or not. Should we prevail, we would then proceed to arrive at a price we would have to pay to acquire the site,” Giarrante said.

The mayor added that as a former police officer, “Mr. O’Dekirk should know firsthand the problems that have and continue to occur at Evergreen Terrace. The crime report that was provided to the City by Chief Benton in March of this year showed the crime rate per capita at Evergreen Terrace is more than 4 times the city wide total per capita. It is higher at Evergreen Terrace than Desplaines Gardens, Fairview, Bellarmine, and Lois Place.”

A report issued by the Joliet Police Department in April actually showed that the complex’s violent crime rate was more than three times the city average.

• Crime at Evergreen More Than Three Times Joliet Average: Police
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O’Dekirk said he is aware of the problems at Evergreen Terrace, but he believes the path the city is taking is “flawed and puts the city at risk.” In April, he responded to the crime report by accusing Giarrante of “political shenanigans.”

Giarrante said a representative from Holsen, the same company that redeveloped Cabrini Green in Chicago, attended a 2012 city council meeting to explain some of the city’s options if it’s successful in acquiring Evergreen Terrace.

“The members at the council meeting voted to hire them,” Giarrante said. “Should we acquire the site, all stakeholders will be involved in our decisions concerning moving forward with Evergreen.”

Responding to O’Dekirk’s assertion that Woods’ murder highlights the city’s liability as the future owner of the property, Giarrante added, “Any good lawyer should know the City of Joliet will not be financially responsible for crime that occurs at Evergreen Terrace.” Giarrante went on to say Evergreen Terrace is a “test of leadership” for Joliet.

“Real leaders confront and solve problems – the do not deny a problem exists and look the other way. Evergreen Terrace is an issue that will not go away,” Giarrante said. “We need to properly address this issue out of respect to the residents that live on the property, in the surrounding neighborhood and throughout our fine city.”