Jim Hock: 'I Think I've Got A Very Good Reputation In The State'

JOLIET, IL — After Jim Hock retired as Joliet's city manager in April 2017, the Joliet City Council appointed Marty Shanahan as interim manager, then it hired David Hales of Bloomington as permanent city manager only to pay Hales five months salary to leave.

Shanahan became interim city manager again, then he was removed. Then, the council named economic development director Steve Jones as interim city manager. Then, the council conducted a national search that ended with none of the finalists offered the job. On Aug. 7, Steve Jones stepped down and left Joliet. Now, Hock — the same man who retired from Joliet more than three years ago is back in City Hall occupying the City Manager's Office yet again.

This month, the council voted unanimously — after both of its top candidates withdrew from consideration — to ask Hock to come out of retirement from run Joliet once again, as interim city manager. He said yes.

Hock said he had been living in White Lake, Mich., which is a 4 hour, 31-minute drive from Joliet.

Why does he expect he will do a good job?

"I think I've got a very good reputation in the state," Hock told Joliet Patch. "I think coming back will send a message to potential candidates that this is a place they can work in, if they are interested and make things happen.

"I've got the history, and I've been brought up to speed on a number of projects. I know the building in right field. I'm familiar with the people on the Joliet Public library board. I worked on getting the Joliet prison into the hands of the Joliet museum."

On Tuesday afternoon, Hock met for 30 minutes with Joliet Patch's editor for a one on one interview in City Hall. One of Hock's first questions: how long do you plan to stay in Joliet as interim city manager?

"My goal is they find someone by the end of December," Hock said of the City Council. He said the council has hired Slavin Consultants to oversee another national job candidate search for Joliet city manager. Hock said the deadline for candidates to apply is Aug. 31.

Hock comes off as even-keeled and someone with a dry sense of humor, which might be a nice attribute given all the turmoil as a result of the Joliet City Council wars that erupted in June 2019. That was when Councilwoman Bettye Gavin teamed up with Pat Mudron, newly elected Councilwoman Sherri Reardon, plus Councilman Don "Duck" Dickinson and Councilman Mike Turk to oust Shanahan as interim city manager.

Despite realizing he is walking into an acrimonious period for the Joliet City Council, Hock told Patch that he's willing to work with the Council in hopes of picking a permanent city manager successor that will gain the backing of all eight members, plus Mayor Bob O'Dekirk.

Patch asked Hock if Joliet would be better off hiring someone out of state who is an assistant city administrator at a large metropolitan city such as Baltimore, Des Moines or Houston, or whether Joliet should focus on finding someone at a mid-sized city who already has substantial experience as the city manager or city administrator.

"If you've got large city experience, I think that's definitely an asset," Hock told Patch.

According to Hock, there are three main local government topics that are immensely important in picking Joliet's next permanent city manager: redevelopment, business industrial and labor relations. Some candidates may have experience in all three, but some candidates may excel in one area but not necessarily so in the other topics, Hock explained.

Hock told Patch that one of Joliet's biggest projects on the immediate horizon concerns the construction of the new Pace bus station near downtown Joliet on property bordering East Washington and South Chicago Streets.

"I'm very happy to see Pace received funding from the federal government," Hock said.

Hock will also oversee the city's reconfiguration of North Chicago Street, which will mean that several thousand vehicles daily will be sent past the Rialto theater and other downtown businesses instead of being sent on the loop around the downtown, along Scott Street, as has been the case for the past 40 years.

The reconstruction of Chicago Street is practically done, and should open later this fall. The last major issue remains the installation of the new traffic lights at Chicago and Jefferson Streets.

Hock also said he is a big supporter of Joliet businessman John Bays and Hock praised Bays for doing "a fabulous job" with several downtown Joliet properties that had fallen into disrepair or were struggling with occupancy in recent years.

"John Bays does a fabulous job at taking empty sites in town and converting them useable sites," Hock said Tuesday.

Hock said he is a proponent of the council's partnership with the Joliet Public Library to help fund a $10.5 million renovation to the downtown Joliet library. That project, however, irritated many residents in the city. Nevertheless, the library project is moving forward and complaining about it at this stage won't make much of a difference for Joliet residents.

Patch asked Hock about the council wars that ignited in the summer of 2019 and the divisions remain to this day. One camp consists of Mudron, Turk, Dickinson, Gavin and Reardon. The other consists of Terry Morris, Jan Quillman, Larry Hug and Mayor O'Dekirk.

"All I can do is my best and (make sure) that things don't stall out because of any disagreements," Hock told Joliet Patch. "I hope to be here as short a time as needed, but I want them to get a really good candidate to apply and that they're happy with those results, finding a candidate they all can work with."

This marks Hock's first full week back on the job running the entire city of Joliet. He had been living in White Lake, Mich. Hock said he spent his entire career in local government working in Illinois and Michigan.

He said he's currently trying to find a furnished apartment in Joliet.

Related Joliet Patch coverage: $215,000: Jim Hock Will Return As Joliet's City Manager