Joliet City Council Addresses Snow Removal Issues

Amid resident complaints about the Joliet’s snow removal following Sunday’s blizzard, some officials said the city needs to take a look at how it handles big snowfalls.

Councilman Larry Hug on Tuesday called the city’s response to the snow “unacceptable,” adding, “something needs to be done.”

The city got as much as 15 inches of snow in some areas during the storm, which ranked among the top 10 worst snowstorms in Chicagoland record history.

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Hug said Joliet currently has 31 drivers and 34 snow plows, “five or six of which are held together by spit.” Prior to the economic downturn, there were 50 plows, said Hug.

He called for a “serious study” of Joliet’s public works needs.

“I want this studied immediately and I want some answers,” Hug said, adding that he’d also like to see a bump in the city’s salt budget.

“The far west side is starving for salt,” Hug said.

Public works staff said the city was fully stocked on salt prior to the storm, with about 6,000 tons in storage, and the city has the ability to order another 6,000 tons for the remainder of the year.

On Wednesday, Mayor Tom Giarrante said public works crews do not put salt down during storms because it will just be scraped up by the plows.

“The snow was packed down” after Sunday’s snowstorm, Giarrante said. Now that salt has been applied, the ice and snow have thawed, creating slush and making it appear that some streets haven’t been plowed, he said.

With more snow coming down on Wednesday, Giarrante said crews are still out on the streets. All of the city’s plows as well as private contractors are working to clear the roadways, he said.

“We have all our plows out,” Giarrante said, adding that plows are working on removing snow from subdivisions and were expected to complete their rounds by Wednesday night.

On Monday night, council member Bob O’Dekirk issued a press release criticizing the mayor for cancelling the city’s Feb. 2 pre-council meeting due to the weather.

O’Dekirk, who is challenging Giarrante in the April 7 election, accused the mayor of trying to “sidestep” snow removal criticism.

“I don’t know what irritates me more, the fact that Giarrante doesn’t want to show up to do his job because there is snow on the ground or the fact that he illegally cancelled the meeting without the permission of the City Council members,” O’Dekirk said, pointing out that City Hall was open and employees reported to work on Monday. “ ... I think he expected a packed crowd of angry residents who are unhappy but that is no reason not to show up and do your job.”

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