Mayor D'Arcy Responds: 'I Did Not Fall Asleep Last Night' During Data Center Joliet City Council Debate

JOLIET, IL — One of the key comments during Monday night's seven-hour-and-19-minute-long Joliet City Council meeting on the proposed Joliet Technology Center came around 11 p.m., when 30-year-old Manhattan resident Stephanie Becker was speaking at the podium offering her opposition to the data center development.

She, like everyone else, had four minutes allotted to make their comments to the Joliet City Council. But before she finished her remarks, she apparently discovered that Mayor Terry D'Arcy had drifted off. She notified the mayor that he had fallen asleep.

D'Arcy did not respond to the audience member's assertion at any point during Monday's meeting. However, several hours after Joliet Patch published its story on Tuesday morning, Joliet's mayor contacted Joliet Patch's editor and explained, "I was not sleeping in that picture. I was looking down at some paperwork. I did not fall asleep last night. Just want to let you know that; you could put a retraction on that one but (the person) caught me just at the moment as I was looking down at some paperwork. I was not sleeping, for the record, John."

Here is a transcript of Becker's remarks and how the memorable moment went down, according to video of the meeting:

"Hello, Mayor D'Arcy and Council. I first off want to take a minute to thank all the police officers that are here to keep us safe and everyone in this room, no matter what their opinion is. I appreciate that they're coming and sharing their voice," the young woman began. "I know you guys are tired. When I was in high school, I fell asleep in a science class or two. So, I understand how you feel, so please just listen to what I have to say."

The Joliet public television broadcast of the meeting on YouTube remained focused on the audience speaker giving her remarks. Viewers at home could not see the Joliet City Council members or Mayor D'Arcy at that point in the meeting.

During the next couple of minutes, D'Arcy apparently drifted off to sleep.

"My name is Stephanie Becker, I'm 30 years old and a homeowner in Manhattan. My fiancé and I have spent the past seven months renovating our home, which is 1.7 miles from the proposal site. I have many unanswered questions and concerns, which I will proceed to state now."

At that point, Becker remarked, "To the Council, and Hillwood and Powerhouse executives, do you truly believe in the safety of this project enough that you, yourself, would feel comfortable living 1.7 miles from the site? My fiancé and I have bought our house in hopes of starting a family. As a labor and delivery nurse at a Level 1 trauma medical center, I am all too familiar with devastating ... outcomes. I cannot imagine the detriment this proposal will have on the health of me, my babies and future pregnancies, and my children as they continue to grow close to this data center.

"Fertility is dropping in the United States, year by year, for a multitude of reasons. And some, yet unknown. A large percentage of my patients do not conceive naturally, solely through IVF, and those numbers are continuing to increase. I'm afraid this could not only further complicate fertility issues for me, but other mothers in the future. If the fertility levels continue to decrease, what will be the future of Will County?

"I was born here in Mokena, and I have continued to live here as my choice with my fiancé. But if this data center goes up, I will not continue that choice," Becker told council members. "Please think very carefully about the health outcomes of this and the unknown health outcomes of this.

"I also have a well in my neighborhood that is 1.7 miles from the build site. Will this well have the possibility of draining? I know there was a man who spoke in vague language that made the answer seem to be a no, but please forgive me if I am not trusting of these officials, as I live 1.7 miles from the build site and have only heard about it within the past seven days.

"The lack of transparency and outreach is astonishing. I have read accounts online from citizens who live in close proximity to a data center in New Carlisle, Indiana, who state their well ran dry. Why has there been no outreach from Hillwood or from Powerhouse telling the people who live in my Ranch Oaks community what is going to happen and what is going to be built? In the sound portion of the presentation, it said that the daytime limit would be 60 decibels. Does this include the proposed substations?

"I just found out about those tonight. Mayor, can you wake up here, you're asleep," Becker then told D'Arcy.

D'Arcy and other council members did not speak up or respond to Becker's observation.

After her brief pause, Becker continued with her remarks.

"What regulations will be in place to assure it does not go above 60?" Becker asked. "What will happen if it goes above 60? What regulations will be put in place to protect us? To protect me. My future children. My fiancé. My elderly parents and their parents who come to visit us at my property. The thing I find most ironic of all is that the man who supported this proposal earlier as a spokesperson for a trades council is wearing a jacket with bison on it. Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie ran by the United States Forest Service is in extremely close proximity to the location of this data center.

"This data center will negatively affect the bison herd located there as well as me," Becker stressed. "I am demanding that if you say no, at least table this. Table it and put in research. How is this going to affect fertility? How is this going to affect the health of people? How is this going to affect children in our neighborhood? The proposed data center is extremely close proximity to a Manhattan elementary school. How is it going to affect those children and their learning? I am asking you to please listen to what I am saying. And to say no or at least table this problem. Thank you."

Shortly after midnight, city of Joliet officials opted to reconvene the meeting on Thursday. The meeting was scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the request of Councilman Larry Hug. At first, City Manager Beth Beatty called for having the meeting at 9 a.m., which infuriated the audience because many of them would not be able to get out of work to attend.