No Public Nuisances In Joliet For 3 Years, Then 3 In August As City Hall Reveals Plan Moving Forward

JOLIET, IL — For several years, the Joliet City Council regularly approved designations for properties deemed public nuisances and Joliet Patch regularly published stories on these eyesores and the sad history behind them.

Following the election of Terry D'Arcy as mayor of Joliet, a new administration was installed inside City Hall and public nuisance properties vanished from the Joliet City Council meeting agendas.

It turns out there were no newly designated public nuisance properties in Joliet during 2023, 2024 and 2025 — D'Arcy's first three years in office — but that suddenly changed earlier this month.

For the first time in close to four years, on Aug. 4, the Joliet City Council was asked by now-departed City of Joliet Community Development Director Dustin Anderson to approve three separate properties as new public nuisances.

"The absence of a Public Nuisance designation during a particular period does not necessarily mean the City was not addressing property maintenance or code compliance issues," said Sydney Thompson, city of Joliet's director of media engagement and communications. "Public Nuisance designation is one specific enforcement mechanism among the tools available to the city."

At the Aug. 4 Joliet City Council meeting, the following properties became public nuisances:

962 Cottage Place

6 North Hickory Street

216 3^rd Avenue

In preparation for this story, Joliet Patch contacted Thompson to provide an explanation on the city's position for public nuisances as the summer of 2026 draws to a close.

"The absence of Public Nuisance designations between 2023 and 2025 occurred during a period when the department was managing significant changes in staffing and workload," Thompson explained. "At the same time, the City's rental inspection program had expanded substantially following the 2022 ordinance amendment that brought single-family rental properties into the program. The expansion increased the scope of the program by more than 200 percent and required significant staff resources to establish and maintain accurate property records, registration, billing, and inspection processes.

"As staffing and management responsibilities have stabilized, the department has been able to address those foundational needs while also devoting additional resources to other enforcement responsibilities, including properties that may meet the city's criteria for Public Nuisance designation," Thompson continued explaining. "There was not a decision that Public Nuisance enforcement was more trouble than it was worth, nor was there a single directive to restart the program. Rather, the department has been working through its enforcement priorities based on available resources, the condition of individual properties, and the requirements of the city's ordinances."

When Joliet Patch asked Thompson to explain the city of Joliet's position moving forward, she offered the following remarks:

"Properties that meet the applicable criteria for Public Nuisance designation will continue to be evaluated and, when appropriate, brought forward through the city's established process. Each property is considered based on its individual circumstances and the applicable legal and ordinance requirements. Public Nuisance designation is one of several enforcement tools available to the city, and the appropriate response can vary depending on the circumstances of a particular property," Thompson said.

"The department's focus is on effective and consistent code enforcement, protecting neighborhood conditions, and working toward compliance. The City has been working to strengthen its underlying programs and processes so that staff can more effectively identify, document, and address properties requiring enforcement attention. Residents may see additional Public Nuisance cases moving forward as appropriate, but those cases will be based on the circumstances of individual properties and the requirements of the City's ordinances."

Here's a look back at the three properties declared public nuisances at the Aug. 4 City Council session:

216 3rd Ave.

Property Description: The property is a vacant, two-story, wood-frame, single-family residence that sustained extensive fire damage in October 2023. The property owners are believed to be deceased. Since the fire, the City has undertaken maintenance activities to address the property's deteriorating condition, including mowing the grass, securing the structure by boarding it and removing accumulated debris.

The property remains in a state of disrepair and continues to have a negative impact on the surrounding neighborhood. This property is located within the East Side National Register Historic District.

6 N. Hickory St.

According to Anderson's memo regarding 6 North Hickory St., Rosemary Lawler was the owner.

Property Description: This is a two-story, wood frame, single-family home with a detached one-story wood-frame garage. It has been vacant since 2015 and has had no active water service since July 2020. The property owner, Rosemary Lawler, is deceased. The property has accumulated more than $22,000 in outstanding fines and is subject to an extensive and continually growing list of code violations resulting from prolonged abandonment and neglect.

962 Cottage Place

Property Description: The structure is a one-story, wood-frame, single-family residence located at the rear of the property that has been used for storage.

The building has no active utility services and contains large openings in the roof, leaving it exposed to the elements and in a state of significant deterioration. The property owner has failed to respond to repeated correspondence or otherwise communicate with the City regarding the property's condition. Administrative adjudication fines have been assessed but remain unpaid, and no effort has been made to correct the violations or bring the property into compliance.