'Our City Council Has Been Fighting An Endless Internal War'

JOLIET, IL — The founder of Joliet's HData technology company held his Joliet City Council campaign kickoff Thursday evening on the balcony of the historic Union Station. Hudson Hollister, 38, told a crowd of 50 supporters, which included several notable Will County politicians, that it is time for Joliet's voters to elect all new council members in the April 6 race.

Three at-large seats are up for grabs. Incumbent Jan Quillman has filed paperwork to seek a fifth term. Mike Turk has been on the council for 33 years, and he is still contemplating a run for another four-year term. Incumbent Don "Duck" Dickinson will not seek a second term.

At the moment, the youngest of the nine elected city officials is Mayor Bob O'Dekirk, who turns 51 this year.

This marks Hollister's first run for elected office.

"I think we should elect an entirely new slate," Hollister told his supporters as he stood at a podium displaying his campaign slogan, "LET'S GET IT DONE."

(Joliet Patch article continues below this photo.)

With the Joliet City Council election less than six months away, Hollister has already mobilized his campaign committee and several attended Thursday night: Cesar Cardenas, Erica Holmes, Will County Auditor Duffy Blackburn, Kahlil Diab, Cornell Lurry and Fatina Sayegh.

Will County Board member Herb Brooks also attended as did two additional Joliet City Council at-large candidates, Cesar Guerrero and Jeremy Brzycki.

Hollister's campaign flier outlines his focus on four priorities:

• Fix Our Downtown
• Connect Our Neighborhoods
• Strengthen Our Communities
• Leave The Council War Behind

The following is a copy of the speech Hollister gave Thursday night:

Thanks for coming to Union Station. This is a beautiful building. Its history is beautiful too. I would like to tell you about that history.

Before this station was built, Joliet was served by four competing railroads, each with its own station. The tracks were a mess. Some even crossed through the courthouse square over there.

All of the tracks were on the same level as the streets, which meant that every train stopped traffic. Railroads were bringing potential trade and jobs and prosperity. But because the railroads didn’t work together, our city’s growth and health were suffering.

The leaders of our city at that time knew they had to think big. They pushed the railroads to work together. In 1908, a massive track elevation project began. It was the largest public works project in Joliet’s history, costing $84 million in today’s money.

To connect all the railroads and strengthen our city, we needed one station, a Union Station. To design it, the city commissioned Jarvis Hunt, who also designed stations in Kansas City and Dallas.

One hundred and eight years ago this month, we got it done. This magnificent building and the marvelous elevated tracks opened at the same time. And because our leaders thought big and brought competing interests together, our community and our people were able to innovate and prosper.

Businesses and jobs moved in. This balcony looked out on a bustling downtown full of offices, hotels, restaurants, and theaters. We had the nation’s second largest steel mill and its largest chandelier. We invented junior college and soft-serve ice cream and Uno. We gave the world Melissa McCarthy and Lionel Richie and John Hoboult and Gordie Gillespie. This is a great city.

But I ask you, are we still thinking big and bringing competing interests together?

Just like in 1908, today we have a lot of growth and a lot of potential. We are now the third largest city in the state. Sixty percent of the country’s freight traffic comes through here. The largest inland port in North America is here. We have beautiful neighborhoods and strong institutions.
But unlike in 1908, today we have not found a pathway for our potential. Our freight traffic is ruining the roads. The Jefferson Street bridge has been broken since June. There is no plan for our logistics industry. Our wells are running out of water. Our neighborhoods are divided and our institutions are competing for resources.

When you look out from this balcony today, you do not see a bustling downtown. The old buildings are still beautiful, and we cannot afford to lose a single one more, but the activity is gone. All of these problems require our leaders to think big and resolve conflicts. They are not doing that. Our City Council has been fighting an endless internal war. They can’t even agree on a permanent city manager. For the last two years, there has been nobody to run the city government. There has been nobody to get it done.

That’s why I’m running to represent you on the council. I think our problems are solvable and our potential is staggering. I hear progressives and business leaders and union reps — all of whom are here tonight — saying we need to stop the Council War and work together.

I know how to help people work together, despite politics. When I worked in Washington, DC, as a transparency advocate, I got three reform bills passed through Congress. All three were meaningful reforms. All three passed overwhelmingly, with support from conservatives and liberals and progressives.

I know how to bring competing interests together. I spent seven years persuading competing tech companies to join one organization to support those reforms. And I know how to think big. I’ve started three companies and closed a capital raise in a pandemic. If our community honors me with their votes, I want to work with you to get four things done.

First, fix our downtown. We are not going to prosper unless our core is strong. We have enough bonding capacity to repair the streets and parking, and we have enough demand for multifamily housing. We have amazing art galleries and wonderful restaurants that just need to be noticed. Let’s get it done.

Second, connect our neighborhoods. Our bridges are broken and won’t be fixed unless we find a new way to work with the state. So many places don’t have the services they need, especially grocery stores. We can plan incoming development where it is going to help people. And most of all, we have to connect our whole city to a new water source. Let’s get it done.

Third, strengthen our communities — all our communities. Our logistics industry has to provide the community support necessary for its workers to build lives and raise families. Our tourism industry could be so much bigger, even in the pandemic, but we don’t even seem to recognize that it exists. The police department has to earn and retain the support of all our people. Let’s get it done.

Fourth and finally, none of this can happen with an interim city manager, a demoralized city staff, and constant petty bickering. We need to leave the current Council War behind, forever. Neither side should win it. It needs to be over. Let’s get it done.

So, over the next six months, I’m going to be asking every one of you to work with me. Last time, turnout was around ten percent. We can’t win if it stays that low. Let’s get it done.

And once I’m elected, I’m asking to work alongside you to think big and resolve competition, in the same way as we did last century to build this beautiful building, for this great city, Joliet, and all its people. Let’s get it done.