Walsh, McGuire Won't Stop NorthPoint Meeting: O'Dekirk

JOLIET, IL —State Rep. Larry Walsh Jr., of Elwood, and retiring State Sen. Pat McGuire, of Joliet, issued a joint news release Thursday asking Joliet's City Council delay a public hearing on the controversial NorthPoint Development project.

Two days earlier, the council voted 7-1 to move forward with the public hearing, which was originally set for March 17.

As it stands, Joliet's public hearing is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 13, but it will be a virtual meeting. Citizens will not be allowed into City Hall to sit in the audience, nor walk up to the podium and address to the council face to face, as is customary at regular council meetings.

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"The first duty of government at all levels is to protect the lives, health and safety of the people we jointly serve," McGuire and Walsh's news release indicated.

"The decision to hold a meeting to decide the North Point issue during the COVID-19 pandemic — as COVID-19 cases and deaths in Will County surge — violates common sense as well as the intent of federal and state guidelines to flatten the curve.

"To hold this important vote when residents are unable to address the mayor and council in person jeopardizes the democratic process ... Please postpone the North Point vote until circumstances allow the vote to be taken in a safe, transparent and accountable manner," the two area state elected officials wrote.

When reached later, Mayor Bob O'Dekirk told Joliet Patch that "it's sad that Pat McGuire and Larry Walsh Jr. are playing politics with the Joliet City Council." The mayor said their news release shows a disrespect for the city's democratic process, given that the council voted 7-1 earlier this week to schedule a public hearing on the proposed annexation of nearly 1,300 acres for NorthPoint's Compass Business Park.

"It's a shame they don't respect the Joliet City Council or democratic process," Joliet's mayor told Patch.

O'Dekirk said that earlier this week, on April 6, the Illinois Attorney General's Office issued a legal opinion on a March 27 case from McHenry County.

Cal Skinner, of the McHenry County Blog in Crystal Lake, accused his county's health board of violating the Open Meetings Act by holding a virtual meeting and asking that all public comments be submitted by email at least two hours before the meeting.

"You have not alleged that you or any other member of the public attempted to submit written comments but were unable to do so, or that written comments did not reach the board members," responded Steve Silverman, bureau chief of the Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Bureau, in this week's three-page ruling in favor of McHenry County officials.

"This office is unable to conclude that the board unreasonably restricted public comment under the exigent circumstances that existed at that time. Allowing public comment to be submitted via email allowed members of the public to address the substance of their comments to the board ... taking into account ... the highly specific circumstances surrounding the meeting, this office has determined that no further action is warranted in this matter. This file is closed," Silverman concluded.

Given this week's ruling from the Attorney General's Office, Joliet's City Council plans to move ahead with Monday night's special meeting.

To read the agenda and the rules for citizen comments on the NorthPoint project, visit the city's website here.

"Believe me, I would prefer to do our meetings normally," O'Dekirk remarked.

However, given the latest remarks from Gov. J.B. Pritzker about the ongoing health crisis, there does not appear an immediate end in sight in terms of allowing large public gatherings in Illinois, O'Dekirk said.

O'Dekirk expects the public hearing to last several hours into the night. If Monday's meeting runs late, the council will have to continue the public hearing to another date, he added.

Although Walsh and McGuire urged Joliet to keep delaying the NorthPoint vote, other politicians in Illinois have come out in favor of the project and previously urged Joliet's City Council to approve the project.

Those who have issued statements in support of NorthPoint's Compass Business Park include:

• Congressman Bobby Rush
• U.S. Senator Dick Durbin
• Congressman Adam Kinzinger
• Congresswoman Robin Kelly

"Will County is fast becoming an economic engine for Illinois as consumers change how they purchase their retail goods," Durbin said in a news release issued in March. "Compass Business Park is a responsible solution that would create thousands of new jobs while addressing transportation needs and mitigating truck traffic."

Related:

• Illinois Coronavirus Update April 9: 462 Deaths
• Will County Coronavirus Cases Top 1,000, Woman In 30s Dies
• Will County Courthouse Deputy Tests Positive For Coronavirus