Joliet Township Meeting Turns Heated Over $8.6M Asylum Seekers Grant

JOLIET TOWNSHIP, IL — More than 350 people showed up to address Joliet Township officials in a heated meeting on Tuesday night during which township officials for the first time publicly addressed their application for an $8.6 million grant that would help cover the costs of housing more than 2,00 asylum-seekers in Joliet.

As of Tuesday, however, Joliet Township Supervisor Angel Contreras said that the township has not accepted the grant and that nothing has been finalized. The admission drew applause from the standing-room-only crowd, before Contreras said township officials were there to listen to residents’ concerns.

However, some residents during Tuesday's meeting accused the township of not alerting taxpayers that they were seeking funding from the state to deal with what Contreras said was an influx of asylum-seekers being bused to cities like Joliet.

Contreras said that any future plans on behalf of the township and the grant would be made known with a news release and would include the acceptance of public input, adding that the township is considering “all options.”

Contreras, who had not previously addressed the grant, acknowledged that Tuesday’s meeting was “no ordinary meeting as the township faces extraordinary circumstances due to events beyond our control.” He said the township works on a daily basis to secure funding for the people of Joliet — often through grants — but that township officials do not have a say in federal immigration policy.

“Let me be clear about the situation we’re facing,” Contreras said, reading from a prepared statement. “A lack of federal leadership on this issue resulted in asylum seekers reaching our borders that are being bused by the thousands to cities for a political stunt to create chaos and attention.”

Contreras said the buses are dropping people off in the middle of the night without notice to local officials in Chicago. He said the volume of people being dropped off has overwhelmed social services agencies and has strained community resources. Contreras said that Joliet has already seen an influx of asylum-seekers and that Joliet’s Spanish Community Center has already documented 2,200 migrants seeking assistance from the organization.

He said other community organizations, including local food pantries, have been under stress to keep up with demand. Contreras said the purpose of the grant was to help the Joliet community assist providers who serve local residents in dealing with the volume of requests that is beyond the township, city, and county’s means.

Despite Joliet City officials’ claims that they were not included in the intent to apply for the state grant, Contreras said at Tuesday’s meeting that city officials were made aware of the grant application at the meeting that took place at City Hall.

“The inclusion of the City of Joliet and Joliet Fire Department logos on the (grant) application was an oversight,” Contreras said, drawing an emotional response from the crowd. “However, both institutions were involved in the grant opportunity in a meeting that took place at City Hall.”

Contreras said that the grant was brought to his attention by Joliet’s Interim City Manager, Rod Tonelli, on Aug. 9 and that a meeting on Sept. 1. took place with city officials as well as representatives from Will County, Joliet Township, and the Joliet Spanish Community Center. He said the grant application was submitted on Sept. 15 and that township officials received word on Oct. 2 that they would be receiving the funding.

However, city officials, including Joliet Mayor Terry D'Arcy, said township officials had overstepped their bounds by applying for the grant. D'Arcy appeared at Tuesday's meeting and said that the township should return the funding, which is the second-largest grant handed out by the state, trailing only a grant given to the City of Chicago.

"It was done without our knowledge, and we can't sustain the grant as it was written, so it's just not tenable," the mayor said.

Contreras said that the grant was for a “reactive request” to address current issues and, he said, “was not intended to bring more people” to the area. He urged Joliet officials to help find solutions to assist those “most vulnerable” members of the community.

“I can promise you today that our office is going to continue to tirelessly connect the entire existing community of the township with the available resources,” he said.

The meeting became contentious even before public comment began, as Township Clerk Alicia Morales said that the board was trying to “run a civil meeting” as she began to read the names of those who had signed up to address the board.

Joliet resident Brian Beck said that if the township wanted to come up with solutions, it needed to find solutions of “how to move these people out of here.”

“We have enough problems,” he said, adding, “This is my city. This is our city.”

Other residents said township officials had gone “out of their bounds” to invite asylum-seekers to Joliet and said that township trustees have no right to dictate where taxpayer money is spent.

Rev. Larry Ellis, a retired deacon from St. Mark CME Church, told trustees that residents were misled about the intentions surrounding the purchase of the Peter Claver Center. He said that he understood the meeting was for community outreach programs but that the “whispers in the neighborhood” said it was instead being used by asylum seekers.

“I’m upset, I’m pissed off simply because we have not been told – first of all, we were told about the grant,” he said. “Second of all, we weren’t told about who was coming into our neighborhoods, and I think that’s disgraceful.”