Mayor D'Arcy Yanks Chinese Artist's Dome Of Unity Off Agenda After Facing Backlash

JOLIET, IL — Just five days after issuing a press release offering glowing remarks about the Dome of Unity sculpture, Joliet Mayor Terry D'Arcy chose not to go ahead with a vote on the $197,000 expenditure for Sijia Chen, the Chinese-born artist who now lives in Los Angeles.

Tuesday's Joliet City Council meeting called for approving Sijia Chen Studio in an amount not to exceed $197,000. But when the meeting began, city leaders removed the Dome of Unity sculpture from the agenda, so that no vote would take place.

City Clerk Lauren O'Hara announced that the downtown Joliet city sculpture would be postponed to a future meeting. Joliet's director of community Dustin Anderson, who has recommended the City Council's approval of the Dome of Unity, offered a few brief remarks.

"Staff thought that due to the interest and excitement this item has generated, it would be nice to postpone this so that the arts commission could be here to present this with staff for the benefit of the Council and the public," Anderson shared.

Actually, it's been 11 months since Joliet's arts commission took a vote after reviewing the six finalist sculptures proposed for the downtown City Square. Members present at the meeting were Eric Gorder, John Simpson Jr, Peg (Marguerite) Stoiber, Ron Romero, Vince Logan , Tom Grotovsky and Deborah Summers.

According to the meeting minutes from October 2, 2024, "The Commission engaged in a prolonged discussion about two favorite entries, "Dome of Unity" and "Joy."

According to the Dome of Unity discussion, "Commissioner Gorder stated that the design could be more invigorating. Commissioner Stoiber stated it was not her favorite entry and had difficulty moving forward with something where the final design is not yet in place. Commissioner Grotovsky stated that he felt it was a nice multi-cultural piece of art that was sleek and modern. Chairman Romero emphasized that he likes what the sculpture stands for, and that the proposed lighting and shadows cast from sculpture are appealing."

After taking an informal polling, commissioners Logan, Stoiber, Grotovsky, Romero, and Summers stated their preference for "Dome of Unity." Reasons included the ability to incorporate community input into the final paper-cut design, the sleek, modern look of the dome, and the ability to having various lighting and shadow effects on the square.

Commissioners Gorder and Simpson stated their preference for "Joy." They stated that "Joy" has better volume and is more visually striking.

Following the informal polling, the Commissioner Simpson motioned, and Commissioner Grotovsky seconded, that the Joliet Arts Commission recommend "Dome of Unity" by Sijia Chen for an award of contract to the City Council. The motion carried by a vote of 7-0.