Joliet Mayor To Host 1st State Of The City: Here's What We Know

JOLIET — For the first time since taking over as mayor of Joliet, Terry D'Arcy is ready to hold his state of the city address. D'Arcy told Joliet Patch he will give his first State of the City on Wednesday, May 28 at The Renaissance Center, 214 N. Ottawa St. in downtown Joliet.

The event will go from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and tickets are $50 per person for Joliet Chamber members and a table for 10 costs $500 for Chamber members. Otherwise, the cost is $60 per person for non-Chamber members and $600 for a table of 10 for non-Chamber members.

Sponsorships are available by contacting Sarah Palya at the Joliet Chamber.

For years, the Joliet mayor's annual State of the City presentation has been hosted by the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce, which is led by Jen Howard as president and Mike Paone as executive vice president.

D'Arcy told Joliet Patch that he plans to cover several topics during his Renaissance Center talk, which is expected to draw a crowd of at least 300 to 350 people. D'Arcy said he intends to discuss Joliet's economic development and business growth, the Louis Joliet Mall area, city finances and budgets, including Joliet's cash reserves and Moody's bond ratings.

When D'Arcy ran for mayor, he talked about redeveloping Joliet's former U.S. Steel property off Collins Street. D'Arcy said that the corporation is now tearing down its remaining abandoned steel manufacturing buildings. When D'Arcy visited the site on Saturday, he said there were 10 pieces of demolition equipment, and the crews were hard at work.

"I've got a lot more on the U.S. Steel property," D'Arcy shared. "We're continuing to work with U.S. Steel, and we are really making some headway."

D'Arcy said he remains firmly committed to bringing his idea of a "sports complex" to the U.S. Steel property.

As for the Louis Joliet Mall area, D'Arcy said he plans to discuss the area's business occupancy and "his vision for the area."

D'Arcy said that now is the perfect time for him to give his first address to the community. He plans to discuss Joliet's new long-range comprehensive plan committee, as well as the state of downtown Joliet and the new city square that is being built.

"The city's going in a really good direction," D'Arcy told Joliet Patch on Saturday.

D'Arcy intends to give his talk for at least 15 minutes and then open up the floor for questions and answers.