Opinion

Another controversy erupts, but Joliet moves on

Todd Wooten may have never had a chance to be appointed to the City Council.

Mayor Bob O'Dekirk makes a point that he put Wooten's name to the council as the replacement for Don Dickinson as other mayors have done, which is largely true.

But these are different times with the level of distrust between the mayor and council majority running high. And, there was no outreach or consensus building to determine what kind of reception Wooten might get.

The appointment and vote on Wooten came quickly, just a week after Dickinson put in his resignation.

Most council members learned about it when it was put on the agenda released to the public the afternoon before Thanksgiving.

Wooten was a potentially controversial figure because of his public pronouncement of no-confidence in Police Chief Al Roechner, an awkward stance for a member of the Board and Fire and Police Commissioners but one which he did defend fairly well when questioned about it while appearing before the council Tuesday.

Actually, Wooten presented himself very well before the council.

But given the circumstances, it was not surprising that Wooten's appointment was rejected with the usual council split vote and became one more milestone of controversy over matters of city leadership that keep mounting.

Count them:

• A revolving door in a city manager's office that has been occupied by four people in a little over two years;

• A state police investigation and lawsuit concerning O'Dekirk's conduct in a skirmish at a Black Lives Matter rally;

• A referral to state police for Dickinson's complaint that he was the victim of intimidation allegedly involving the mayor and Dickinson's subsequent resignation;

• The referral of Chief Roechner's handling of the Eric Lurry matter to the Illinois Attorney General's Office and the ongoing tenuous relationship between police brass and City Hall;

• The firing of City Attorney Marty Shanahan and his subsequent lawsuit alleging wrongful termination.

What's getting done

Despite the controversy, you can't say nothing gets done in Joliet.

After the firestorm over the Wooten appointment on Tuesday, the council approved a contract to build a new bus station, which is supposed to be completed next year.

The NorthPoint project, like it or not, is a massive development that is going through City Hall approvals to the dismay of its opponents and despite lawsuits to stop it.

Construction of the Houbolt Road bridge is supposed to finally start in the spring.

And, the mayor and City Council are preparing for a historic vote in January on a future Lake Michigan source for city water.

That's a lot, and much of it gets lost in the controversy.

Bob Okon

Bob Okon

Bob Okon covers local government for The Herald-News