Mayor D’Arcy: Joliet having ‘renaissance’ as city rebrands itself as ‘a destination’

Mayor Terry D’Arcy in his first State of the City address on Wednesday proclaimed a Joliet renaissance.

D’Arcy pointed to projects and plans around the city, as well as claims of “changing the culture” at City Hall.

“If I were asked to describe Joliet at this moment in time, I would say our community is experiencing its own renaissance,” D’Arcy said early in his speech.

His priorities included “rebranding Joliet as a destination,” D’Arcy said, pointing to major renovations downtown and new development at Rock Run Collection.

Before D’Arcy’s speech, Penn Entertaintment on Wednesday announced an Aug. 11 opening date for its new Hollywood Casino Joliet at Rock Run Collection, providing material that D’Arcy was able to use in describing the city’s advancement as a destination center.

Downtown redevelopment includes the new city square that is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

D’Arcy said the city also was focusing attention on the Louis Joliet Mall area, the city’s primary retail and restaurant district that could be supplanted by the Rock Run Collection project.

Rock Run Collection includes plans for stores, restaurants and hotels beyond the new Hollywood Joliet Casino.

“Every great city evolves—and now is the time for us to reimagine and revitalize the Louis Joliet Mall corridor," D’Arcy said.

D’Arcy said after the speech that he has been in discussions with mall management on future development in and around the mall that could include housing as well as commercial development.

D’Arcy in his speech also emphasized:

• The city rate of violent crime is down with no homicides yet in 2025 and a 46% decline in shootings compared to the first five months of 2024.

• Retail sales are up 45% since 2020 with city retailers generating $3.1 billion in business.

• An increase in construction spending that reached $340 million in 2023 and $389 million in 2024, which D’Arcy called “a sign of growing confidence in our future

D’Arcy made no mention of the city’s loss in status as the third-largest city in Illinois to the fourth-largest during his term in office.

Joliet, which at one point passed Naperville in population, has fallen behind Naperville again according to latest U.S. Census number and now is the fourth largest city in the state.

D’Arcy did say the city was poised for population growth.

He pointed to residential projects on the city’s west side that would add 377 single-family homes and 72 town homes, saying, “These are clear signs that Joliet is continuing to attract new residents and families.”

D’Arcy also claimed to be creating a new culture at City Hall.

“At City Hall, we are changing the culture of our workforce by modernizing operations, implementing new technologies and updating long-overdue policies and procedures,” he said.

Other than the hiring of City Manager Beth Beatty, D’Arcy did not provide specific examples of changes at City Hall.

He did say the city was building better relationships with its neighbors.

“Our transformation cannot happen in isolation,” he said. “Joliet is not an island – we are part of a larger region, and our future is tied to the success of our neighbors.“

The city under previous Mayor Bob O’Dekirk, D’Arcy’s predecessor, did clash with neighbors to the south over the NorthPoint Development warehouse project.

D’Arcy in his speech made no reference to warehouse development, which had been the leader in business growth in past years but has fallen off since he took office.

Warehouse development has faced resistance from residents raising concerns about the number of trucks being added to local roads.