Joliet candidates lines up for District 5 contest

The race for the District 5 council seat is getting crowded with the possibility that incumbent Terry Morris may not seek reelection.

Morris last week pulled nominating petitions for a reelection bid. But he faces a $28,000 fine from the Illinois State Elections Board that must be paid before his name can be put on a ballot.

Meanwhile, three other potential candidates have pulled petitions to run in District 5: Jim Lanham, Suzanna Ibarra and Michael Carruthers.

It was the first week for candidates to pull petitions for the April 4 election.

So far, Districs 5 and 2 have attracted the most potential candidates for the April 2023 city election. Four potential candidates in both districts have pulled petititons.

We all keep talking about Terry,” said Lanham of the District 5 race.“ Even though he pulled a packet, people say they thought he wasn’t running.”

Candidates have until late December to file the nominating petitions with signatures of qualified voters supporting their candidacy. They do not get put on the ballot until they return the petitions.

District 5 is a large district. It extends from the East Side of Joliet across the large industrial district on the south end of the city into the West Side and takes in Joliet Junior College.

Morris’s situations is complicated by the pending fine from the state elections board.

But Morris faced a nearly $32,000 fine from the state board in 2019 before he settled it in time to get on the ballot and win that election.

In both cases, Morris has been fined for not filing timely reports for his election committee.

Morris would seek his fourth term on the city council if he gets on the ballot for 2023.

He did not return a call seeking comment on his current status.

Lanham said he expects more candidates to join the race in District 5 race but also believes Morris will be on the ballot.

“I actually think he’s going to run,” Lanham said. “If I had to put money on it, and I usually place losing bets, I’d say he’d do it.”

Meanwhile, Nicole Lurry has taken out petitions to run in District 2, making her the fourth potential candidate to take out petitions to run in that district.

Lurry like Lanham was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2021 election for three at-large council seats. She is the widow of Eric Lurry, whose death from an apparent self-ingested drug overdose while in police custody became the subject of an ongoing controversy and investigation by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

Others who pulled petitions in District 2 are incumbent Councilman Pat Mudron, Quinn Adamowski and Robert Wunderlich. Wunderlich also was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2021 council election.

A third potential candidate, Tycee Bell, has pulled petitions to run for mayor, joining Terry D’Arcy and Gregory Lee. Mayor Bob O’Dekirk has not yet pulled petitions but has said since March that he is running for reelection.

The election on April 4 is for mayor and the five district council seats.

In District 1, Mike Eulitz, former roadways engineer and public assets manager for the city, pulled petitions on Friday. Councilman Larry Hug has not but has said he will run for reelection.

Councilwoman Sherri Reardon has pulled petitions to run for reelection in District 3.

In District 3, Cesar Cardenas, Christopher J. Parker and Rosa Hernandez have pulled petitions. Incumbent Councilwoman Bettye Gavin is not running again.