Mayor tells Joliet’s advisory planning group to ‘think big’ on city’s future

The new Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee met for the first time Wednesday, getting started on its role to bring public input into the first comprehensive plan for Joliet since the 1950s.

Topics on the first day included truck traffic, housing and getting the public involved in the process before the expected completion of the plan by fall 2026.

“We want you to communicate with community members about the importance of getting involved in this project,” City Planner Jayne Bernhard told the 17-member committee.

Only two members of the public came to the meeting, despite past criticism that Mayor Terry D’Arcy’s selections for the committee were too loaded with community leaders and lacking in average people.

The meeting took place at 10 a.m., a time when most average people are scheduled to work.

But Bernard said there will be other opportunities for public involvement, including working groups, public workshops and interviews with key people.

D’Arcy, who is a member of the committee, cited legendary architect Daniel Burnham’s “make no little plans” quote at the meeting.

“It’s our job that we think big,” D’Arcy said, noting that Joliet is Illinois’ third largest city at about 150,000 and has room to grow and become the second largest.

“We’ve got enough water to move this city to 400,000 people, and we have to think that way,” D’Arcy said.

The plan is for the committee to continue meeting at 10 a.m. on the first Wednesday of every month.

Business taken care of Wednesday included the election of a chairman and vice chairman.

Banker James Roolf was unanimously elected chairman.

“This is an immense project to undertake but so important to do,” Roolf said.

He noted the size of Joliet, and the reach of the city borders into Kendall County, saying the committee needs to keep in mind all areas.

“We need to challenge ourselves to think of the city as a whole,” he said.

The Rev. Wendell Martin, a Joliet pastor, was unanimously elected vice chairman.

Noting that he grew up in the area of Route 53 and Laraway Road, Martin pointed to changes in the city over the decades.

“It’s just crazy to see how different that area is from what it was,” Martin said, adding that he looks forward to making plans for the future of that section of the city.

Martin is pastor of Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church, which, like his boyhood home, is in the southeast area of the city that has seen the biggest growth of truck traffic from the expanding logistics industry.

“I love this city,” Martin said, “and I’m excited to see what the future holds.”